What Was The Controversy Regarding Jesus And Deadpool?

The promotional campaign for “Once Upon a Deadpool” (the special PG-13 cut of “Deadpool 2”) featured a heavenly movie poster. This poster depicts an iconic religious painting, except in place of Jesus, Deadpool is wearing angelic robes. Understandably, some Christian viewers were offended by the implicit comparison.

That deeply religious viewers would find the jokes in “Deadpool” offensive is hardly breaking news, and this is far from the only time Deadpool has poked fun at religion. (Let’s not forget that he announces he’s “Marvel Jesus” in the trailer for “Deadpool and Wolverine.”) However, this particular controversy is worth mentioning because the poster’s detractors accused it of targeting one Christian denomination in particular.

The Second Coming of Jesus

A petition on Change.org challenged the poster, insisting that it mocked The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka LDS). The poster parodies “The Second Coming of Jesus” by Harry Anderson, an artist who produced dozens of commissioned works for the LDS Church that are now displayed in Mormon churches.

The petition alleged that “Once Upon a Deadpool” was taking a shot at Mormons and that the poster was guilty of religious discrimination. However, one attorney wrote in the law publication ABA Journal that while the poster may not be very sensitive toward Mormons, it’s not technically discrimination, as most U.S. courts probably wouldn’t find the poster unconstitutional.