Anti-Hero, Trickster? Both, Neither? 2019

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Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Tomáš Lukáč

Deadpool – Anti-Hero, Trickster? Both, Neither? Master’s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.

2019

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

…………………………………………….. Tomáš Lukáč

I would like to thank everyone who helped to bring this thesis to life, mainly to my supervisor, Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. for his patience, as well as to my parents, whose patience exceeded all reasonable expectations.

Table of Contents

Introduction ...…………………………………………………………………………...6

Tricksters across Cultures and How to Find Them ...... 8

Loki and His Role in Norse Mythology ...... 21

Character of Deadpool ...... 34

Comic Book History ...... 34

History of the Character ...... 35

Comic Book Deadpool ...... 36

Films ...... 43

Deadpool (2016) ...... 43

Film Analysis ...... 43

Deadpool 2 (2018) ...... 46

Film Analysis ...... 48

Conclusion ...... 51

Works Cited ...... 53

Primary Sources ...... 53

Secondary Sources ...... 54

Resumé ...... 58

Resumé ...... 60

Introduction

This master thesis deals with number of topics and wide-spreading notions. It tries to recognize, what it means for a character to be a trickster. This effort is extremely difficult –defining a trickster, a mythological character who is also called a boundary figure and/or crosser, a figure who is well known for their never-ending crossings of the boundaries, be it physical ones or the ones created by cultures and societies to constrain the people within.

Discussions dealing with the topic of tricksters, their definition and recognition are numerous. This thesis is based on couple of sources dealing with the topic. It derives, although indirectly, from Paul Radin’s book The Trickster: A Study in American Indian

Mythology (1956) and Carl Jung’s essay “On the Psychology of the Trickster” in the same book. These two pieces, each on their own are the cornerstones of any research into the problematics of the trickster issue. Despite the fact that nowadays most of the authors distance themselves from these works in some aspects1, their influence on the following research is of an enormous importance, as most of the further research was based on their works. In addition to Jung’s and Radin’s works, this thesis draws mostly from the book of collection of essays by various authors, including its editors, William G. Doty and

William J. Hynes, Mythical Trickster Figures. Contours, Contexts, and Criticisms (1997).

Based on the idea that trickster figures display similar features and characteristics across the cultures allows them, as well as the authors contributing in the collection to look at the issue at micro and macro level – unique, local features of tricksters discussed in contrast with their role across cultures.

1 The main issue is probably the scheme of cultural evolution, thus resulting in the idea that some societies and cultures are at a “childhood” stage of their development. 6

The second part of this thesis deals with the Norse mythology and its notorious trickster figure, Loki. By adding this part to the thesis, the reader is provided the opportunity to compare the possible trickster figure – Deadpool, with the confirmed one

– Loki.

The third part of the thesis deals with the comic book character of Deadpool.

Deadpool as a character underwent several major changes that completely changed the core features of the character. In addition to that, the character got to be adapted for the big screen – the first notable adaptation is a 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is generally considered as one of the worst character intros in the comic book films, which was followed by the 2016 film Deadpool (directed by Tim Miller and starred Ryan

Reynolds, Morena Baccarin and Ed Skrein) and its 2018 sequel Deadpool 2 (directed by

David Leitch and starred Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin and Morena Baccarin) which will be analyzed in this thesis alongside the selected issues of comic books.

Based on the theoretical outline, this thesis will try to determine, whether the character of Deadpool, Merc with a Mouth, plays the role of a trickster character in the

X-men Universe (or in the larger scale of the Marvel Universe), or he is just an antihero displaying some features of a trickster which are common to both character types.

Tricksters across Cultures and How to Find Them

Across stories, legends and myths of numerous cultures and societies all around the world, from prairies and mountain ranges of North America to jungles and pampas of

South America, from the cold Scandinavia to the hot Mediterranean, across all of Africa and Asia, one can find a character type, the whole set of one way or another similar figures. These figures bear similar set of features, characteristics and/or even functions.

These figures are nowadays usually called tricksters.

Trickster as a character type is incredibly difficult to describe. One of the factors contributing to such state is the fact that figures displaying trickster features (discussed later) can be found in the history of number of cultures across the world. Being such a world-spread phenomenon, trickster contains various aspects in various stories, many times very different. Differences do not end only in between different characters described as tricksters or different trickster figures across the globe. A single specific trickster can be sometimes found displaying two completely opposing features in stories of a single culture. According to Alan Velie, “the tribal trickster is not a single figure; tricksters differ greatly from tribe to tribe and even from tale to tale in the repertoire of the same tribe.” (122) This makes it that much more difficult to uncover the real face of a trickster, if it is even possible.

While researching the topic of tricksters, from the very beginning arises the issue of how to study tricksters. There is a possibility to look at the topic of trickster figures at a micro level, to dive deep into the issue of trickster’s regional tribal appearances, his local contexts and meanings. On the other hand, when looking into the trickster issue at a macro level of the character, the trickster arises as a phenomenon which can be viewed in a much broader sense and at a much larger scale – as a cultural expression. (Hynes and

Doty 3)

Trickster-like figures existed probably from the very beginnings of humankind, when the hierarchy of human life was predominantly dominated by the almighty gods and their creations. Although they often interact with humans and have relationships and families with them, based on the display of their powers, they are higher than mere man, but lower than all-powerful gods, despite them sometimes possessing god-like powers.

In the attempt to put some label on the character of trickster, there were several significant authors outlining the basic principles of the trickster figure. One of these principles, by William J. Hynes, represented in the book Mythical Trickster Figure.

Contours, Contexts, and Criticisms, defines six main features of trickster figures: “the fundamentally ambiguous and anomalous personality of the trickster; a deceiver; a shapeshifter; a situation invertor; a messenger/imitator of the gods; and a sacred lewd bricoleur.” (“Mapping”, 34) It is important to note, that despite the fact that Hynes and

Doty highlighted these six features, tricksters, although they usually do, do not necessarily display all of them, and can, in fact, display other features common to many of them. Similarly, Klaus-Peter Koepping states the following: “Not all substantive traits, such as thieving or rebelliousness, are carried through all cultural traditions or diverse genres through time, and therefore not all jesters, fools, or picaros are tricksters, while the trickster might contain properties common to all.” (qtd. in Doty and Hynes, 23) Similarly,

Helen Lock correspondingly states the following: “It is a lot more difficult to find any critical consensus about their (tricksters’) essential nature: who or what they are, or can be.” (“Transformations of the Trickster”)

As it has been already mentioned, tricksters differ a great deal. Some of them display characteristics and features common to the most of them, some of them differ such a great deal that it is very difficult to even categorize them. Furthermore, tricksters can vary greatly from story to story, even within the same groups telling the story.

However, there are some features that can be generally described as common to the tricksters of most of the trickster stories told.

First of all, it is important to note and highlight the reason behind labeling tricksters as “he”. Most of the tricksters around the world are male. Despite some tricksters’ ability to shapeshift and thus take on a female form and/or rare occurrences of female trickster figures, generally, tricksters are male. Lewis Hyde states: “all the standard tricksters are male.” (335) Helen Lock makes the point that “tricksters are culturally specific.”

(“Transformations of the Trickster”) In case of patriarchal societies which are, most of the times, the points of origin of trickster tales, the features and qualities attributed to tricksters are usually associated with men. Lock identifies these features and qualities as advantages, which “are in themselves gender-neutral, but are gendered by cultural association. Trickster is not gendered—only cultural perceptions of the freedom and mobility necessary to be trickster.” (“Transformations of the Trickster”)

Besides being mostly male figures, tricksters, despite showing human qualities, are often associated with animal figures. For North America, Carroll lists the following: coyotes, ravens, hares, spiders, and foxes – characterized by solitary habits.” (“The

Trickster as Selfish-Buffoon and Culture Hero”, 123) Carroll further develops the notion stating: “This association is typically established either by virtue of the name given to the trickster or by attributing to the trickster certain animal traits.” (110) However, there are tricksters that are not attributed any animal traits, nor are they associated with any animals. Despite that, they have the aspect of solitariness in common – Carroll mentions two: “neither Eshu2 nor Legba3 seem to be associated with any sort of animal, solitary or not.” (123) This aspect of solitariness represents the unique situation trickster finds himself in – being a border character and being unable to connect to either group of beings

2 Eshu is the trickster figure of the African culture of the Yoruba. 3 Legba is the trickster figure from Benin, Nigeria and Togo. 10

(neither gods, nor humans) is only further underlined by the animals chosen to represent him. Laura Makarius develops the idea: “The antisocial character of the violation of taboo shows how the trickster […] is also represented as an antisocial being destined to be banned by society.” (670) She suggests that in addition to the trickster’s individuality, it is also his actions that push him even further from the humanity.

In addition to the solitariness, the association with animals is connected to one more trickster feature – shapeshifting. Erdoes and Ortiz comment that the North American trickster “is usually the personification of an animal—though he’s known to assume human shape if it suits his purposes.” (xiii) Vizenor remarks that “the trickster takes various human and animal forms,” (Native American Literature, 175) Similarly, Jung notes the trickster’s “fondness for sly jokes and malicious pranks, his powers as a shapeshifter, his dual nature, half animal, half divine.” (qtd. in Wessels, “The Universal and the Local”, 14) Hynes specifies the types of shapeshifting adding the extent to which he is able to change:

As shapeshifter, the trickster can alter his shape or bodily appearance in order to facilitate deception. Not even the boundaries of species or sexuality are safe, for they can be readily dissolved by the trickster’s disguises and transmorphisms. Relatively minor shapeshifting through disguise may involve nothing more than changing clothes with another. (“Mapping”, 36)

Basically, depending on the given trickster, there is no limit to where does his ability to adapt, adjust and fit in in terms of appearance. The ability to shapeshift is crucial for all the tricks and deceits he tends to perform.

Like his name suggest, tricksters are the ones always playing tricks and deceiving.

However, its meaning has partially shifted since then. Michael Wessels suggests, that a trickster “[has become] a common term that occurs in range of literary, scholarly and

11 popular contexts to refer to a wide variety of cultural and religious figures.” (12)

However, its original meaning still stands. Cheating, deceiving and playing tricks is only natural to tricksters. Robert Pelton describes tricksters as “foolers and fools, but their foolishness varies; sometimes it is destructive, sometimes creative, sometimes scatological, sometimes satiric, sometimes playful.” (qtd. in Vizenor, The Trickster of

Liberty, viii) Paul Radin adds to this notion of trickster’s destructive foolishness and describes him as the one, “who is not guided by normal conceptions of good or evil, who is either playing tricks on people or having them played on him.” (155) Always playing tricks on others bring the risk of undesired ending – a trick gone wrong or the retaliation for a successfully played trick – either in the form of tricks being played back on him, or straight up revenge. Laura Makarius notes: “He must therefore be depicted as falling afoul of the traps he lays out for others—as victim of his own ruses.” (669)

Two of the roles, tricksters tend to play in myths across the world (described more in detail in the following subchapter) associated with deceit are a “clever hero” and a

“selfish buffoon”. Carroll, in his article “The Trickster as Selfish-Buffoon and Culture

Hero”, suggests that for the Amerindian trickster, “it is his ‘culture hero’ status that really sets him apart from the clever heroes4 of the world (who are generally not culture heroes).” (106) The selfish buffoon denotes the fact, that many tricks, deceits and plays often backfire and have a completely opposite result than the one intended originally. The trickster is then left either hungry or without the potential prize he desired. In addition to that, Carroll suggests, that “the Amerindian tricksters [are] so unique, namely, [because] they are generally culture heroes as well as buffoons.” (113)

The “selfish” part of the collocation “selfish buffoon” refers to the appetites, a trickster needs to gratify – be it food and/or sex. Laura Makarius comments on the topic

4 Clever hero - according to Carrol is “a character who consistently outwits stronger opponents.” (“The Trickster as Selfish-Buffoon and Culture Hero”, 106) 12 the following: “Licentiousness and absence of restraint being the lot of him that knows no law nor bounds, the violator of taboo is accredited with unlimited sexuality, pronounced phallic characteristics, gluttony and insatiable hunger.” (669) Erdoes and

Ortiz describe trickster and his appetites as

always hungry for another meal swiped from someone else’s kitchen, always

ready to lure someone else’s wife into bed, always trying to get something for

nothing, shifting shapes (and even sex) getting caught in the act, ever

scheming, never remorseful. (xiii)

Their description indicates, besides never-ending hunger and lust, also complete carelessness, no remorse, as well as no desire to take care of the future. Carroll adds:

[T]he trickster seeks the immediate gratification of all those sexual desires

(where ‘sexual’ refers to any activity, including sexual intercourse, excretion,

and eating, that produces a diffuse sense of physical pleasure). (“The

Trickster as Selfish-Buffoon and Culture Hero”, 113)

This need of immediate gratification of any desires is very baby- or animal-like. Freud argues, “that all children are initially characterized by a tendency toward the immediate gratification of their sexual impulses.” (qtd. in Carroll, “Lévi-Strauss, Freud, and the

Trickster”, 306) The need for immediate gratification without taking the possible consequences into an account also leads the trickster to a great sexual prowes and a great number of sexual partners – from Ananse5 marrying a whole village of women (Carroll,

“The Trickster as Selfish-Buffoon and Culture Hero”, 119), through Legba engaging in necrophilia on multiple occasions as well as engaging in a sexual intercourse with his mother-in-law (120-21).

5 Ananse is the Akan trickster figure who is a part of West African, African American and Caribbean folklore. 13

Tricksters are, in many aspects, figures of polar opposites. According to Ellen B.

Basso, there is on one hand

[…] a trickster’s creative insight and inventiveness in the service of human

beings; on the other, these traits were opposed by his compulsive and

thoughtlessly excessive behavior, his lust, gluttony, and especially his greed

for unsuitable objects and relationships. (292)

However, contradictions of tricksters arise not only in reference to his actions, but also in terms of the roles he plays. According to Radin:

[T]rickster is at one and the same time creator and destroyer, giver and

negator, he who dupes others and who is always duped himself… He

possesses no values, moral or social, is at the mercy of his passions and

appetites, yet through his actions all values come into being. (xxiii)

Trickster is what the society needs him to be and therefore he fulfills various roles, even though they can be contradictory. The same notion is explained by Mathias

Guenther: “[a trickster] is a creator of beings and things, as well of rules and categories, on one hand, while on the other, he transforms, distorts and inverts what he has created or decreed.” (qtd. in Wessels, “The Universal and the Local”; 11) Moving from the role of culture hero (being a creator) to the role of destroyer is simply a part of trickster’s nature. Lewis Hyde complements this notion in his book Trickster Makes This World:

Mischief, Myth and Art: “Trickster is the mythic embodiment of ambiguity and ambivalence, doubleness and duplicity, contradiction and paradox.” (7) Although the name trickster may have come from tricking others, this trickery of what or who the trickster really is and what is his function may be the real basis of what does the term trickster stand for.

Playing a key role in a number of cultures and societies and appearing in an even bigger number of stories creates one of the key aspects of the trickster figure – the ambiguity of his role. Outside of the ambiguity of his features and the variety of representations across many stories, the number of roles trickster takes upon himself, plays until his role is fulfilled and then seemingly continuously moves to another is high

– from being a mediator and a savior, through being a culture hero, to fulfilling the role of a creator and a founding figure, a trickster naturally crosses all of them without being untrue to his nature. Doty and Hynes identify various incarnations (character types) of the trickster figure:

Animal-Person (particularly Blue Jay, Coyote, Crow, Fox, Hare, Mink,

Rabbit, Raven, Spider, Tortoise), Anti-Hero, Boundary Figure, Bungling

Host, Clever Hero, Clown, Culture Hero, Confidence Person, Demiurge, Lord

of the Animals, Numskull, Old Man, Picaro, Selfish Buffoon, Selfish

Deceiver, Swindler, Transformer. (“Historical Overview”, 24)

Each of these serves a different function in their narratives, sometimes completely different, sometimes partly overlapping.

In many cultures, tricksters are in this world from the very first moments – they are creators of the world: “Iktomi [the Spider] is a supernatural character with broad powers,

Rabbit Boy stars in important creation myths, as the creator.” (Erdoes & Ortiz, XIV) They further develop the notion of Iktomi and his role in creation myths on the following page:

“Sometimes a wise god, sometimes a fool, Iktomi, according to Lakota tradition, is responsible for the creation of time and space. He invented language and gave the animals their names. As a prophet he foretold the coming of the white man.” (XV) In comparison to Iktomi, Gerald Vizenor, in the collection of his essays Survivance. Narratives of Native

Presence, talks about Nanabozho, a trickster from Ojibwe storytelling, as an example of

15 a trickster, the founding figure: “Nanabozho is an elusive, ironic creator, and, at the same time the trickster is a contradiction of creation.” (229) While Iktomi and Nanabozho belong to the Native American tradition, another spider trickster, Ananse, is according to

Susan Feldmann “the actual creator of the world and man.” (qtd. in Vecsey 112) Michael

P. Carroll states the following about the trickster stories and the role tricksters play in them: “[…] a transformer who makes the world habitable for humans by ridding it of monsters or who provides those things (such as fire or various ways of capturing animals) that make human society possible.” (305) Besides the creation of the Earth and/or the world we know (or rather the original storytellers passing the trickster stories down, generation by generation), Carroll in his article also suggests that the trickster figure could serve the role of the original creator of the societies and cultures that were telling the trickster stories, thus fulfilling the role of a culture hero. Similarly, Doty & Hynes describe the same notion: “[…] a recurrent theme in trickster tales is that, even after taking into account all the bumbling and anarchic social behavior, the trickster contributes substantially to the birth and evolution of culture.” (22-23)

Another role often attributed to trickster figures is that of being a mediator and a messenger of gods. The role of being a mediator and a messenger of gods is closely connected to one of his key characteristics mentioned above – being a border character – from having no borders restricting his actions and inhibitions to having them, but with the ability to cross them, shift them, change them and even manipulate with them at his will. The role of messenger of gods is related closely to his undecisive status as of a being.

Being a border character brings various challenges to settling down on what being a trickster is, nor does it help his recurring ability to shapeshift. According to Carl Gustav

Jung, “he is both subhuman and superhuman, a bestial and divine being, whose chief and most alarming characteristic is his unconsciousness […].” (qtd. in Vizenor, The Trickster

16 of Liberty, XVII) Not being a simple human, nor being a god puts tricksters in a special position in between the two completely different types of beings, making them an ideal middle-man. The African culture of the Yoruba believes in a high god called Olorun. For the Yoruba, to understand and accept the will of gods means to use a system of divination

(called Ifa). Melville J. Herskovits commented on the process the following: “Eshu [the

Yoruba trickster] is the agent responsible for bringing Ifa to human beings.” (qtd. in

Carroll, “The Trickster as a Selfish-Buffoon and Culture Hero, 122) Therefore, it is through this agent that people are able to make a contact with the higher powers. Carroll then summarizes: “[…] the association of Eshu with ‘culture’ and ‘civilization’ is insured by the strong association between Eshu and the one thing Ifa, that is seen as the necessary precondition for the smooth functioning of human society.” (123) Without the trickster figure, in this case Eshu, the Yoruba people would be unable to follow the divine wishes condemning themselves into the Olorun’s disfavor.6 However, there are cases, when tricksters possess the powers equal to the ones of gods. As an example, Helen Lock mentions Loki from the Norse sagas, son of a giant, nevertheless much loved by his surrogate father, Odinn; Hermes of ancient Greek mythology, who is able to win Zeus’ admiration; and Wakdjunkaga of the North American Winnebagos. She states: “gods who act as tricksters are not central to the pantheon – they are not among the High Gods, but tend to haunt the periphery.” (“Transformations of the Trickster”) Based on these examples, tricksters will never fit anywhere. They differ from humans a great deal and despite them being able to have relationships with humans, they cannot fully belong among them. On the other hand, their status is lesser than that of gods, thus they will never completely fit among them either.

6 The same applies for another African culture, the Fon. In the Fon culture, the high god is called Mawu, the divination system is called Fa, and the messenger between the people and gods is called Legba. (Carroll, 1984, 118) 17

Another common characteristic of tricksters around the world is their constant breaking of all the rules and taboos standing in their way to achieve whichever goal they set up for themselves or just for the sake of breaking them. This feature is displayed most prominently in the impact they have on social conventions, standards, social ladder, as well as a society and/or a culture they currently influence, whether they live in or they are just figures passing by. By constantly challenging these rules societies are based on, the trickster reaffirms the order of such societies. According to Brian V. Street, “[the trickster tales] can be seen as moral examples re-affirming the rules of society; or rather they serve as a model for these rules, demonstrating what happens if the prescriptions laid down by society are not observed” (qtd. in Hynes and Doty 6-7), and that there is “the possibility that such figures may voice anti-social feelings, insofar as the trickster often represents the obverse of restrictive order.” (qtd. in Hynes and Doty 7) This notion is further developed by Hamilton A. Tyler who reminds the reader that “tricksters or cultural clown- figures are not, as they would be considered in our [western] culture, individually motivated deviants, but socially sanctioned images or performers.” (qtd. in Hynes and

Doty 7) Similarly, Ananse, the spider trickster, plays a major role in the Akan culture, by voicing the doubts and insecurities about the system, the Akan people live in: “Ananse raises doubts about the very foundation of Akan life, particularly Nyame7 and the Akan people themselves.” (Vecsey 121) This endangering of the very foundations of the society and the subsequent reaffirming of them, the Anansesem8 “serve to resolve the doubts raised by Ananse. In effect, the Akan eschew “blind faith” in their ultimate realities.

Instead, they incorporate doubt into faith, making that faith stronger and more profound.”

(Vecsey 121) By doubting the world, the Akan people live in through the Ananse’s acts of rebellion and breaking of taboos, followed by the successful reaffirmation of their

7 Nyame is an active deity of the Akan culture, often opposed by the figure of Ananse, the Spider. 8 Anansesem – the trickster tales and other folktales of the Akan culture, the Ananse tales. (Vecsey, 108) 18 beliefs, they are creating a stronger bond to their culture while providing explanations to the questions they have about the social order they are a part of. To put it another way, in breaking the rules, the trickster confirms those rules. To complement this idea of trickster’s role in the archaic society, Karl Kerényi states: “the trickster serves to add disorder to order and so make a whole, to render possible, within the fixed bounds of what is permitted, an experience of what is not permitted.” (185) This way, people living the stories, storytellers and listeners to the story can observe the consequences of the actions against the order to which the trickster stories often lead. Similarly, Hynes remarks:

“Every time the trickster breaks a taboo or boundary, the same taboo or boundary is underlined for non-tricksters.” (“Metaplayers and Revealers”, 208) When describing the

North American Algokin trickster Nanabozho, Laura Makarius confirms this notion, but also adds another layer to it by putting the trickster in the sacrificial role and states: “The trickster is real, idealized or imaginary culprit, author of transgressions for the good of all. He assumes full responsibility for his actions by taking on himself the common guilt.”

(668) Therefore, the trickster is not only the one who breaks conventions and taboos and people are just watching him making fool of himself, he is doing it instead of people, for them to not learn the hard way.

In addition to this tension-releasing function inside of cultures and societies, the tricksters in trickster tales are the main force behind any progress. Challenging the authorities by breaking the established customs and habits offers the opportunity for development:

To question everything in society would lead to anarchy; to preserve

everything would lead to stagnation; the conflict is presented, and the balance

achieved, in the trickster tales which so many societies possess. And in all of

them a universal feature of the trickster is his role as both revolutionary and

savior. (Brian V. Street qtd. in Doty and Hynes 19)

Despite the fact that most of the times tricksters act because of their own selfish reasons, not in the benefit of others, their actions have impact on whole groups, often involved only indirectly. British anthropologist, Mary Douglas, further develops this idea, she states “the trickster phenomenon […] [is] having a social function of dispelling the belief that any given social order is absolute and objective.” (qtd. in Doty and Hynes 21)

Being able to observe breaching the rules (or in this case listen and imagine the breach) expands the possibilities one’s mind is able to comprehend and allows the possible growth of rights and/or further development of society through the acts of individuals inspired by the trickster tales. This idea is further developed in the Helen Lock’s article

“Transformations of the Trickster”:

Through his negotiation with and disruption of rules and boundaries, the

trickster by implication enlarges the sphere of human possibility, or at least

the sphere that his human listeners can through identification with the

trickster imagine to be possible for themselves.

This makes tricksters, alongside the pantheon of gods ruling over the realm of men, one of the key aspects of mythologies these cultures and societies are built upon.

Loki and His Role in Norse Mythology

Norse mythology is a broad term which can contain a large frame of beliefs – in terms of time and also space. However, the most common and simplest way to describe it is a body of Scandinavian pagan myths developed up until Christian conversion at the turn of the first millennium. Nevertheless, even after the Christian conversion, the Norse mythology still strongly influenced the local tales and myths, setting old tales of Norse gods in the Christian stories. As an example the story of how Loki contributed to the construction of the wall surrounding Asgard, the residence of Norse gods, is retold with some amendments (toning down the mythological elements of the original story) in the story A Giant Builds a Church recorded by John Lindow in his book Swedish Legends and Folktales (86-8).

However, most of the materials which are the subject to the study of the

Scandinavian mythology are tales and myths recorded only after the conversion happened. One of the most important and recognized people who were involved in what one would eventually call the early Scandinavian studies, was Snorri Sturluson, who “[is associated with] the earliest recording of eddic and skaldic9 poetry and the systemization of the [Scandinavian] mythology.” (Lindow, Norse Mythology, 18) The work, in which resulted all of his efforts, is Edda, which consists of three sections: Gylfaginning,

Skaldskaparmal, Hattatal and Snorri’s own prologue.

The second very important manuscript, discovered in the seventeenth century by the bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson, is now called Codex Regius of Poetic Edda. However, originally, he called it “‘The Edda of Sæmund’ but also ‘Elder Edda,’ since Sæmund10

9 The eddic poems “are short stanzaic poems” (Lindow, Norse Mythology, 14) of various origins. On the other hand, skaldic poems (skald is a word for poet) are more complex than the eddic poems, where “the high degree of formality and complexity make some skaldic verse difficult.” (Lindow, Norse Mythology, 15) 10 Sæmund Sigfusson the Learned who had been believed to compose this other Edda. 21 had lived a century before Snorri.” (Lindow, Norse Mythology, 12) This manuscript consisting of 31 poems of mythological and heroic themes summarizes the complete

Scandinavian mythology, from its beginning to its end and after the end, the rebirth.

The basic storyline across all of the stories and tales of which the Norse mythology, as is currently known, consists explains, not unlike mythologies across the world, the beginning of the world, events that lead to it, as well as to the creation of human beings.

Aron Gurevich describes the whole Norse cosmos as “an aggregate of farmsteads inhabited by people, gods, giants, and dwarfs.” (qtd. in Wanner, “God on the Margins”,

327) However, the myths also describe the basic dichotomy of the world, according to the Scandinavian beliefs:

The story goes on, however, to the destruction and rebirth of the cosmos, and

everything in it is presented in light of an enduring struggle between two

groups of beings, the gods on the one hand and giants on the other hand.

(Lindow, Norse Mythology, 18)

These two opposing groups are, according to Lindow (Norse Mythology, 1-2) similar to two opposing kin groups or tribes, where gods are called æsir and giants are called jotnar11. Despite their differences and constant fight, there were relationships between the members of the two groups as well as offsprings born of these relationships.

The most prominent members of the Scandinavian pantheon are the gods Odinn,

Thor and Frey. Odinn, as the head of the whole pantheon, is the god of poetry and of the dead. He is the wisest of all and throughout all his life, he seeks out wisdom. After killing

Ymir, the first giant, he creates cosmos out of his body. Despite being the head god, he is mortal (his son, Baldr is “the first god to die” (Lindow, Norse Mythology, 247)). During

11 According to Snorri Sturluson (Lindow, Norse Mythology, 2), æsir means “People of Asia”. The “giants” is more a metaphorical name, rather than the name objectively signifying the size of the given person/being. This further supports the theory of the two opposing kin groups. 22 the events of Ragnarok12, he is destroyed by the Loki’s wolf offspring, Fenrir, not to be ever seen after the rebirth of the world after the Ragnarok.

Thor, one of the Odinn’s sons, is well-known for his strength. Though he is often times mislead and deceived by others when contested in oral form, Thor is supposed to be the strongest of the Scandinavian gods. He is also known as a giantslayer – “virtually all of Thor’s myths have to do with giantslaying.” (Lindow, Norse Mythology, 287)

Additionally, Thor is among the few people to be able to induce respect in Loki – as displayed in Lokasenna, one of the eddic stories where the whole story is told as a set of dialogues (gods accusing Loki of indecency and various crimes and his sly remarks – that’s why its name, Lokasenna, is usually translated as “Loki’s Flyting”) between the gods at the Ægir’s party and Loki who was thrown out and is not welcome there:

Thor spake:

63. “Unmanly one, cease, | or the mighty hammer,

Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth;

The slayer of Hrungnir | shall send thee to hell,

And down to the gate of death.”

Loki spake:

64. “I have said to the gods | and the sons of the god,

12 Lindow describes the events of Ragnarok as “demise of the gods and of the cosmos at the end of the mythological present.” (Norse Mythology, 254) 23

The things that whetted my thoughts;

But before thee alone | do I now go forth,

For thou fightest well, I ween.” (Sturluson and Young 173)

Loki knows, that Thor, unlike his brethren, is not as calm and patient as them and to avoid any physical harm, he goes out of harm’s way.

Freya, who is often described as “good-looking and powerful” (Lindow, Norse

Mythology, 126) is a common object of giants’ lust. She is also connected to romance, love, desire and eroticism. However, the connection to love affairs adds up to the notions of her giving herself to the various men. In Lokasenna, Loki accuses her of blatant adultery:

Loki spake:

30. “Be silent, Freyja! | for fully I know thee,

Sinless thou art not thyself;

Of the gods and elves | who are gathered here,

Each one as thy lover has lain.”

[…]

Loki spake:

32. “Be silent, Freyja! | thou foulest witch,

And steeped full sore in sin;

In the arms of thy brother | the bright gods caught thee

When Freyja her wind set free.” (Sturluson and Young 161-2)

Loki makes Freya’s adultery even worse by claiming that it not only happened with every male god attending the Ægir’s party, but also with her own brother, thus accusing her of incest on top of the adultery.

Loki, the trickster character, is not a true god of the Scandinavian myths. Although numerous gods are partly of giants’ origin, it is always their mother figure. However, because of the fact that it is the father’s side which counts as the main indicator of family affiliation, Loki is technically a giant, despite the fact that the gods count him as a god:

“[…] given the principle of reckoning kinship along paternal line only, Loki is no god but a giant, since he has a giant father, Farbauti”. (Lindow, Norse Mythology, 216) He is stated as the father of the sons Nari and Narfi with his wife Sigyn. Additionally, with the ogress Angrboda, he has the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent and Hel. Most of the times,

Loki is neutral, sometimes even helping the gods in solving specific problems requiring his abilities and often times he accompanies various gods on their travels (i.e. Odinn,

Thor). Nevertheless, it is Loki, who takes a major part in the first death of the god ever, and whose offspring, the wolf Fenrir, kills the head god, Odinn.

Loki, like many tricksters, is a figure of many conflicts – as it has been stated above, one time, he helps other gods, the other time he is their foe. Georges Dumézil describes

Loki by the following:

If Loki works within divine society, then he brings an element of fantasy,

fertility, and life; danger is not completely absent, but Loki is not essentially

harmful. If Loki operates alone, outside of divine society, however, then he

endangers everything. (qtd. in Frakes, “Loki’s Mythological Function”, 476)

Dumézil here describes the basic modus operandi of Loki – generally not dangerous, maybe even helpful, when under supervision, however without the authority to keep an eye on him, he might break loose and cause troubles.

As an example of Loki’s usefulness, one can look at the already mentioned tale of a builder building a wall around Asgard, in exchange for the goddess Freya, the sun and the moon. Gods have unrealistic deadline of the completion of the building; therefore, they are not afraid, that they would have to pay the price. Influenced by Loki, the gods agree that the builder uses his horse, Svadilfari, unbeknownst to the fact, that it is a magical horse which rapidly speeds the amount of work, the builder is able to do. Three days before completion of the wall, gods are nervous, so they ask Loki to act. He changes into a beautiful mare and seduces Svadilfari. The builder starts to rage, exposing himself to be a giant, only to be killed by Thor. (Sturlusson and Young 36) Although Loki is partly to blame for aiding the giant in gaining the help of his magical horse, he saves the day by shapeshifting into the mare, thus concluding the giant’s plans to get Freya as his wife.

On the other hand, Loki is the reason behind the first death of god, Baldr. Baldr, the son of Odinn, suffers from bad, prophetic dreams about his death. His mother, Frigg, therefore makes every object on Earth promise, not to harm Baldr, except for a mistletoe.

Gods now have a new hobby – throwing objects into Baldr knowing that nothing can hurt him. Loki is not pleased with the said state of invulnerability regarding Baldr. He disguises himself as a woman to find out the secret behind the Baldr’s invulnerability.

Afterwards, Loki creates a spear out of the mistletoe and gives it to Baldr’s blind brother,

Hod, to throw it. This kills Baldr, the fairest of all gods. (Lindow, Norse Mythology, 66)

This is the first event which creates the fallout between the gods and Loki.

Secondly, the Baldr’s death and subsequent Loki’s ignorance of the need to weep for Baldr to revive him lead directly to Ragnarok. The Baldr’s death is followed by deaths of other gods, most notably deaths of Odinn (by Loki’s son Fenrir), Thor (killed by the

Midgard serpent) and Heimdall (by Loki himself).

Loki is one of the oldest gods in the Norse mythology. In the Lokasenna, he reminds that to Odinn:

Loki spake:

9. “Remember, Othin, | in olden days

That we both our blood have mixed;

Then didst thou promise | no ale to pour,

Unless it were brought for us both.” (Sturluson and Young 155)

Loki, while being received very coldly to Ægir’s party, reminds Odinn of the old times13, after which he orders to free a seat for Loki. Because of the age and several key characteristics, Odinn tends to be compared to Loki. One of the main comparable characteristics is their intellect. While Odinn is the god of wisdom, Loki is known for his cunning intellect: “Odinn possesses [cunning] to an extreme degree, and yet he is matched in it, if not exceeded, by Loki.” (Wanner, “Cunning Intelligence in Norse Myth”, 228)

Folke Ström further develops this idea and states: “Odinn and Loki approach dramatic and functional identity in the preserved myths, especially insofar as cunning and duplicity.” (qtd. in Wanner, “Cunning Intelligence in Norse Myth” 230) The difference between the two and why Loki is viewed as at least ambiguous if not outright negative character is their hierarchical position. While Odinn is at the top of the pyramid and therefore all of his actions are automatically viewed slightly positive, Loki, as a boundary character, does not possess such liberty. When described, one often comes across the

13 “Odinn’s association with Loki dates from the world’s first days.” (Wanner, “Cunning Intelligence in Norse Myth”, 231) 27 following: “He is a thief, a trickster, a demon, a foulmouthed party-guest, and the ultimate nemesis of the gods,” (Frakes 485), “maker of mischiefs, the cunning ass, calumniator and tricker of the gods.” (Wanner, “Cunning Intelligence in Norse Myth”, 215) Wanner then adds to the discussion of different perspectives regarding Odinn and Loki:

[T]he crucial difference between them is rank, or the legitimate possession of

authority, which Odinn has and Loki lacks. Odinn’s rank, or power, clearly

does not insulate him from accusations or perfidy or selfishness; from the

perspective of those within as well as those outside the myths, he is often seen

as a deceiver and betrayer. (“Cunning Intelligence in Norse Myth”, 240)

This explains the moral ambiguity of the whole Norse pantheon – while Loki is condemned and ostracized, Odinn and other gods suffer no repercussions. Loki himself draws attention to this hypocritical state of the Norse gods during the Ægir’s party. Here is the Lindow’s enumeration in Norse Mythology:

Bragi, cowardice; Odinn, swore blood-brotherhood with Loki, often gave

victory to the weaker; Idun, slept with the killer of her brother; Gefjon, sold

herself for a bauble; Frigg, slept with Vili and Ve (and Loki takes

responsibility for Baldr’s death); Freyja, slept with her brother; Njord, abused

by Hymir’s daughters, sired Frey on his sister; Tyr, lost his hand to Fenrir,

cuckolded by Loki; Frey, abandoned his sword to obtain Gerd; Byggvir,

cowardice; Heimdall, dirty wet back; Skadi, Loki participated in killing her

father and has slept with her; Sif, cuckolded Thor with Loki; Beyla, filthy

dairymaid; Thor, cowered in some giant’s glove, probably Skrymir’s, and

could not open the bag of provisions strapped shut by Skrymir. (214-5)

This enumeration alongside the text of Lokasenna itself only further solidifies the fact, that the pantheon of the Norse gods puts on the mask of classiness and high society, while

28 they are as immoral as Loki, however it is Loki who is always accused of immorality and is despised for it.

Although most of the Scandinavian gods are able to change their look, Loki is well- known for his shapeshifting abilities. Besides the intelligence, Odinn and Loki are often compared to each other also due their ability to change their appearance. Wanner comments on their ability to change their appearance: “Loki as the greater master of metamorphosis and Odinn as the master of disguise.” (“Cunning Intelligence in Norse

Myth”, 218) While Loki’s transformation could by described as physical – it is a literal shapeshifting, Odinn mostly changes the clothing than the overall physical form. Among animal forms, Loki is known to use, are a mare, a bird, a fly, a flea and a seal. (Frankki

425) After the Baldr’s death, Loki tries to escape, so he changes to a salmon, and for some time his escape is successful, until Thor catches him by his tail. Preceding the escape, when the time of weeping came and the possibility to revive Baldr was still real, Loki prevented it by declining the Frigg’s request to weep for Baldr while shapeshifted into an old lady.

Another example of Loki’s shapeshifting ability is an already mentioned story of building the Asgard wall. To prevent the builder (the giant) from finishing building the

Asgard wall in time, Loki shapeshifts into a beautiful mare to seduce the giant’s magical horse, Svadilfari. His efforts end up in success – the giant is unable to finish the task in time without Svadilfari. However, Loki ends up bearing a foal from this encounter – “a grey, eight-legged beast that grew to be Odin’s horse, Sleipnir, the best among gods and men.” (Fontenrose 54)

Both of these examples show not only Loki’s ability to shapeshift, but also an ability to change his gender and even bear children (in this case a foal). This is a very unique event in a patriarchal society. Loki, in comparison to Thor, does not care about looking

29 feminine in eyes of the other gods. He does not possess a high status based on power and respect, therefore he has nothing to lose, even if looking “unmanly, effeminate, or even as a (passive) homosexual”. (Frankki 429)

Besides the shapeshifting and his ambiguity as a character, one of the Loki’s most prominent trickster features is being a boundary character. From not belonging to any group living in the world of the Norse myths (not a complete giant, nor a complete god), he is often cast aside - for example, he is completely ignored and even unwelcome to the

Ægir’s party14. Loki’s lack of conscience and/or disregarding consequences of his immoral actions allow Loki to cross the boundaries of social norms. While accusing other gods of adultery in Lokasenna, Loki himself admits committing the same crime.

Preceding the “Loki’s flyting” he kills Fimafeng; it is him who helps in allowing the help of Svadilfari to the giant; it is his envy which leads to the death of Baldr. These actions prove that it is Loki’s own actions, not the influence of other gods, that push Loki further from the “center” of the Asgardian life to its borders. The ability and willingness to cross the boundaries is another trait differentiating Loki from other gods. Wanner describes this

“relationship” by: “Loki […] having many talents but few scuples or inhibitions, Loki is more able and/or willing than they [æsir] to cross boundaries in order to gain benefits or right things gone wrong.” (“Cunning Intelligence in Norse Myth”, 228)

This feature of being a boundary figure15 allows Loki from time to time to function as a mediator of gods:

Residing on the margin separating the Æsir from other mythological beings,

Loki mediates between them (in both a positive and negative sense) but

14 However, this was not due to the prejudice or even hatred from the gods, but because Loki had killed Fimafeng, one of the two servants of Ægir previously. 15 Loki as a literal boundary figure – of giant’s origin, thus not belonging to gods, however to giants neither; Loki as a metaphorical boundary figure – able and willing to cross social boundaries and taboos. 30

belongs to neither: between the gods and dwarves (when he arranges, and

attempts to spoil, the gifts), and between the gods and giants. (Frakes 485)

Because he is not a part of any of these groups, he is not bound to any of them, thus allowing him to travel between the different worlds.

Finally, Loki being a border character without a stable, identifiable position within the Norse mythology leads to the efforts to identify the Loki’s place on the hierarchical ladder. Wannner’s summary of Loki’s unidentifiable position in the Norse mythology identifies the trickster role of the Loki’s character: “[Loki] is best thought of not as a god at all but as an ‘epical figure’—[...] a cipher whose purpose is to supply a connecting thread for story cycles, filling whatever roles are needed along the way.” (“Cunning

Intelligence in Norse Myth”, 224)

Although Loki, based on the evidence, never had a cult similar to the ones of Odinn, or Thor. Jan de Vries states: “[N]either sagas nor place-names give any hint of a cult of

Loki; [there is] the possibility that it may be due to the private character of his worship”.

(qtd. in Cawley, “The Figure of Loki”, 325) Nevertheless, his role in the Scandinavian mythology is of an utmost importance. While moral ambiguity of other Norse gods has already been discussed above, Loki tends to serve as a scapegoat for other æsir (the Norse gods). Due to his boundary position in the Scandinavian myths, and his willingness to cross the laws, customs and taboos he is often used as an intermediary to shady actions unworthy of the high and pure gods of the Norse pantheon when dealing with outside forces (people, giants, dwarfs, etc.). Margaret Clunies Ross describes the Norse gods who

“seek to preserve ‘their own hierarchical superiority’ through ‘stratagems like theft and duplicity rather than the open and public dealings one might expect between social groups.’” (qtd. in Wanner, “Cunning Intelligence in Norse Myth”, 229) Furthermore, as

31 one can observe in the story of a builder building the wall around Asgard, the gods turn themselves to Loki in times of a need to provide the solution to the crisis: “Loki does often provide a scapegoat for or a solution to problems generated in the gods’ dealings with others.” (Wanner, “Cunning Intelligence in Norse Myth”, 229) Wanner further develops the idea and suggests shift of the roles between Odinn and Loki: “Loki took center stage in those stories and performed those actions no longer deemed fitting for a figure now regarded as chief of the gods [Odinn].” (“Cunning Intelligence in Norse

Myth”, 229)

Besides his active role in the events of the Norse myths, Loki can be seen as a mirror to the other gods. Frakes describes Loki as:

a unified character whose function is that of anti-function, set over against the

functional gods and the mythological system as a whole. […] For it is only

by means of an anti-function that the functions, and by means of the margin

and that which is marginalized that the center, are ultimately delimited and

defined. Loki defines the functions in a number of ways—as their tester and

usurper, subverter and destroyer. (484-5)

As could be seen in Lokasenna, Loki points out the mistakes and errors of the main pantheon of gods. He does not fully belong to neither giants, nor gods. Thus, he is not tied with their customs and is able to offer a different point of view on the “standard” gods. This way, Loki defines the gods and unites the myths into a complete system. Frakes concludes his analysis similarly:

[Loki] is still similar enough to the other gods to mirror their functions in his

own contorted glass, returning recognizable but distorted images, providing

comment on and criticism of their misperformance of their functional toles

and serving a subversive, and ultimately destructive, anti-functional role in

the mythological system. (486)

Loki’s role in the Norse mythology lies not only in being a scapegoat to the immoral acts which the gods of the Norse pantheon do not want to do themselves. He is one of the many initiators of the main events which we know of. Therefore, aside from causing chaos and setting the mirror to the other Norse gods and their actions and thus defining the whole system, Loki’s main role inside the myth “is to make sure it all happens”.

(Wanner, “Cunning Intelligence in Norse Myth”, 246)

Character of Deadpool

Wade Wilson was born in Canada, but grew up to

become the least Canadian person ever. When it

comes to the Merc with a mouth, with great power

comes no responsibility.

Comic Book History

One of the biggest mistakes people make is looking at the character of Deadpool, as it exists now, and believing that he has always been that way. That was never the case.

Deadpool and his original appearance, alongside the probability manipulator, Domino, in

New Mutants issue no. 98 by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza (February 10, 1991) was a plot device. He was an assassin for hire who was contracted to find out what was going on in the given issue of the comics book. Due to his potential connection to the “Weapon

X” program and thus explaining still uncovered history and backstory of the character of

Wolverine. The character caught interest of the fandom and by the mid-1990s, Deadpool was free-floating in the Marvel landscape. He would appear at some point in various series, he fought Wolverine, he even got his own miniseries The Circle Chase by Mark

Waid and Ian Churchill.

In 1997, the character was picked up by the writer Joe Kelly and the artist Ed

McGuiness. As the financial situation of the Marvel Comics was dire and many characters were about to be cancelled, Joe Kelly and Ed McGuiness did not really care what they did with the character, they just wrote the Deadpool stories unlike the stories of other

Marvel characters – they were just funny, no sci-fi, futuristic and advanced gear. By the issue no. 33, the Deadpool publication was handed over to Christopher Priest. Because of

34 the fact that he knew that Deadpool was about to be cancelled, he, similarly to Joe Kelly, pushed the comics in the same direction, creating the over the top notion of Deadpool character as is known today. With a new feature - a recap of what had happened in the previous issues at the beginning of each comic book, the Deadpool publications grew significantly in sales, allowing fans to buy any issue and still be able to catch up with the story presented. (“The Deadpool Moment”)

After the notable presence of Christopher Priest, the quality of stories and art of

Deadpool comics lowered due to numerous exchanges on the writer position, however the popularity of the character gained enough sales to survive to 2000s when the financial situation of the Marvel Comics stabilized and marked the beginning of the Marvel

Cinematic Universe16.

History of the Character

According to the official Marvel website, Deadpool is a 6'2'', 210 lbs. man with brown eyes. Although his origins are generally unknown, he is known to come from

Canada. As a 17-year-old he joins military, later he works as a hired gun. At that time, he is operating under the name Wade Wilson. After he crosses paths with the Weapon X program, he takes a part in several experiments which grants him his excessive healing powers. However, because he suffers from cancer, these sudden healing powers also express themselves by continuous regenerating of his cancerous cells meaning, that although he would not die of cancer, he would never be completely healed. Due to the malfunctions of his abilities, he is sent to die in a place called Hospice, where he receives

16 The beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is marked by the film Iron Man (2008) onwards, up until now. 35 the name Deadpool after the betting pool where everyone attending guesses who would die there first.

After the fling with Lady Death (the Death itself), Thanos (deeply in love with Lady

Death) curses Deadpool with immortality, sentencing Deadpool to regenerate and regrew his body over and over again, despite the severity of damage his body receives.

After these events, Deadpool crosses paths with several notable characters, intervening in multiple occasions in the events affecting the whole Marvel Universe – from getting under the Cable’s skin, shortly joining X-men, later completing tasks received from Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention,

Enforcement, and Logistics Division) to being asked to join the Avengers Unity Squad.

After eventually everybody turns on him (not unreasonably), Deadpool puts a bounty on his own head to challenge all the Marvel Universe to try and kill him – to no fruition.

Comic Book Deadpool

The comic book character of Deadpool went through several major changes throughout his publishing history, during which he went from only a supporting character of a hired gun (the first time in New Mutants #98), through cameos in other Marvel series to several ongoing series and a number of limited series and one-shots.

While the character of Deadpool is quite unique as such, he differs from other comic book characters from the formal point view as well. Speech bubbles generally tend to be the same – one font on white background. Some variations exist to indicate unusual speech patterns. These variations are usually based on different fonts and shapes of speech bubbles. Deadpool, on the other hand, uses yellow speech bubbles from the very first issue of the standalone series (Kelly, Deadpool (1997) #1). Before that, he used white

36 speech bubbles with yellow borders in the prior limited series (Nicieza, Deadpool: The

Circle Chase #1) and white speech bubbles in his early cameos.

First story which will be discussed is a standalone issue Deadpool (1997) #49. The reader reads the stories of five women. The first story involves an old lady, Patricia, who fell from the stairs and broke her ankle. Wade, like a gentleman, carried her to the hospital where he also took care of the medical bill. Secondly, Deadpool meets with Veronica, a nurse from the hospital. A date in the club ends up with a kiss before she has to leave for a second shift in hospital. Later on, still in the club, Wade wakes up from the alcoholic intoxication just in time to rescue a girl from the abusive man. However, Wade, already quite drunk, falls from the bar chair. It is only the following morning, when they are saying their goodbyes, when he finds out her name on a card with her phone number –

Debbie. Without any shame, he walks home with the tux with vomit from the last night on it. After this, a short episode from a football pitch follows. Unfortunately, Bitsy, a girl playing football is brutally attacked by Grace and afterwards Grace maims her. The fifth episode is set in a supermarket and stars Marguerite. Wade picks a top-shelf item for her; however, he falls, she falls on top of him and her glasses break. Nevertheless, sparks are flying, so they fix a date. At the checkout, Wade leaves his address to have the groceries sent to him. Later that day, a delivery girl comes with the groceries. When she learns that

Wade is somewhat famous, she offers herself to him. The next-to-last panel shows a phone call to five women Wade talked to during the last couple of days17. The very last panel shows Copycat, now in her natural appearance talking to Wade.

One of the more unusual storylines was explored in the issue Deadpool (1997) #11 by Joe Kelly, in which Deadpool and Blind Al are teleported to a 1960s issue of Amazing

17 Whether this was intentional, or it shows how little does Wade care, this image is incorrect. Debbie is not shown – the redhead’s name was Marguerite, the black hair girl is probably Grace from the football pitch, however the reader did not see her face up until this point. 37

Spider-Man. Thanks to the use of a holograph, they can take roles of Peter Parker and

Aunt May. Although they are using modern technology (examples up until now evolved only around disguises and transmorphism, this counts as an example of shapeshifting.

While trying to not change the course of the original storyline, Deadpool plays the role of Peter Parker (Spiderman) on the panels of the 1960s comic book. Deadpool in this situation comments on the original comic book and the characters in it. While Deadpool is taking part in Peter’s day, he meets several characters important to the Spider-Man character. While he makes fun of the haircut of Harry and Norman Osbourne, he manages to hit on Mary Jane as well as Gwen Stacy (sexual appetite?). He finds himself fighting

Kraven. This provides him with the opportunity to point out several issues with the original comic book (alongside with the writer’s comments throughout the whole issue, these create a commentary on the previous eras of comic books. Deadpool, while fighting

Kraven, asks: “Has anyone ever pointed out to you that craven means faint-hearted?

Yellow? Pusillanimous? Not exactly the sort of nom de guerre that strikes fear in the hearts of men!” Although he swears not to change the story in any way, Deadpool’s nature is too unpredictable. He cannot help himself, when he finds the younger version of his sidekick, Weasel, which results in Weasel losing his job at OsCorp and a life of crime in the long run, which would inevitably lead to the future meeting with Deadpool. Because of the fact, that this issue is framed as looked at by the character of the Watcher, after

Deadpool and Blind Al are teleported back to their time, the reader is offered the original

Amazing Spider-Man comic book story as a comparison.

The next storyline, “Deadpool joins the X-Men” (Way, Deadpool (2008) #16-18), describes the story about the time Deadpool thinks, he is invited to join the X-Men. To prove he is a true member of the team, he creates his own suit and looks for the opportunity to be useful to the team. The opportunity comes with the introduction of

Kincaid, the character spreading lies and propaganda against the X-Men on TV, paid by

Norman Osbourne. Out of blue, Deadpool decides to solve the problem by killing

Kincaid. The X-Men learn about his plan and knowing that this would make them look even worse (public opinion is quite anti-X-Men, thanks to Kincaid), they go to stop him.

Upon the arrival at site, they fight Deadpool and finally, when everything’s over and

Deadpool is beaten, all lives are saved, and everything is taped on camera. After these events, the public opinion shifts towards X-Men, because now everyone sees them as heroes – everything as a result of the Deadpool’s masterplan to change the public opinion.

While during this storyline Deadpool shows his intellect and wit, the reasons behind him joining the X-Men are, at best, quite questionable. If one rules out the option that his effort to join the X-Men team was feigned too, there are not many solutions. Unlike the

X-Men, Deadpool’s mutation is not natural, it was forced on him using the superserum and the exposure to very extreme conditions. That is why he can never truly belong to the

X-Men (aside from his murderous tendencies and psychotic behavior). However, by using his wit, he deceives the public and turns its opinion on the X-Men.

Marvel universe consists of many worlds. These worlds and/or universes exist simultaneously without interfering with each other. What happens when characters from these worlds start influencing and affecting each other, describes the series “Deadpool

Kills Deadpool” (Bunn, Deadpool Kills Deadpool #1-4). The main protagonist of this series is Deadpool (of the main continuity - 616). As he fights a giant robot, several

Deadpools (Lady-D, Dogpool, Kidpool and two other “Deadpools”) from alternate universes arrive. They are opposing Deadpool who after killing all of his world’s heroes and villains started travelling across the universes to the same in other worlds. They are supposed to meet with other opposing Deadpools, however they find them all dead.

Several battles follow, until only continuity 616 Deadpool and the evil Deadpool

(Dreadpool) are still alive. The basic premise of Dreadpool’s actions is, that only

Deadpools are aware of the fact, that they are a part of the fiction – that is why he is trying to liberate other characters by killing them. The last step is supposed to be killing themselves and thus interrupting the continuity which should stop its oppressive circle.

Deadpool (616) manages to poke holes18 into Dreadpool’s argument and in the moment of remorse, Deadpool takes the opportunity and decapitates Dreadpool and ensure, he would not revive himself.

“Deadpool Kills Deadpool” is a miniseries quite different from the most of the

Deadpool comic books – much of the space takes contemplating on the blame and responsibility one has to take when the other you, basically the same person from the parallel universe, commits crimes. Despite the philosophical aspect of the story, several key points come out about the Deadpool character: Deadpool refers to himself as: “I’m a joke… I’m comic relief.” Up until now, the reader could only guess Deadpool’s motivations – yes, he is aware of his predicament, nevertheless the whole The Deadpool

Killogy series takes the matter seriously and tries to explore the inner world od the

Deadpool character. The Watcher subsequently calls him “the progenitor of all things.”

Although Dreadpool thought that it meant the continuous prolongation of the dreadful life they had to endure because of the continuity, the term could also cover the fact, that as the only character aware of the reality able to address the reader, Deadpool is the link, a connecting point between the reader and the fictional world full of characters.

Additionally, when he feels that it is time for an action, as opposed to the narration, he sends the message to skip the “boring” stage of the storyline in order to get the best, action-packed panels: “… let’s cut to the damn action montage.”

18 a perfect situation inversion 40

The last chosen work is the miniseries, “Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe”

(Bunn, Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #1-4). Deadpool is rushed in the psychiatric facility of Dr. Benjamin Brighton by his fellow X-Men. The reader finds out, that through

Dr. Brighton, Psycho Man was trying to create a large net of covert operatives who would do his bidding. Up until this point, the story was told by the Watcher, However, the

Watcher is paralyzed and killed by Deadpool. Before that, the Watcher reveals the reader to Deadpool. He reacts: “Well, whoever they are—those little peeping Toms out there in

Never-Never Land—they’re gonna want to keep their eyes peeled.” Following this, the reader follows Deadpool on his psychotic rampage of killing heroes, as well as villains, and the reactions of heroes which are only yet to be killed. The surviving relatives hire

Taskmaster to kill Deadpool. Meanwhile, one can watch deaths of the remaining X-Men.

All of a sudden, Deadpool who is trying to break Professor X, breaks the fourth wall: “So what if I break the fourth wall? It’s the fourth wall that’s been breaking me… crushing me… crushing each and every one of us… for as long as we’ve been in existence.” After this, he lets Professor X inside his head. However, Professor X is unable to cope with the truth and dies. Then, when speaking to Wolverine, after he lured him on his trail,

Deadpool, once again insinuates the world outside comic books: “Your tendency to come back from the brink of death has nothing to do with your healing factor. Your mutant power isn’t regeneration. It’s popularity.” Then, there is a jump to Punisher preparing to kill Deadpool, only to be killed by him. As Deadpool is bending over Punisher’s dead body, he whispers: “I know, I know. Killing all the Marvel of the world is supposed to be your gig,” clearly referencing a one issue publication Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe.

During all of these events, various voices are speaking to Deadpool, further solidifying that he is not alright. With the help of the Man-Thing, he kills Taskmaster and then a portal is opened. Deadpool finds himself in a room. The first notable thing one is able to

41 spot is the name of this series’ writer – Cullen. He, alongside other people participating in the creation of the Deadpool comic are creating the end of the current storyline, speaking about Deadpool ending up in the real world, The penciller speaks: “Then

Deadpool peers into the room to see us—all of us—hard at work.” This creates the

Inception-like dynamic.

This miniseries offers unique look at Deadpool. As he seems to be unique in the sense of his awareness, he is the only character (at least within these stories) who knows what is happening. Throughout the whole story he is aware that the reader watches him.

Although Deadpool is and has always been a border character, it is explicitly stressed in this storyline. Deadpool usually uses breaking of the fourth wall for a comedic relief, sometimes to predict what is about to happen in the next panel with a hint of omnipotence.

In this case, Deadpool addresses the reader as if the viewer was an annoyance just standing by, whom he will get rid of when the opportunity presents itself: “Hey… I see you out there… watching. Don’t worry. I’ll be done with these jokers [writers in the workroom] … and this universe before you know it. I’ll find you soon enough.” In addition to the special focus on the awareness of Deadpool, he kills all of the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe. Despite the fact, that Wade Wilson is an assassin, putting him in this winning position requires a lot of planning and foresight from his side and, in case of the fight with Taskmaster, also unpredictability. Otherwise, his chances would drop near to zero.

Films

Deadpool (2016)

Wade Wilson, originally a member of special forces, works as a hired gun when he meets Vanessa, a prostitute. After getting involved and being in a serious relationship,

Wade learns that he suffers from cancer and has only few days to live. As he quickly degrades, he is approached to take a part in an experimental treatment which plays on strengthening and manifestation of the mutant gene. However, Wade does not show any sign of mutation. It takes him being left to die from asphyxiation and subsequently in the flames for his mutant superhuman healing ability to fully manifest, however it leaves him permanently scared.

Because he feels betrayed and robbed of his life, he decides to take his revenge on everyone connected to the experimental program, from the recruiter who originally invited Wade to the program, to Ajax, who was injecting him with the superserum, in order to try to force his mutant genes to manifest. As he is getting closer and closer to

Ajax, Ajax kidnaps Vanessa. Wade Wilson, now fully embracing the newly created persona of Deadpool, takes two other mutants on his rescue mission – Colossus and

Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Together, they manage kill most of the goons who are guarding Vanessa and save her. After the final epic one-on-one battle, Deadpool kills

Ajax much to Colossus’ dismay, who still believes in Deadpool’s possible salvation.

Film Analysis

Comic book films nowadays are mostly of a superhero genre. Deadpool, always fighting against standard and ordinary, opposes this idea throughout the film, in spite of

Colossus constantly persuading him to try the hero way of life. Firstly, he speaks to the potential female audience who were told by their boyfriends that Deadpool is a superhero

43 movie (00:14:00). As an answer, he says: “Well, I may be super, but I’m no hero,” setting the tone of the right from the beginning of the film. In the following, retrospective scene

(00:16: 50), Wade shows the audience, that his stance on the hero work does not change.

When the girl he had just helped says “You’re my hero,” his reply is: “No-no-no-no. That

I ain’t!” After Wade is diagnosed with the terminal cancer, agent Smith proposes Wade to become an enhanced soldier, a modern superhero (00:33:10), to which Wade replies:

“I tried the hero business and it left a mark.” In the last scene regarding the theme of heroism, Colossus tries to persuade Deadpool to join the hero side and leave Ajax alive.

As an answer, Deadpool kills Ajax and proclaims: “If wearing superhero tights means sparing psychopaths, then maybe I wasn’t meant to wear them.” (01:35:30) Despite the

Deadpool’s claims against the hero work, the plot of the resulting film copies the trajectory of any ordinary action film, the only difference is that in Deadpool, there is more blood.

Film Deadpool is a border character. Taking an inspiration from its comic book source model, Deadpool also breaks the fourth wall. Breaking of the fourth wall in the film context means, that the film character, in this case Deadpool, is aware of the fact, that he is a fiction character and right at the given moment, he is just playing the role in a story. Deadpool uses these breakings to address the viewer, or simply comment on the current situation he is at the given moment. In the very first scene of the first film

(00:02:54), Deadpool looks at the camera and wipes of the smear on the camera lenses proving, that not only can he talk to the audience, he is aware of the fact that he is filmed, thus putting himself into the role of an actor. Afterwards, in just the second scene

(00:06:45), he introduces himself and explains, what he is about to do. In addition to that, he also establishes his knowledge outside of the film as he references “Polwerine” as an obvious remark to the very popular Wolverine character.

In addition to the situation awareness of Deadpool, the ability to break the fourth wall gives Deadpool also an ability to control the narrative, at least to some extent. At

00:08:50, he puts the film into a slow-motion to think about, whether he left the stove on.

Secondly, at 01:21:10, he “cues” the music, as a direction to the people sitting behind the camera or in the post-production.

Being able to reference world outside the film allows screenwriters to poke fun at the comic book genre. Right at the beginning (00:01:18), during the initial credits, a photo of Ryan Reynolds (the actor playing Deadpool) in the mask of Green Lantern is among the things that are flying in the interior of the car as a direct reference to the other comic book film starring Ryan Reynolds, however, not so successful. At 00:30:10, a toy of the

Deadpool character from the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine is displayed, once again, making fun of the fact, that again, Ryan Reynolds played this character as well, and the film was, once again, without much success. At 00:41:25, Wade Wilson mentions, that he does not want the suit green, or animated, which is another insinuation of the Green

Lantern movie. At 00:47: 15, Ajax threatens Wade, that they could sew his mouth shut which is the same exact fate, Deadpool in the X-Men Origins movie suffered.

Outside world knowledge is also connected with the knowledge about the genre and the film industry, Deadpool plays in. Thus, he is able to sarcastically comment on one of the goons rolling up the sleeves before the fight happens (00:13:45), as well as the superhero landing of Angel Dust (01:21:45). Additionally, he can weigh pros and cons of the superhero films and has sly remarks about the low budget for this film and therefore being unable to use more X-Men characters, and therefore use just side characters,

Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead.

Although film Deadpool is not shown as promiscuous and in fact, he is romantically involved with only one person - Vanessa, he displays a sexual appetite during the film (at

00:13:10 he states: “I’m touching myself tonight,” and at 00:23:30, Wade is on screen with Vanessa in the middle of the act). However, besides Vanessa, Deadpool picks up the threads of Deadpool’s comic book pansexuality and insinuates sex with Wolverine

(00:06:55). Other Deadpool’s appetites were not displayed in the film, except for one mention of chimichangas19 (01:20:10). This reference is significant, because comic book

Deadpool loves to talk about this dish, nevertheless, here it is mentioned only once.

Shapeshifting, as a big character trait of most of the tricksters is not focused on in the first film, besides Deadpool stapling the Hugh Jackman mask on his face (01:37:50) and him using a bathrobe on top of the superhero suit (01:47:00) to give the impression of a home.

Deadpool 2 (2018)

The Deadpool 2 film begins by showing Wade Wilson juggling his private and professional life. The audience can watch Wade Wilson completely embracing his

Deadpool persona while fighting organized crime. In the meanwhile, he lives happily with Vanessa, they are even planning a baby. However, Deadpool’s raids on organized crime syndicates catch up to him, leaving Wade’s happy family life destroyed in a single moment when Vanessa is shot dead. Wade, blaming himself, tries to commit suicide again and again, but his superhuman healing power overcomes all the methods Wade tries. In

19 It should be noted, that despite the fact Deadpool loves to say the word “chimichanga,” he does not like the food itself: “This place makes the best Chimichanga on the island. Don’t even like chimichangas all that much. I just love saying it. Chimichanga. Chimichanga. Chimichanga. Chimichanga.” (Nicieza, A Murder in Paradise, 17) 46 the end, Wade, completely resigned on life, lets himself to be brought to the X-Mansion, the headquarters of the X-Men, and he reluctantly joins them.

The very first mission under the X-Men brand ends in fiasco when Wade tries to save the young orphan mutant who is endangering the whole orphanage and kills one of the wardens who has been abusing orphans. Deadpool and Russell (the young orphan mutant) are both arrested and sent to the prison for mutants, where their powers are restrained by powers-suppressing collars. Here, they are attacked by Cable – a cybernetic soldier from the future, whose family was killed by future Russell. While fighting Cable,

Wade loses his restraining collar and they both get out of the prison. Afterwards,

Deadpool assembles X-Force, a team to break Russell out of the transporting convoy to protect him from Cable. Unfortunately, all of the members of X-Force die while parachuting from the plane, except for Deadpool and Domino – the lucky charm. They prevent Cable from getting to Russell, however another mutant, Jaggernaut escapes with

Russell.

To prevent the Russell’s very first murder, which would eventually lead him to killing Cable’s family in the future, Cable joins up with Deadpool and Domino, and stop

Russell from completely burning down the orphanage where he grew up with the staff in it. After Wade fails to calm down Russell, Cable, wanting to bring a final solution to the

Russell problem, shoots at him, however Wade jumps in front of the bullet with the power restraining collar on his neck. In Wade’s last moments, Cable uses the last charge of his time-travelling device to save Wade instead of travelling back to the future.

Film Analysis

Deadpool from the second movie continues with all the trends from the first one.

Therefore, he breaks the fourth wall in the very first scene (00:02:10) to introduce the viewer to the film. At 00:05:00, he not only just simply addresses the viewer, Deadpool here speaks about “the second film” and the fact, that it is a “family film”.

Once again, breaking the fourth wall allows Deadpool from time to time, takes the control over the narrative and informs the viewer, what is about to happen, or directs the screenwriters or post-production. Thus, Deadpool tells the audience that he is dying in this film at the very beginning of the film (00:02:25) and asks for a music (00:03:50).

When Cable states that he hates dubstep, Wade contradicts him just to have immediately dubstep music playing in the fighting scene (00:47:45). Afterwards, in the next Cable scene, he remarks “I guess dubstep never dies,” just to have dubstep music playing, once again (01:08:00). It is indicated that Deadpool switches on the music just to in spite of

Cable. At 01:25:25, Deadpool, once again cues the music, while at 01:28:40, he announces an upcoming big CGI fight.

Continuing the tradition of poking fun of the previous Ryan Reynolds’ comic book films, the Deadpool 2 film recreates the after-elevator scene from the X-Men Origins:

Wolverine film and lets Deadpool fight bullets with his two katanas (01:08:40). While in the original, he is able to cut through or redirect all of the bullets, here, Deadpool ends up full of bullets. Secondly, after Cable’s time machine is repaired, Wade takes it to “correct” the X-Men Origins movie by killing the Ryan Reynolds character of original Deadpool

(01:52: 45), while also killing Ryan Reynolds himself during the reading of the script of the Green Lantern movie (01:53:20), just to make sure, Ryan does not that mistake ever again.

Because of the fact that Deadpool as a character is a mutant and belongs to the X-

Men Universe, Deadpool loves to reference the original X-Men movies. Right at the beginning (00:01:00) Deadpool shows a toy showing the end of the Logan movie to which he refers to at 00:02:2020.

Situational awareness of Deadpool leads him to address his witty comments to the audience. While he is driving the Professor X’s wheelchair (00:23:30), Deadpool complains to Colossus, that there are no other X-Men in this film neither, except for

Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, just to show the audience (00:23:45) that the

“prominent” X-Men are just hiding from Deadpool. Another jab at the X-Men comes at

00:26:45. Colossus finds Wade wearing the Cerebro machine21 Additionally, he says, that it smells like Patrick Stewart, an actor who played the role of original Professor X. At

00:32:00, when the function of powers-suppressing collars is explained to Deadpool. It is also stressed out, that one cannot put it down without the code or a grenade, to which

Deadpool replies: “Huh. Could’ve used one of those in the first act.” Here, the idea is implied, that not only does Deadpool know about the audience or outside world, but also is that Deadpool knows that he is just a mere character of the story told, or an actor in the film.

The idea of uselessness of Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is quite spread among the fans of this genre. The Deadpool 2 does not miss the opportunity to make fun of it. Wade, as a reaction to Russell’s enthusiastic plans explains, that with the collar on him, the cancer is spreading throughout his whole body. Secondly, as for his

20 Ryan Reynolds is a very good friend with Hugh Jackman, the actor who played the Wolverine character. That is one of the reasons, why the character of Wolverine is either mentioned, or displayed on the screen so often. 21 Cerebro - a machine created for Professor X which enhances his telepathic abilities to reach across the whole world. 49 usefulness with the collar on, Wade, at the moment of the deepest despair, claims: “Give me a bow and arrow, I’m basically Hakeye.”

Deadpool’s sexual appetites are not discussed much in this film, sex is only hinted at 00:10:00, however, he fully hits at Cable (01:47:30). Other appetites were, once again, only represented by one mention of chimichangas (01:24:45).

Deadpool does not show any sign of shapeshifting, nor any disguises in this film.

However, comic book various versions of Deadpool are alluded to by drawings of

Deadpool wearing clothes and accessories of other characters from the movie (01:50:30).

Conclusion

Tricksters are a phenomenon existing all over the world. Many different cultures and societies developed this mythological figure to cross boundaries, break conventional laws, obsolete rules and standards, even taboos, to justify progress, to put the blame on someone else. Tricksters were, and are, the perfect scapegoat to focus on. A character, not of the gods’ realm, however neither fully belonging to the realm of men.

This thesis consists of three main parts. Firstly, the reader is introduced to the phenomenon of tricksters – from the development of the term itself, through the general information about the character, to the characteristic features of the figure and the roles which he takes upon himself or are given to him. Then, the Norse mythological system is introduced with the focus on the Norse trickster figure, Loki. Loki’s main character traits and features are not only described, but where possible analyzed in terms of the events and myths of the Norse mythology. Lastly, the analysis of the character of Deadpool is conducted, based on the comic book character, as well as the film one.

The aim of this thesis was to define the term “trickster” and to apply it on the comic book character of Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool. Helen Lock in her essay

Transformations of the Trickster notes that “[n]ot just any rogue or anti-hero can properly be termed trickster.” When one looks at the character of Deadpool and compares it with the character of Loki, the resemblance is uncanny. Although it is true, that Loki’s modus operandi is based primarily on verbal speech and with it connected intellect and cunning,

Deadpool’s nickname, Merc with a Mouth has its roots in his sharp tongue. On the other hand, Deadpool’s profession is a hired gun – combat is in his blood. Despite the fact that

Loki’s disposition is not of a famous combat fighter, he will eventually kill Heimdall on his own. The deception and trick-playing, as well as lies are a cornerstone of Loki’s actions. While Deadpool is no stranger to deception, he would probably recklessly charge

51 the problem with full speed. While Loki’s ambiguity lies in his words, Wade Wilson’s several personalities without any specific generally in charge cause his action to be completely unpredictable and erratic. One of the recurring trickster traits is shapeshifting.

Loki, a master of deceit, is well known for several of his animal forms. However, the range of his shapeshifting abilities includes also a gender-bending. Thus, on several occasions, he was able to change his appearance to the one of a woman or even a mare to such extent, that he gave birth to a foal. On the other hand, Deadpool does not possess any shapeshifting abilities. Therefore, when he is in need of a stealth operation, Deadpool tends to use disguises.

Besides the characteristic traits, the function of the character needs to be taken into consideration as well. Deadpool is the one character, whose continuous chatter, as well as the frequent breaking of the 4th wall, the constant bringing of viewers’/readers’ attention towards inconsistencies, errors in the plot, “lazy writing” or even having control over the narrative create solid foundation for the claim, that even though Deadpool does not show all of the characteristics of a trickster, in terms of his function within the said movies and comic books and his cultural background – being the connecting point between fans and the worlds and universes of comic books which undergo eras of brilliant writing to eras when the quality of stories presented and the artwork painted is lower.

When it comes to the film character of Deadpool, not only he served as one of the most successful comic book adaptions (in addition to being R-rated), but also as an observer

(while being the main character) whose function is to voice viewers’ duly justified objections to incoherence and excessive complexity of comic book cinematic universes in general, in addition to mixed timelines, different actors playing the same character and other inconsistencies in the X-men film series.

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Resumé

This diploma thesis deal with the topic of trickster figures. Across the whole world, there are cultures and societies with various differing beliefs and religions. However, the trickster figure is represented amongst many of them with various levels of representation, power, abilities. Because of the fact, that there are numerous tricksters across the world and even within the same societies and cultures which differ from tale to tale, it is an extremely difficult task to correctly identify and describe a trickster figure.

The aim of this thesis was to try to identify the basics of this character type and on the

Marvel comic book character of Deadpool try to apply the researched hypothesis.

In the first part, trickster as a character type was described. From its origins to the role of trickster in the societies as well as in the myths they are represented in. Based on the William J. Hynes and William G. Doty’s book, Mythical Trickster Figures. Contours,

Contexts, and Criticisms, six main trickster character traits are established: 1. ambiguity and anomaly of trickster figures; 2. deceptive nature of tricksters; 3. shapeshifting abilities; 4. situation inverting as opposed to common sacred beliefs, etc.; 5. a messenger/imitator of gods; 6. a sacred lewd bricoleur to whom, no taboo is too sacred.

These main trickster characteristics, among other repeating traits, can be usually found in tricksters of the mythologies across the world.

After the definition of the trickster figure, a description of the Norse trickster god,

Loki, is presented, to display a rather well-known trickster figure who can be, later on, compared with the character of Deadpool. Loki is depicted from the overall cut through the Norse mythology, to his activities and events, through which, Loki’s abilities and character traits are displayed.

The third part of this diploma thesis deals with the character of Deadpool. Being a part of Marvel X-Men universe, the thesis tries to set Deadpool inside the universe, and

58 looks for the similarities with Loki and the Norse mythology, as well as the other trickster traits. The comparison with the character of Loki enables the reader to look at Deadpool from the other point of view.

Resumé

Tato diplomová práce se zabývá postavou šprýmaře. Po celém světě se vyskytují společnosti a kultury s různými náboženskými představami. U velkého množství z nich se objevuje postava šprýmaře. Častokrát můžeme v jejich kruhu nalézt mnoho alternací této postavy, kde se každý výklad či definice této alternace liší příběh od příběhu. Proto je velmi těžké přesně identifikovat či popsat základní body šprýmařovy obecné charakteristiky. Cílem této práce je najít základní znaky postavy šprýmaře a zkusit aplikovat a porovnat dosáhnuté výsledky na komiksové postavě Deadpoola.

V první části je popsána postava šprýmaře – od jeho prvopočátků až po jeho úlohu ve společnosti a mýtech, ve kterých se vyskytuje. Na základě knihy Mythical Trickster

Figures. Contours, Contexts, and Criticisms (autori William J. Hynes a William G. Doty) bylo stanoveno šest základních charakteristik šprýmaře: 1. nejednoznačnost a odlišnost,

2. klamavá povaha, 3. schopnost přeměny, 4. schopnost změny pohledu na věc

(zneužívání víry a tradic), 5. posel a imitátor bohů, 6. bořič tabu. Tyto základní znaky

šprýmařů, stejně tak jako další opakující se vlastnosti, můžeme nalézt i u dalších šprýmařů po celém světě.

Po definování postavy šprýmaře následuje část popisující skandinávského boha

Lokiho, šprýmaře severské mytologie, který je všeobecně znám, díky oblíbenosti u

Hollywoodské produkce. V následující části budeme porovnávat Lokiho s postavou

Deadpoola. Loki je v této diplomové práci nejprve zasazen do severské mytologie, odkud následně popisujeme jeho činnosti a chování, na základě kterých jsou prezentovány jeho schopnosti a vlastnosti.

V třetí části diplomové práce je popsána postava Deadpoola. Práce se snaží o zasazení jeho postavy do komixového světa Marvel X-men a hledá podobnosti s Lokim,

60 všeobecně se světem severské mytologie, a s ostatními vlastnostmi šprýmařů. Porovnání s postavou Lokiho nám umožňuje hlubší pohled na Deadpoolovu charekteristiku.