'Deadpool' Co-Creator Rob Liefeld Takes Hollow Shots at Marvel and Kevin Feige

Standing up to the people you work for is not easy to do. A lot of risk is involved. But, if you’re standing up for what is right, there’s always a risk. Still, if you’re coming from a good and honest place, your message will hopefully get through or be loud enough that things are forced to change. However, if you come from an angry, bitter, disingenuous place after you have already shielded yourself from risk, it will be more like a hissy fit. Do you know who knows how to throw a hissy fit? Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld.

Many people in comic book circles have labeled Liefeld as “controversial.” The more accurate title to give him would be “massive prick.” He rode other people’s coattails into a cushy place in comic book history and is still firmly enough in the old guard/boys club of the comics world that he still gets work despite being a PR nightmare. Liefeld has burned more bridges than he’s crossed, and he just added Kevin Feige, Marvel, and Disney to that list.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Liefeld was unhappy with Disney’s treatment of him during the promotion of Deadpool Ampersand Wolverine. These complaints came during a 90-minute episode of Liefeld’s podcast, and god bless whoever had to listen to that. Among his complaints, Liefeld says he and his family were not invited to the after-party for the premiere of the film, he was not asked to participate in marketing, and that Kevin Feige did not acknowledge his presence that evening. Those are slights that I can understand, but something else made me raise an eyebrow.

Liefeld complains that he requested via email to have his name front and center in the film’s opening credits a la the 1978 Superman film, and was denied. He went on to say that when his reps tried to bring the concern to Kevin Feige or Bob Iger, they were yelled at. Now, he says he has cut ties with the mega-company. Comic book creators should absolutely receive more credit for the worlds and characters they create, and as Liefeld points out, Marvel is not good at that. However, bringing that up while you’re torching your relationship with the company makes it ring hollow. It also rings hollow because it’s coming from Rob f***ing Liefeld.

Liefeld has made a career out of caring about himself and no one else. He never wastes an opportunity to s*** on other creators, even ones who worked directly with him. He’s a jerk, and this feels like another edition of him airing his s***ty grievances. Comic book artist and writer Jim Starlin famously noted that he gets paid more for KGBeast being in Batman v Superman than Thanos being the head villain of the MCU. This is an important issue, and Liefeld lending his voice to it does more harm than good.

This isn’t even “the worst person you know made a great point.” This is “the worst person you know is trying to piggyback on your point and is ruining it.”