The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the highest grossing movie franchise in history, at over 27 billion worldwide. That is more than double of Star Wars, who is the second highest grossing movie franchise at a little over 10 billion. The success has continued with their recent movie release, Deadpool & Wolverine, which has grossed over 1 billion worldwide, becoming the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. So, what’s the connection for a Calgary Flames website to be writing an article about it?
In the film, Deadpool arrives at a Canadian themed bar in search of Wolverine. Ryan Reynolds, who plays Deadpool, is Canadian, so he loves to make references to Canada whenever he can. During their exchange below, you can see the Flames logo in the background, above Deadpool’s right shoulder:
Why is this worthy of discussion? A Flames logo appearing in a Canadian bar setting might just seem like a simple backdrop filler. There’s no need to think about it any further, right? Well, if you know anything about Marvel movies, you’ll know they put things in the backgrounds for a reason. Everything, from simple backdrops to car license plates, are references to cast members, comic books, past films, or pop culture references. In the case of the Flames logo appearing in this film, we have some references to comic books. Let’s get into where these references stem from.
The Calgary Flames logo in reference to comic books
A little known fact, Wolverine is from Alberta in the comics. He is known to be born in or near Cold Lake, Alberta, but just like every good Albertan, cheers for the correct team in southern Alberta.
Below is an excerpt from Wolverine: First Class #6, where the Flames are referenced as Wolverine’s favourite team:
However, Wolverine isn’t perfect, as he has a Montreal Canadiens flag hanging next to the Flames flag in this comic book image from Wolverine #9:
It’s pretty cool to see the Flames logo appear in a film that has grossed over a billion dollars. It’s even cooler to know the references and history that went into placing the Flames logo in the backdrop. No one knows why Wolverine chose to be a Flames fan over an Oilers fan. Especially since he’s from Northern Alberta. But hey, what’s not to love about everyone’s favourite X-Men being a Flames fan? He’s certainly got great taste in team.
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