Deadpool Creator Rob Liefeld Exits Marvel After Premiere Indignities

Rob Liefeld is done with Marvel.

The comic artist and creator says that after more than thirty years, he is severing ties with the publisher for whom he created renowned characters Deadpool and Cable.

Liefeld laid out his decision in a 90-minute episode of his Robservations podcast as well as in a followup interview with The Hollywood Reporter, where he detailed a series of perceived slights at July’s New York premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine.

At the premiere, Liefeld learned he and his family were not invited to the afterparty, something he was accustomed to attending. He also felt snubbed by Disney brass, including Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, whom he says was near him on the red carpet but did not acknowledge him.

“It was meant to embarrass, diminish, defeat me,” Liefeld said on his podcast of not gaining access to the after party.

And there was another slight: Liefeld said he posed for professional photos with creatives on the Deadpool & Wolverine team, but later was told by his publicist that those photos were deleted. He believes they were only taken as a courtesy and not intended to be used, though other photos, featuring Liefeld alone as well as with his family, appeared as part of Disney’s Getty press portal from the event.

Soon after July’s premiere, he decided he would cut ties with Marvel, which he believed no longer wanted him around. “At some point, you go, ‘I’ve received the message, and the message is clear,’” he said on the podcast.

Liefeld said that his discomfort with Marvel began in early 2023, when he learned the company made the controversial decision to change the credits on Wolverine, awarding co-creator status to editor Roy Thomas. The character was created decades before Liefeld worked in comics, but he is close to Christine Valada, the widow of late Wolverine-co creator Len Wein, who was upset with the decision.

A year later, on June 3, 2024, Liefeld fired off an email to Marvel asking if he could receive a special credit on Deadpool & Wolverine, and inquiring what else might be offered to him, in terms of access to movie premieres and other promotional opportunities. Liefeld did not ask for more money, as he already has perhaps the richest deal for among Marvel creators.

Marvel generally credits comic creators at the end of the movie, but Liefeld wanted to be elevated to something more significant, citing the opening credits of 1978’s Superman, which prominently listed Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster as the co-creators of Superman.

“Marvel’s treatment of creators has never been their strength,” Liefeld wrote in the email. “Without the worlds, the characters and the concepts that we create — and in this specific case, the world of Deadpool — there are no films to shoot. No blockbusters to distribute. … I am not the easy button at Staples. I am the human imagination behind it all.”  He asked if his requests could be elevated to Feige or Disney CEO Bob Iger. “Comic book creators cannot continue to be relegated as afterthoughts. This is easy to address. Unless I reach out to address it, it will never manifest,” he continued.

Liefeld did not receive a response, but was told by his agents at Verve that the message was not received well inside Marvel. A day later, he tweeted, “My reps were screamed at today ‘We are NOT Fox!’ Tell me about it. Also hung up on.” He believes that tensions stemming from this email led to him to not being invited to the Deadpool & Wolverine afterparty.

Liefeld, while in his 20s in the early 1990s, became part of a rarified group of million dollar comic book creators. Over the years, he developed what his detractors call a hard-charging reputation and a habit of minimizing the contributions of others who also have worked on Deadpool. They point to an oft-cited, 2016 New York Times article in which he downplayed the work of Fabian Nicieza, who is credited as a co-creator for scripting Deadpool’s first appearance in New Mutants no. 98 from a plot by Liefeld, who illustrated the 1990 issue.

“While we respect what he’s contributed, he does not respect what others have contributed,” says one insider.

But Liefeld, for his part, tells THR he is the one who lobbied 20th Century Studios to give both himself and Nicieza co-creator status in the first two Deadpool movies. He has cited writer Joe Kelly for introducing the now integral fourth wall-breaking characteristic of the anti-hero seven years after Liefeld created him. And he often credits Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds for elevating the character to the global stage and new levels of popularity.

Ultimately, Liefeld and Nicieza were given the standard “Deadpool created by” credit at the end of Deadpool & Wolverine.

Liefeld was also acknowledged in the movie itself in a way few living comic book creators have enjoyed. The film’s signature scene — in which Deadpool and Wolverine battle dozens of Deadpool variants known as the Deadpool Corps — takes place in front of a store called Liefeld’s Just Feet, an inside joke about the artist, who fans say does not draw feet. Liefeld was also invited to visit the set in London.

This all sounds like someone who was indeed accorded the respect of a prominent comic book creator. But when asked by THR about these boons, Liefeld suggests that during the London set visit, he began to feel unwelcome, though he declined to elaborate.

He tells THR that it was in contrast to how he felt on Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018), which were made by 20^th Century Fox. He notes he was involved in test screenings on those films, and met with the marketing team on Deadpool 2. “They had me along for the ride, and I caused zero drama. I was happy to be there,” says Liefeld.

In his podcast, Liefeld asserted a head-turning opinion about Feige, who generally is only spoken of in Hollywood and comic book circles with superlatives.

“Kevin Feige does not treat comic book creators well. That is my personal experience,” Liefeld said on the podcast.

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Asked about this topic, Liefeld tells THR, “Do I think he can improve his relationship with comic creators? Yes.” He says he wishes Feige would have spent a few moments to chat with him and his family at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere, and would like Marvel to acknowledge creators more in general. He points to DC Studios’ James Gunn as an executive and filmmaker who is constantly praising comic creators, flying them to the Superman set.

Feige, however, is also known to publicly laud creators. He namechecks creators at San Diego Comic-Con, and he’s often seen hobnobbing with creators on Marvel red carpets. The studio also flew a number of creators to the set of Fantastic Four: First Steps, and in October, held a New York Comic Con panel pairing the stars of Daredevil and comic book creators together.

Liefeld is known for being a relentlessly upbeat promoter of his work and personal brand, and despite the conflicting feelings, enjoyed hosting a series of fan screenings for Deadpool & Wolverine this summer.

He admits he was nervous about dropping this podcast and revealing what he considers “a loss”. Getting denied from a party isn’t the type of thing he’d usually publicize. But it seems like his fanbase liked his more vulnerable side (or maybe it was spilling the Marvel tea), as the episode became downloaded in Robservation’s five-year history. It also comes one week before his final Marvel work will hit stands, Deadpool Team-Up No. 5.

“You can’t always share your hits. Sometimes you have to share your misses. This one was a miss,” says Liefeld, who adds, “It was important for me to do the podcast, so people could hear my voice. You didn’t hear anyone who was angry. At times, it was hard to hide how sad I was.”