Earlier this year, Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld severed ties with Marvel Studios in a series of rants across social media and his newly launched podcast. Feeling disrespected by the studio and its President, Kevin Feige, the prolific comic book writer and artist laid out his grievances for the world to see.
Ultimately, those boiled down to not getting a prominent enough mention in Deadpool & Wolverine's opening titles, while he perceived his lack of invitation to the premiere's afterparty as a move "meant to embarrass, diminish, defeat me."
Liefeld's other complaints included not being acknowledged by Kevin Feige on the red carpet, Disney not publishing all the photos taken of him and his family at the event, and his request to have a greater share of the spotlight at movie premieres and other promotional events being declined.
Rather than share his disappointment with how he was treated and move on, Liefeld takes every possible opportunity to criticise Marvel Studios and the MCU. In the process, he's become a leading figure in the anti-Marvel subculture that's figured out there's money to be made from negativity and empowering the trolls.
Now, Liefeld has sunk to the level of those trolls with his latest social media posts. @TheCinesthetic posted, "The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits $500M worldwide on a $200M budget," prompting Image Comics co-founder to reply, "$300 million with marketing, get outta here shill."
The account was correct that The Fantastic Four had a $200 million production budget, while Leifeld is right that Marvel Studios spent $100 million on marketing. However, branding @TheCinesthetic a "shill" for not posting a full breakdown of the movie's budget shows the levels that Liefeld is now stooping to in his one-sided war with Marvel.
Liefeld then decided to fan the flames of the Marvel vs. DC war by adding, "Consider this lunacy - Superman critics will say it’s a flop while telling you that [Fantastic Four] is a win as it trails Superman by $100 million. They were released 2 weeks apart. It’s all tribal. No facts matter. It’s literally the land of wishful thinking."
Now might be a time to brand Liefeld a DC "shill," because he's neglected to mention that Superman spent a reported additional $50 million on production and marketing, making that $100 million lead slightly less impactful (still, a win is a win, and the Man of Steel is the clear victor at the box office).
Liefeld has found his niche, and his continued disdain for Feige and Marvel Studios isn't going away. He never seemed to have an issue with the MCU before his perceived Deadpool & Wolverine slights, but the divisive artist is now doubling down on it, for better or worse.
Liefeld's role in creating Deadpool has often been disputed. While he certainly played an integral role in the Merc with a Mouth's first appearances as his co-creator, that version of the character has little in common with the one played by Ryan Reynolds beyond his costume and weapons. Fabian Nicieza gave Wade Wilson his motormouth, and Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness turned him into a comedic character.
You can see Liefeld's latest social media rantings in the X posts below.
In our review of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we concluded, "The Fantastic Four is an exceptional introduction to the MCU’s First Family, and thanks to a Jack Kirby-infused feel that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before, it proves to be a quintessential superhero movie with Marvel Studios at its brilliant best.
Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.
Also appearing are Natasha Lyonne as Rachel Rozman, Paul Walter Hauser as Harvey Elder/Mole Man, Sarah Niles as Lynne Nichols, and Mark Gatiss as Ted Gilbert. John Malkovich was set to play Red Ghost, but was cut due to time constraints.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman from a screenplay by Josh Friedman and Eric Pearson and Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer.
The movie is now playing in theaters.