The meta connection between Deadpool and Pikachu is obvious as actor Ryan Reynolds played the live-action versions of both characters, but one comic reveals that the two had a freaky secret connection before Ryan Reynolds brought them to life.

Ryan Reynolds voiced Pikachu in the live-action 2019 Pokémon movie, Detective Pikachu. Before that film was released, the actor brilliantly brought to life the Merc with the Mouth himself, Deadpool, in 2016’s Deadpool and 2018’s Deadpool 2. Until Reynolds offered his talents to both characters, no one would have guessed they had any semblance of a connection. Pikachu is a Pokémon who usually doesn’t even have the ability to speak beyond saying his own name. Meanwhile, Deadpool doesn’t stop talking in the Marvel Universe as a mercenary with a heart of gold and a nearly unbeatable power set. However, that all changed in 2016, back when Reynolds was only connected to Deadpool with no news released regarding his intention to also play Pikachu. In 2016, a Deadpool comic came out where Deadpool and Pikachu crossed paths in-continuity–and Ryan Reynolds was nowhere in sight.

Pikachu Officially Exists in the Marvel Universe, & Deadpool Proves it

Deadpool Pikachu Crossover.

In Deadpool #30 by Gerry Duggan and Mike Hawthorne, Deadpool has taken to outer space in search of a weapon strong enough to kill his arch foe, Madcap. After stopping by an alien warzone and then paying a visit to the Nova Corp, Deadpool ends up on Knowhere, where he is pursued by a number of warriors and bounty hunters trying to kill him. They believe he’s in possession of the Ultimate Nullifier, but Deadpool only pretended to have this great weapon to get out of the Nova Corp unscathed. Regardless, it was enough to get the attention of the heaviest hitters in the cosmos, including someone who worked directly for the Collector. The Collector wanted the Ultimate Nullifier for himself, but when he learned Deadpool didn’t have it, he became just as interested in collecting Deadpool’s enemy, Madcap. The Collector became intrigued by Madcap, and he told Deadpool to capture Madcap on his behalf. Seeing this as a win-win, Deadpool agrees and gets teleported back to Earth, but not before he encounters someone else: Pikachu.

As Deadpool walks through the large containment room of the Collector’s vast collection, he stands before a creature that looks identical to Pikachu–so much so that it has to be the iconic Pokémon. The life form that is seemingly Pikachu (who is located in the bottom-left hand corner of the page) has exactly the same body type, ears, and even expression of a Pikachu being held in captivity–which is not a pleasant one, as any Pokémon fan can attest. While it may have been a stretch to consider that this is Pikachu if he were surrounded by nothing but established Marvel characters, that wasn’t the case. The room was full of pop-culture icons and characters outside of Marvel continuity, including the likes of ET and even Slenderman. Therefore, it’s actually not at all a stretch to consider that Pikachu would be among them as well, especially when this character looks so similar to the original Pokémon.

The idea that Deadpool and Pikachu had a brief encounter in the comics is a lot of fun, as it teases that the world of Pokémon is accessible within Marvel’s multiverse. More significantly, however, is the mind-blowing crossover with Deadpool and Pikachu that had nothing to do with Ryan Reynolds, and even happened before the actor would bring both characters to life, which shows that this wasn’t for publicity or as a marketing stunt–just a good old-fashioned freaky connection.