This week, Ryan Reynolds is back in theaters in Deadpool & Wolverine, and it’s not a spoiler to say that you’ll be seeing more of his take on the character than ever before. It’s a role he’s been playing since 2009, and Reynolds is now closely associated with Deadpool. But he’s not the only actor to portray Marvel’s Merc with a Mouth.
That said, Deadpool has far fewer multimedia appearances than Wolverine or Spider-Man. There was also a missed opportunity when Donald Glover’s adult animated adaptation of Deadpool for FX fell apart over creative differences. Regardless, to mark the new movie’s release, we’re sharing our rankings of all of the Deadpools to date.
9. Mute Deadpool
A colossal creative misstep from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Whose idea was it to take a character who is famous for his quick wit and quips … and remove his mouth while making him as generic as possible.
And is that even Ryan Reynolds under all of that makeup? Or just a stunt performer? Either way, this is hands down the worst of all of the Deadpools.
8. Steve Blum’s Deadpool
Steve Blum lent his voice to Deadpool in the video game adaptation of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. So many of the same notes from above apply here. It’s not Blum’s fault, but it is what it is.
7. Tom Kenny’s Deadpool
The voice of SpongeBob SquarePants himself, Tom Kenny, lent his voice to Deadpool in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online. And … he’s got the annoying aspects of Deadpool’s character down.
It’s just hard to listen to this version, because he doesn’t sound like he should.
6. Will Friedle’s Ultimate Deadpool
Marvel had to make significant changes to bring Deadpool into a more kid-friendly series like Ultimate Spider-Man. But making Deadpool younger was just a bridge too far. Will Friedle is a very good voice actor, he’s just not right for this role.
5. Jason Spisak’s Deadpool
Jason Spisak has voiced Deadpool in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers and Marvel Future Avengers. He’s simply OK in the role. He’s neither good nor bad. It’s a very middle of the road take on the character.
4. Ryan Reynolds’ Young Deadpool
We’re counting Ryan Reynolds’s young Deadpool from X-Men Origins: Wolverine as its own incarnation of the character because it’s so far removed from the version he played in the Deadpool movies.
Unsurprisingly, there is more of Reynolds’ normal persona in this take on the character. It’s not bad at all, it’s just not the full Deadpool.
3. John Kassir’s Deadpool
To many fans, John Kassir is best known as the voice of the Cryptkeeper in Tales from the Crypt. But he’s also performed as Deadpool in a handful of games including X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. He’s got the right manic energy for the role, if not quite the perfect voice for it.
2. Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool
Make no mistake, Deadpool’s popularity wouldn’t be as great as it is today without Ryan Reynolds. He lobbied to get the movie made for years, and audiences have embraced his take on the character. It helps that the live-action Deadpool’s humor is pretty close to Reynolds’. The actor has also embraced portraying Deadpool as hideously ugly under the mask, which other performers may have shied away from.
This may be Reynolds’ best comedic performance, and he would have easily landed in out top slot if not for one other actor.
1. Nolan North’s Deadpool
This may be the controversial pick on this list, because almost everyone likely expected Ryan Reynolds to take the No. 1 slot. However, voice actor Nolan North is our choice because he embodies the comic book incarnation better than any other performer. North has portrayed Deadpool numerous times, including the Deadpool video game, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, and in the animated film Hulk Vs Wolverine.
The common denominator among all of North’s Deadpool’s performances is that he’s always funny, and he nails the voice of the character. It’s the perfect mixture of madcap insanity and over-the-top humor. Just as the late Kevin Conroy was the voice of Batman for a generation, North has the same status when it comes to Deadpool.
