Disclaimer: This post contains spoilers for Deadpool 2.

I’ll admit that when I first saw the trailers for Deadpool 2, I had a concern. In the first Deadpool, Morena Baccarin’s Vanessa was a great character, but at the end of the day, she was little more than a motivation for Wade Wilson to start his life as the Merc with a Mouth. Given her character’s history of actually being a superhero in her own right, I’d hoped they’d allow her to go down that path.

However, the trailers showed very little of her, and by the time the second trailer hit, it seemed clear to me that she would likely be killed off to help push the plot forward in the film. Interestingly enough, this is kind of what happens. This is known as “fridging” a character, and it originates from a Green Lantern story where Kyle Rayner comes home to his apartment to see his girlfriend killed and stuffed in a fridge. The anger in the character is then used to help give him motivation for the story.

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This is a trope utilized endlessly in storytelling, and sadly, Deadpool 2 falls victim to it somewhat in the eyes of fans. Speaking with ComicBook.com, director David Leitch addresses this controversy, saying:

“I understand where they’re coming from. As a filmmaker, I believe I have a record of strong female characters and proactive female characters. But with Deadpool it’s different. It’s Deadpool’s movie, and you need to take everything away from him to humanize him. He can be grating and he can be sort of offensive and he can be all these things, but you need an emotional hook that grounds the movie that we can go on this journey with this character and experience Deadpool.”

While she does technically get “fridged” I would argue that the film does a good job with it. Unlike many movies, her death isn’t a motivation for him to get revenge, but a catalyst of him hitting rock bottom, trying to do right by Vanessa, and ultimately dying to meet up with her. It leads to genuine growth, not just a means to “avenge” her. Secondly, even when dead, she does have a bit of a role in the film, which Leitch points out:

“And quite frankly, she doesn’t leave the movie. She is a huge point of contact for him and learning his lesson in the world and learning that one of act of kindness can change history. And I think without her being the vehicle that he learns that from, I don’t know, it wouldn’t have been the same film and so we wouldn’t have had that emotional context. Even the scene at the end where they visit each other in the afterlife, hugely emotional, great performances by both of them. So, again, I don’t think she left the movie.”

What do you think? Was Vanessa “fridged” in the movie? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: ComicBook.com