Out of all the origin stories out there, one thing that's always missing is the character's nationality. Sometimes it's obvious, like in the case of Captain America, or part of some essential backstory, as in the origin of Black Widow.
In the comic books, Deadpool occasionally drops a hint about his background. He was produced by the same Department K that also created Wolverine, another famous Canadian superhero. He cracks wise about Imperial measurements (feet and yards, used in the US) and converts them to metric (meters and centimeters, used in Canada).
Yes, it could just be that The Merc With the Mouth is Canadian. Here are a few Canadian Easter eggs from the Deadpool movies that you mght have missed.
The Bridges of Downtown Vancouver
The heart of Metro Vancouver is separated on the south side by a body of water called False Creek, which is traversed by three bridges. The bridge in the middle is the biggest. If you drove along it, the scenery would seem vaguely familiar. That's because the second half of the opening scene in Deadpool takes place on this bridge.
The credits include the province of British Columbia as a filming location. The footage you see is the Cambie Street Bridge in Vancouver. Some of the buildings on the right, which Deadpool stands in front of while talking to Colossus, were used as housing for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It's possible to catch a glimpse of the green space and water next to the bridge, too.
Take a close look at the scenery while you're studying that same scene for the next section. The local stadium is also a part of the background. For clues in the foreground, the distinctive concrete barrier Francis is leaning on for most of the scene is a dead giveaway.
Funny Words and Expressions
"Oh, Canada" could be the first two lines of a national anthem, but it could also be an expletive. You can picture young Wade Wilson belting this out under a Canadian flag in his French-immersion public school. Deadpool screams this as if it's a curse word in the first movie after smashing every bone in his hand on Colossus' face.
And then there's the Regina joke, which Deadpool uses earlier in the same scene.
The capital city of Saskatchewan and a completely normal town otherwise, this city's name has been a running gag in Canada for years. Why? Pronounce it as if it rhymes with "vagina."
Rather than shy away from what could be an embarrassing connection, the city has embraced it and currently uses it in their tourism promo materials. "And that's why Regina rhymes with fun!" is the city's slogan and Deadpool repeats it while joyously wailing on Francis and his minions.
Cut like a Mountie
Wade's haircut when he first meets Vanessa is too short to be a buzzcut and is reminiscent of a typical Army or military haircut. It could be a mohawk if he let it go.
This is actually a haircut associated with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) or "Mounties." They're known for their distinct red coats and equestrian companions.
Ryan Reynolds' father and brother are both Mounties in British Columbia.
Number 5 Orange
This is a real strip club in Vancouver, and for years it was the coolest place to go in town. It was known as being upscale and discreet, ironically nothing like the chaos depicted in the film.
Stan Lee expressed some regret that he was edited into the scene instead of being there in person. It might not just have been the fact that it was a strip club but the strip Club, No. 5 Orange.
Canadian Chinatowns
This is even two Canadian Chinatowns instead of just one. Maybe they call this a "twofer." According to the credits, the movie was filmed in British Columbia and Quebec. This means Vancouver and Montreal, and both cities have a vibrant Chinatown but each has a different look.
The Chinatown scenes in the first Deadpool were filmed in Montreal. The streets in Vancouver tend to be more narrow with taller buildings, which is why the opening scenes of Deadpool 2 take place in Vancouver's Chinatown instead.
Ness' Bulletin Board
In Deadpool 2, we get a detailed look at a bulletin board in Vanessa's apartment. One of the pins on the board is a Canadian flag. It's just behind a picture of Wade and Vanessa wearing typical Canadian winter clothes, including a toque and a Santa hat.
Also next to this photo is a postcard with some writing on it. It describes a vacation in a tropical climate and says something about drinking so much you can hardly walk. Many Canadians can relate, as this describes the typical "snowbird" vacation, taken to escape the brutal winter cold.
South Asian Influences
Ness and Wade live in Chinatown, for starters, but that's just location. The cultural influences of Vancouver are incredibly diverse, and it comes through in the Deadpool films.
Dupinder is based on a real person that Ryan Reynolds knew in high school. He's also representative of a major demographic throughout the Lower Mainland (a nickname for the southwestern part of the province).
The Deadpool 2 we have the character of Dupinder again, now elevated to the role of sidekick, as Deadpool nicknames him, "Brown Panther."
It's never really stated exactly where the Deadpool movies take place. Even though our friendly neighborhood pool boy breaks the fourth wall to tell us everything else. Clues like "Jacksonville" don't really help and the Wolverine: Origins film, which involves Department K and their experiments, was even less forthcoming.
It's a lot of little things, but when you put it all together, it seems that loyal Vancouverite Ryan Reynolds has taken his favorite superhero home. As a fellow northerner might say, "He's Canadian, but he ain't from *TO."
*Toronto!