Deadpool & Wolverine Fortnite skins review

Deadpool & Wolverine is finally in theaters looking to shatter fourth walls and box office records and you know what that means: Fortnite’s got tie-in skins.

For those of you who missed out on the original Deadpool Fortnite skin from the Chapter 2, Season 2 Battle Pass and the original Wolverine skin from Chapter 2, Season 4, the Deadpool & Wolverine Fortnite skins bundle is definitely a godsend.

Though they might not be exactly what we were expecting – like Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman likenesses – the Deadpool & Wolverine Fortnite skins are still beautiful nonetheless. Labeled Deadpool and Wolverine pen and ink outfits, the skins are cel-shaded, highly detailed and smoothly animated.

Deadpool comes with the option of mask on and off, the latter being more of a mask half-on option, with Deadpool’s trademark red and black mask peeled up halfway to reveal the burned-up, corpse-scarred, Freddy Kreuger-looking visage beneath. He also comes with an arrow through the head option, a humorous homage to the various times Deadpool has taken damage in similar fashion in the films and more specifically, to a brutal, arduous battle he had with an evil version of Hawkeye – actually Bullseye disguised as Hawkeye – in the 2008 Deadpool series, one which lasts from issue #10 through #12 and which sees Deadpool yes, taking an arrow through the dome, but also commandeering a monster truck and donning a preserved, pig meat suit of armor which he pilfers from a walk-in freezer and subsequently shouting, “I am the meat” as a battle cry. If that sounds crazy, that’s because it is – but that’s Deadpool for ya.

Deadpool’s emote is “What!? No Way!,” which is basically placing both hands on his face in surprise while a comic book exclamation point appears over his head followed by him clapping his hands. It’s no chimichanga in the microwave or Deadpool on a scooter like the ones that were included with the Battle Pass-obtained Deadpool, but it’s serviceable at the least; also, at this point, there are so many emotes in the game that pretty much any one that involves outlandish dancing or humorous gesturing pretty much falls in line with what Deadpool would actually do.

Deadpool’s back bling is Headpool, a disembodied, floating zombie head version of Deadpool from an alternate reality wearing a propeller-topped aviator hat. It’s a fine back bling, but I want to talk about why it might be somewhat disappointing for some Fortnite players, particularly those who like to match their pickaxe to their back bling.

As I mentioned, the Deadpool & Wolverine skins are masterfully animated; the fluidity with which Deadpool twirls his twin katanas (which cleverly serve as his pickaxe) after unsheathing them is a thing of beauty, though it’s impressive to such a degree that it becomes something of an ahem, double-edged sword. While it never gets old watching Deadpool spinning his swords, it makes me yearn for a matching katana sheath back bling – no offense to Headpool of course, which is aberrantly unique and befitting for a character like Deadpool, but it looks a little strange seeing him unsheath his swords from thin air. The best alternatives I’ve found, since the Deadpool’s Katanas back bling from the Season 2 Battle Pass are no longer available, are Leonardo’s Katanas, which can be purchased in the store – they aren’t perfect, as they feature a blue sword wrap which matches Leonardo’s ninja headband, but they look good enough while playing.

Wolverine sports the blue and yellow version of the costume he wears in the film. He too comes with a mask on and mask off option, the mask off version revealing his trademark, wolf-eared coiffure. His emote? What else, but the iconic SNIKT, where Wolverine leans forward and lets his adamantium claws loose from under his knuckles, complete with the onomatopoeic comic book sound effect popping up in word bubble form to accompany the act.

While cultured Fortnite players such as myself know that Wolverine is best without back bling, this cel-shaded version does come with a gag one that’s worth a chuckle called Wade’s Prank – it’s basically the old “kick me” sign on the back gag except it’s a crayon drawing of Deadpool saying “Shh” with the description, “Don’t tell Logan, it’s funnier if he doesn’t know.”

A few more nitpicks before I finish: as crisp, crosshatched and detailed as the cel-shaded Deadpool & Wolverine Fortnite skins are, some more wardrobe options would’ve been nice. The most glaring one is the lack of an option to turn off the skins’ battle damage – Deadpool’s is marred with claw marks and Wolverine’s is riddled with katana slashes and bullet holes. While the battle damage is cool, the choice to see them clean and unblemished would be a nice quality of life touch, especially considering that for so many players who missed out on the original Battle Pass versions, this will be one of their only choices for Deadpool and Wolverine skins in-game. On that note, a simple option to remove the sleeves on Wolverine’s costume so we can rock it similar to how Hugh does in the movie would’ve been awesome as well – although maybe at this point Hugh Jackman’s muscles are copyrighted alongside his ruggedly handsome facial features so that’s we don’t get the “sun’s out, guns out” Wolverine?

As for the cel-shaded Deadpool and Wolverine’s gliders, well… they’re certainly there. I give credit to the designers for not going with a generic glider design but what we do get, a pair of hot air balloons (which coincidentally look like Supply Drops) called the Deadpool Dropper and Wolverine dropper respectively, aren’t very evocative of anything they’ve used in the movies or comics. Luckily, as with the back bling, there are options. Blackbird, which can be purchased for 800 V-Bucks or as part of the Rogue & Gambit bundle, is a fine substitute for Wolverine, especially if you hum the X-Men: The Animated Series theme song the entire way down.