Rob Liefeld, the co-creator of Deadpool among other characters, has sworn off ever working for Marvel again. We'll explain his reasons why — and how this isn't exactly the first time.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Rob Liefeld, the co-creator of Deadpool, among other characters, has sworn off ever working
00:05for Marvel again. We'll explain his reasons why and how this isn't exactly the first time.
00:10In an episode of his podcast, Robservations, Liefeld explained that how he was treated
00:14at the premiere of Deadpool and Wolverine in July 2024 was his final straw. Variety
00:18picked up on three main factors that soured him. One, he and his family apparently weren't
00:23invited to the Disney after-party. Two, the placement of his credit in the movie as a
00:26co-creator of Deadpool, and three, a snafu involving red carpet photos. Specifically,
00:32Liefeld claims that a photographer snapped photos of him with the movie's creative team,
00:35but those photos were never shared. All that ended up getting published were photos of
00:39Liefeld by himself and with his family on the red carpet.
00:43"...it was meant to embarrass, diminish, uh, defeat."
00:48On top of all that, Liefeld said he was snubbed by the top Marvel Studios brass, including
00:53head honcho Kevin Feige. He compared that treatment very unfavorably to that of the
00:57execs at 20th Century Fox, which released the first two Deadpool movies prior to its
01:01acquisition by Disney. He said,
01:03"...I forgive you, whoever made that decision to say, hey, you can come to this movie, but
01:07we're not going to talk to you. We are going to treat you much worse than 20th Century
01:10Fox could ever imagine."
01:11"...comic creators cannot continue to be regulated as afterthoughts."
01:16For its part, Disney has declined to comment, but an unnamed source told Variety that Liefeld
01:21was invited to the movie's London set and that the studio supported his idea to host
01:25a series of Deadpool and Wolverine screenings. A Hollywood Reporter notes that Liefeld has
01:29had a building resentment toward Marvel since 2023, when Roy Thomas was given co-creator
01:34status for Wolverine. He's close with the widow of Wolverine co-creator Len Wein, who
01:39was upset with the decision. He also asked to be included in the opening credits of Deadpool
01:43and Wolverine, but reportedly got no response. He said on his podcast,
01:48"...Kevin Feige does not treat comic book creators well. That is my personal experience."
01:52That said, Liefeld did get a unique shout-out in Deadpool and Wolverine with a background
01:56joke — a store called Liefeld's Just Feet poking fun at his reputation for avoiding
02:00drawing characters' lower extremities. Many of the reports about Liefeld's announcement
02:04proclaimed he had cut ties with Marvel after over 30 years with the company, but Liefeld
02:08has come and gone many times in that period.
02:11He was one of the creators who left Marvel in 1992 to found Image Comics. Then, over
02:15concerns that he and other superstar artists, including Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane, were
02:19being undervalued.
02:20The bottom line was the sales were following Todd, Rob, and Jim."
02:25Liefeld, Lee, and Jim Valentino returned to Marvel in 1996 for the Heroes Reborn line,
02:30where they got free reign over the Avengers and Fantastic Four for a year. But Liefeld
02:34was off on his own again by 1997, founding yet another new comics publisher, Awesome
02:39Comics. It shuttered in 2000, and Liefeld returned to Marvel and Image throughout the
02:43following decade.
02:44In 2011, Liefeld crossed the street to DC Comics, taking on writing and art duties for
02:49several titles in the New 52 line. He then proclaimed on X in 2012 that he was walking
02:54away from superhero comics entirely. Liefeld wrote, according to ComicBook.com,
02:59"...the current corporate comics conditions are an absolute bear on both sides for both
03:03big two."
03:04Of course, Liefeld continued to return to Marvel several times in the 2010s as well.
03:10Most recently, Liefeld said in both February and October of 2024 that he intended to retire
03:14from the character of Deadpool. He wrote in a February 2024 Instagram post,
03:19"...yep, after 33 years of not only introducing Deadpool but chronicling many of his most
03:23popular adventures, it's time for the Deadpool Daddy to say farewell."
03:27Liefeld still has one pending Deadpool project, though. Issue 5 of Deadpool Team-Up, which
03:32he has written and drawn since August 2024, is set for release February 12, 2025.