The Biggest Deadpool Variants & Who Plays Them

This article contains major spoilers for “Deadpool & Wolverine,” so proceed with caution!

“Deadpool & Wolverine” isn’t just packed with a bunch of Marvel cameos from the “X-Men” and “Fantastic Four” movies from 20th Century Fox (as well as the return of Wesley Snipes as Blade). It’s also filled with a bunch of Deadpool variants. It only makes sense when you consider the fact that we’re currently in The Multiverse Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not to mention the fact that Marvel Comics has an entire Deadpool Corps. of infinitely strange versions of Wade Wilson, ranging from a dog version called Dogpool to a zombified floating head called Headpool.

Since Deadpool has such a weird history in the pages of Marvel Comics, and some of the less comics-obsessed audiences probably don’t know about all the weirder sides of Deadpool, we figured a breakdown of the most prominent Deadpool variants was in order. While most of them are actually in normal Deadpool suits of varying heights, there are some drastically different versions of Deadpool, including at least one that doesn’t come from the pages of Marvel Comics, but has a special place in Ryan Reynolds’ heart. 

So let’s take a closer look at as many of the Deadpool variants we can identify from the end of “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

All right, let’s start with maybe the biggest breakout star of the movie: Dogpool. This canine version of Wade Wilson (named only Wilson) debuted in “Prelude to Deadpool Corps” #3 in 2010, where he hails from Earth-103173. Wilson was a test subject for a cosmetic brand called Mascara X (a riff on the Weapon X program that created Wolverine). Of course, the tests go terribly wrong and completely disfigure Wilson while also giving him superpowers, just like the primary Deadpool. Because he’s become so ugly, no one wants this little pooch, so he tries to leave this mortal coil by hurling himself into traffic. Unsurprisingly, he survives, and a circus truck driving by took note of this strange dog and turned him into “the Death Defying Hound,” where he almost gets killed by the dog equivalent of Wolverine. 

Dogpool joins Deadpool Corps. to help Wade and other variants stop a powerful cosmic being called the Awareness, but he eventually meets his end in Marvel Comics’ “Deadpool Kills Deadpool” #1. Thankfully, “Deadpool & Wolverine” keeps the gnarly companion around as a constant canine of desire for Wade Wilson. Not only does “Lady in Red” play every time he sees this ugly little pup, who is actually a girl dog named Mary Puppins in the MCU, but Wade has no problem letting her grotesquely long tongue roam around his face. In fact, Wade not so accidentally dispatches with Dogpool’s owner, another Deadpool variant called Nicepool (more on him below), so he can hang on to the strange pet. 

Maybe the best thing about Dogpool is that she’s not some CGI creation. She’s actually a real dog named Peggy, a pug and Chinese Crested cross, once given the honor of the ugliest dog in Britain. Ryan Reynolds genuinely loves this little lady, and she’s an instant star. (Ethan Anderton)

The first Deadpool variant that Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) encounter in “Deadpool & Wolverine” is Dogpool, a ratty dog version of Deadpool. The dog is not stabbed, shot, or mutilated during the course of the film, however, so audiences cannot know if Dogpool has Deadpool’s regeneration powers. It could just be a regular dog. The second Deadpool variant they meet, however, is Dogpool’s apparently owner, Nicepool (credited to Gordon Reynolds, but t’s actually Ryan)), a polite, shiny version of Deadpool. 

Nicepool has clear skin, long, luxurious hair, and a well-polished costume. He carries a pair of impressive gold-plated pistols that Deadpool instantly covets. Deadpool is also a vicious murderer, and while Nicepool may commit murders, he’s the kind of guy to say sorry afterwards. Or perhaps “sore-y,” as Nicepool seems to be assertively Canadian. 

While we usually don’t see Reynolds’ handsome face, since it’s covered under burnt skin makeup or the Deadpool mask (above is a set photo between takes), Nicepool gives us plenty of chances to marvel at that Hollywood star. At the end of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” Nicepool has an additional twist to his character that many may not see coming. One can rest assured, however, that he will never stop being nice. Why is he nice? It doesn’t cost anything to be nice. 

Nicepool has no precedent in Marvel Comics, so one can breathe a sigh of relief that no further homework is needed for the character. The gag, unlike most of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” is self-contained. (Witney Seibold)

Meet the leader of the Deadpool variant brigade. Lady Deadpool’s appearance in a lengthy, show-stopping battle sequence in “Deadpool & Wolverine” has come with all sorts of intrigue in the days and weeks leading up to the film’s release. Although rumored to be source of the widely talked-about Taylor Swift cameo, the ultimate reveal is much funnier and more fitting than that. The voice behind Lady Deadpool is confirmed to be actor Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds’ real-life wife, set up ahead of time by Nicepool’s amusing tease early on that their variant leader in the Void had just given birth, but you’d never know it (an on-the-nose allusion to Lively’s recent delivery of her and Reynolds’ fourth child together). The character’s comic-book origins, however, are even more fascinating than that.

Known as Wanda Wilson, the character was first introduced in Marvel Comics in 2010 by writer Victor Gischler and is established to live in the alternate universe of Earth-3010. Throughout various issues, we find out there’s a whole civil war raging with Lady Deadpool leading a resistance group against a corrupt United States government, eventually ending up as part of a multiversal group known as the Deadpool Corps. If you squint, you can kind of see how “Deadpool & Wolverine” (very loosely) adapts the broadest strokes of this arc, but by and large, this was just an excuse to put Reynolds and Lively in the same movie together — even if only through the magic of ADR. We’ll take it! (Jeremy Mathai)

Just as Spider-Man met a Film Noir version of himself in “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Deadpool meets a Western version of himself in “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Cowboy Deadpool carries old-fashioned, pearl-handed six-shooters and sports a ten-gallon hat. His red outfit also looks to have been made from cured leather rather than Deadpool’s usual stippled spandex. Like most of the Deadpools, he wears a full-face mask, so audiences might not recognize that it was Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey under there (or at least providing the voice). McConaughey also gave his performance an Old West twang, making him even less recognizable. Reynolds did not force him to signal to the audience with an “alright alright alright” or “jk livin’.” Or, perhaps, in Deadpool’s case, jk killin’.

The cowboy version of Deadpool first appeared in issue #7 of “Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth” in 2010. That series saw Deadpool visiting an Old West dimension. The character then returned in issue #2 of “Deadpool Kills Deadpool” in 2012. He only played a minor role, and was called the Deadpool Kid (no relation to Kid Deadpool). He stood among many, many other variants of Deadpool, looking jaunty in his cowboy hat. 

A solo Cowboy Deadpool movie would have been fun unto itself. Like the Lone Ranger, Cowboy Deadpool could be the masked man passing through a town, happily laying waste to any local gunslingers and/or criminals. Just picture the Deadpool version of “A Fistful of Dollars,” and everything immediately falls into place (and, yes, I know “A Fistful of Dollars” is, in itself, a ripoff of Akira Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo”). (Witney Seibold)

He’s Deadpool, except smaller! Okay, there’s a little more going on with Kidpool than just that, but you get the gist. “Deadpool & Wolverine” packs in dozens and dozens of Deadpool variants in its big action sequence, but one of the few who gets actual speaking lines is the scene-stealing Kidpool. The end credits don’t actually reveal who voices the character — previous rumors pointed to Reynolds’ “The Adam Project” co-star Walker Scobell as a likely candidate, but this has yet to be confirmed. Nevertheless, the motor-mouthed child version of Deadpool gets his own moment to shine as he and the veritable army of variants descend on Deadpool, Wolverine, Dogpool, and Nicepool to prevent them from saving the day.

The film never has the time to get into his (or any other variants) comic-book backstory, but Kidpool was created by comic book writers Victor Gischler and Whilce Portacio in 2010 as a younger, alternate-universe version of Wade Wilson from Earth-10330. A mischievous student of Charles Xavier’s Orphanage for Troubled Boys, the rebellious mutant nearly winds up drummed out of the program altogether when the main-universe Deadpool arrives and whisks him away to the Deadpool Corps. Known for his distinctive, lightsaber-like laser swords, Kidpool easily stands out as one of the more exciting versions of Deadpool that the “Deadpool & Wolverine” creative team could’ve possibly picked. 

But it should be noted that this version of Kidpool is a girl, and she’s played by Inez Reynolds, the daughter of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively. (Jeremy Mathai)

If you thought the “Spider-Verse” movies had a monopoly on finding all the wildest, most ridiculous alternate versions of its title character to toss into the mix, think again! Although they don’t factor into the plot quite as much as the main team of misfits in “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” did, “Deadpool & Wolverine” finds its own answer to the futuristic, cyberpunk-inspired Peni Parker or even the “Across the Spider-Verse” villain Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099. In one blink-and-miss-it moment, the threequel manages to include a deep-cut comic book character known as (what else?) Deadpool 2099. This dazzlingly-designed hero doesn’t get any actual lines of dialogue, unfortunately, but in the source material (from creators Gerry Duggan and Scott Koblish) she goes by the name of Warda Wilson.

A child of Earth-16356’s version of Wade Wilson and the succubus-like character Shiklah – better known by her title as, no joke, Queen of the Underworld — Warda disappears under mysterious circumstances, only to reappear in the year 2099 as something of a villainous figure. Sporting a nifty, futuristic suit (complete with a jetpack and a robotic, artificial intelligence-powered flying vehicle called the Dragon), Deadpool 2099 was practically begging for a live-action adaptation at some point … even if even the most hardcore fans couldn’t have expected to see her pop up among all the other Deadpool variants in “Deadpool & Wolverine.” That’s the magic of comic book movies, folks! (Jeremy Mathai)

Golden Age Deadpool does have precedent in Marvel Comics, having first appeared in “Deadpool Kills Deadpool” #1, the comic that famously contained many, many Deadpool variants from parallel universes, who unite to form the Deadpool Corps. Golden Age Deadpool hails from the Golden Age of comic books, a period in the medium’s publishing that spans 1938 to 1956. It was during this time that notable characters like Superman and Batman made their first appearances. What we generally accept as modern superhero lore — costumes, superpowers, origin stories, secret identities, interconnected universes — began in earnest in those 18 years.

Deadpool wasn’t invented until 1990, so he didn’t get a chance to participate in the Golden Age. As such, comics writers invented a World War II version of the character so that he could be classical in retrospect. Golden Age Deadpool sports a gasmask and uses a pair of pirate-like cutlasses. Golden Age Deadpool didn’t have much to do in the final film, but that gasmask was certainly striking. And by striking, I mean utterly creepy. (Witney Seibold)

One of the many, many, many Deadpool variants that shows up at the end of the film appears to be a samurai Deadpool. He gets a stand-out moment when we see him regenerating a pair of tiny baby-arms, which is a running gag in these movies. As it turns out, this character is drawn directly from the comics. He’s Watari, aka Roninpool, a character who first appeared in the pages of the Marvel comic series “5 Ronin,” written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by a group of various artists (the Marvel Wiki claims Watari was created by Milligan and artist Goran Parlov, so let’s go with that). 

“5 Ronin” is an alternate history story set in 17th century Japan that re-imagines five Marvel characters as samurai. These characters are Wolverine, Psylocke, Punisher, Hulk, and Deadpool. There’s not a whole lot of info about Watari available online, and having never read the comic, I can’t tell you much about him. But knowing Deadpool, I’m assuming the character tells copious amounts of jokes and/or annoys everyone with his antics. He doesn’t have much to do in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” although he, like all the other Deadpool variants, is very excited to see Peter. (Chris Evangelista)

As far as we can tell, this is the only other Deadpool variant that does not come from Marvel Comics, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less special, at least to Ryan Reynolds. Among the Deadpool Corps., there’s a variant with armor decked out in red, green, and white with a certain logo on it. This character is credited as Welshpool, and t’s a reference to Wrexham AFC’s soccer football team that just so happens to be owned by Ryan Reynolds and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” co-creator and star Rob McElhenney. However, this version of Deadpool doesn’t have any lines, and he’s not played by either of the actors.

While it might have made sense for McElhenney to take the role, an episode of the “Welcome to Wrexham” documentary series that follows Reynolds and McElhenney and their efforts to bring the team to glory seemed to indicate that McElhenney was going to suit up as a TVA agent somewhere in the movie. Instead, it’s Wrexham player Paul Mullin under the suit. It’s nice that that Reynolds and McElhenney got to throw some love to their football team, especially after they won the Vanarama National League in 2023. (Ethan Anderton)

Babypool is exactly what you’d think. It’s an infant version of Wade Wilson in his own cute little red onesie, and he has a tiny pacifier with the signature Deadpool logo on it. You won’t actually find Babypool in the pages of Marvel Comics, but he gets a quick but prominent appearance in the final fight between Deadpool, Wolverine, and all of the Deadpool Corps. in the third act. After all the other Deadpool’s have been dispatched with, Wade and Wolverine stumble upon Babypool just sitting adorably. Then he starts giggling, but that becomes a bit menacing when our heroes realize he’s laughing because all the Deadpools they just tore through are regenerating and coming back to life. 

Thankfully, Peterpool (Rob Delaney) shows up, and since all the Deadpools love their own versions of Peter, they’re all cool with letting Wade and Wolverine head off to stop Cassandra Nova from destroying everything except The Void. 

On an even more adorable note, Babypool is played by Olin Reynolds, the latest addition to the Reynolds/Lively clan. Though it should be noted, he’s not as big as he appears above. There just aren’t any official images of Babypool online other than this one that comes from promotional artwork. (Ethan Anderton)

Rob Delaney’s Peter first appeared in “Deadpool 2” as a member of the ill-fated X-Force. While Peter seems to be in inspired by the secret agent character Peter Wisdom from Marvel comics, in the “Deadpool” movies he’s just a normal, nerdy guy. That’s the joke — while everyone else who joins the X-Force is some kind of superpowered superhero, Peter is just … a guy. The entire X-Force team dies horribly in “Deadpool 2,” but through the miracle of time travel, Deadpool is able to go back and save Peter’s life. This enables Peter to appear in “Deadpool & Wolverine.” 

In the new movie, Wade Wilson is working alongside Peter at a Carmax-like car dealership. Peter sits most of the movie out, but gets to show up at the very end donning his own Deadpool costume. He proclaims himself to be “Peterpool,” and his arrival saves the day — the various Deadpool variants who moments ago wanted to kill Deadpool (and Wolverine) are awed by the sight of Peter. It’s revealed that every Deadpool variant has their own Peter, and they all love the guy. And can you blame them? Peter seems genuinely sweet. He’s a good friend to have, even if his Deadpool costume doesn’t quite fit right. (Chris Evangelista)

Earth-2149 is the world of Marvel Zombies comics, which means this Deadpool variant is an undead zombie head floating around the group (his mask comes with a propellor hat!) and is hilariously voiced by Nathan Fillion. First introduced in “Marvel Zombies #3” from February 2006, not much is known about this Deadpool’s life before the zombie plague arrived in his timeline, but it’s safe to assume he’s got a similar backstory to all Wade Wilson variants.

After “the merc with half a mouth” was infected, he was eventually moved to Earth-616, aka the Marvel Prime universe. He was initially thought to be killed, but a zombified head with the inability to shut the hell up isn’t going to go down that easy. He survived the kill and was taken by the S.H.I.E.L.D.’s occult division, A.R.M.O.R. (Alternate Reality Monitoring and Operational Response Agency). Prime Deadpool was sent after him, but following some superhero hijinks with a variety of other Deadpool variants, he eventually returned to Earth-2149 to be with the other zombies.

The casting of Nathan Fillion is pretty perfect here, not only because it provides him with his fourth character in the MCU, but it’s a cute homage to his character on the canceled-too-soon Netflix series “The Santa Clarita Diet,” wherein he played a zombified severed head. (BJ Colangelo)

When you think of Deadpool, the word “zen” is probably the furthest descriptor from your mind. The Merc with a Mouth is an agent of chaos — a violent chatterbox with a flair for the gory dramatics when thrust into battle. So, of course, there has to be a variant of Deadpool that is his complete polar opposite, and that comes in the form of Zenpool. Instead of a bright red mask with plenty of holsters for weapons, Zenpool is a white-masked Deadpool who looks like he picked out his gear at Monks ‘R Us.

Zenpool is the result of the Winter 2014 “AXIS” storyline when Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom unleashed an inversion spell on the island of Genosha. As Deadpool was on the island, his personality was inverted and he took on a path of nonviolence. Instead of looking for a bar, a brawl, or a brothel, he was more interested in tending to his rock garden and subduing enemies with as few injuries as possible. Interestingly, Wolverine had a similar path in the comics during “Secret Wars Battleworld,” pushing aside his quest for violent vengeance and embracing a more empathetic approach to conflict resolution. The enlightened Deadpool was eventually turned back to his typical jagoff self but for a brief period of time, the Prime Marvel timeline was a lot less obnoxious.

In “Deadpool & Wolverine,” he’s just part of the Deadpool Corps., and it’s hard to miss him, because he’s the least red character among them. (BJ Colangelo)

But that’s not all. There are a bunch of other less prominent and barely visible variants among the Deadpool Corps. that we’ll likely be zeroing in on for a while. One of them has wings and a heart-tipped arrow through his head, so that’s definitely Cupidpool. 

Another variant listed in the credits is Dancepool, played by Nick Pauley. That one isn’t named with the others in the Deadpool Corps., because that’s the dance double doing all the “Bye Bye Bye” choreography in the opening credits.

I also caught a glimpse of another Deadpool who appeared to be dressed in a red coat and top hat outfit that felt too similar to Hugh Jackman’s wardrobe in “The Greatest Showman” to be a coincidence, and since there’s a quick, barely audible clip from the movie’s soundtrack in the movie (during the van fight), I feel like this has to be Circuspool, inspired by Hugh Jackman’s musical movie. 

There’s also a Deadpool dressed like a member of the Scottish guard, and we’re just gonna call that one Scotpool. That might seem too simple, but the last name listed in the credits is for a character called Canadapool. I can’t recall seeing a specifically Canadian version of Deadpool in the roster on screen, but this role is credited to Alex Kyshkovych, who just so happens to be the stunt double for Ryan Reyolds in all the Deadpool movies. He’s also worked on several “X-Men” movies, and he served as the stunt double for Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Revenant” and Kurt Russell in “The Christmas Chronicles.” (Ethan Anderton)

We’ll likely end up seeing more once “Deadpool & Wolverine” is on home media, but for now, keep an eye out in theaters.