I'll go first. Mine is that I can't stand the Deadpool movies. They are self aware and self referential to an obnoxious degree. It's like being continually reminded that I am in a movie. I swear the success of that movie has directly lead to every blockbuster having to have a joke every 30 seconds
Mine is that I can’t stand the Deadpool movies. They are self aware and self referential to an obnoxious degree.
I haven't read the comic books that they're based on for a long time, but as I recall, they also break the fourth wall. I don't think that that was introduced specifically for the movie.
Marvel's Deadpool is known for his over-the-top violence and crude and crass humor, but perhaps his best-known character trait is his penchant for repeatedly breaking the fourth wall. Deadpool talks to the audience in comics, films and videogames - but he didn't always have this power. In fact, early Deadpool was known for being quite serious and firmly rooted in the fictional realm...so when did the Merc with a Mouth first break the fourth wall - and how did he insult editors everywhere by doing so?
Deadpool and the assassin with superhuman accuracy Bullseye teamed up in previous issues, and in Deadpool #28, the two are reunited after a long absence. "How long has it been!?" Bullseye exclaims. Deadpool simply states "Issue sixteen." It's the smallest of fourth-wall breaks (he hadn't even began speaking to the readers yet), but it shows that Deadpool is doing more than acting out - he's acting as his own editor. Considering convoluted comics continuity, it's normal for editors to occasionally place footnotes in certain panels, specifically when characters reference past events. Perhaps Kelly and Woods considered the old method, but wanted to try a new technique. Whatever their reasoning, Deadpool's fourth wall breaks became a staple of the character.
Looks like Deadpool #28dates to 1997, though, so Deadpool breaking the fourth wall has been around for over a quarter of a century.
The whole point of Deadpool is the self awareness though. You can find it annoying, it's not for everyone, but it's true to what the character has become.
The way I had it explained to me by a friend who's into his comics (I'm not a comic reader) is that his regen abilities + cancer basically damaged his brain and made him insane which is why he "thinks" he's a comic book/movie hero. Not so much that he's breaking the 4th wall but that he's talking at it like a crazy person. He even has multiple personalities that I wish they'd introduced in DP2! It was hinted at when he's reunited with Vanessa in DP1 when he says "and now the moment I've all been waiting for"