WARNING: This article contains spoilers.
Everyone’s favorite Merc with a Mouth is back in theaters on May 18. While Deadpool 2 will focus on something other than Wade Wilson’s homicidal tendencies toward dish soap, every comic book and superhero (or anti-hero) movie fans alike is ready to watch Deadpool make meta jokes about the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for two hours form the X-Force.
Based on the trailers, Deadpool 2 focuses on the inauguration of the X-Force, which is a team of badass mutants in itself. However, Deadpool 2 really only recruits this team of super pseudo-do-gooders to defeat Thanos Cable (portrayed by Josh Brolin). Although the movie version of Cable obviously deviates from the comic book rendition, some things about Cable’s character and superpowers will remain the same. Nevertheless, it makes sense why the studio would switch up the character development a bit, seeing as Marvel comics tend to get weird really quick. In the team’s fight to stop Cable, the canonically self-serving time-traveler, Deadpool 2 will ultimately rely on the delicate timeline in general—that the X-Men originally f*cked up. (Conversely, Wilson could just troll the X-Men franchise, in true Deadpool fashion, and make the timeline even more confusing and convoluted in ways that would make even Barry Allen proud.)
Nonetheless, time isn’t the only element that Deadpool 2 will probably focus on, seeing as Wilson and his crew will need an exceptional amount of luck to stop Cable from pulling a Terminator on Skynet Firefist. Thankfully, one of the pivotal characters in Wilson’s group is extremely lucky. Well, sort of. And thankfully, one of the members of the X-force, Domino (portrayed by Zazie Beetz) is potentially the most fortuitous character in all of Marvel. But who the heck is Domino?
While you might be familiar with Domino from the Cable & Deadpool comic books or the X-Force comics, or the ongoing Domino comic book series (that’s written by RL BA, Gail Simone), Deadpool 2 will probably change some critical elements in Domino’s story arc. Though Domino will still be a powerful woman mercenary like she is in the Marvel comics, there are some things you should know about this critical character.
Domino’s superpower isn’t necessarily luck—it’s mathematics.
In the Deadpool 2 trailers, Domino explains to Deadpool that her superpower is that she’s really lucky. In essence, it’s somewhat true. Domino uses her telekinetic abilities to alter the odds of an otherwise improbable effect.
In the comics and the movie, Domino’s superpowers basically word to statistically calculate the best odds of a given situation, then they change it to favor Domino (or her allies). As someone who still doesn’t understand how she passed geometry, anyone who is somewhat competent in math already has a valuable superpower—but Domino can actually use her superpowers to simultaneously calculate the probability of an event and use that against her foes.
Granted, Domino can’t alter the probability of any situation because she has to be able to physically see all the elements regarding the situation. (Sorry, you can’t befriend Domino in hopes that she’ll change the probability of you dating that f*ckboy in high school. Unless of course, she teams up with Cable and goes back in time.)
Like Wade Wilson, Domino’s superpowers didn’t culminate organically.
Before she donned her super-pseudonym, Domino was known as Neena Thurman. Before she got her superpowers that could make any mathlete weep, she underwent some pretty invasive and messed up experiments that gifted her luckiness.
As a young child, a United States government organization, dubbed Project Armageddon, used a bunch of vulnerable children in an attempt to create bioweapons—and Domino was one of the unlucky test subjects.
She knows how to make a dramatic entrance that tops any superhero landing.
Beyond her powers of probability, Domino is a skilled assassin who made her comic book debut in The New Mutants issue no. 98. However, the Domino in this inaugural appearance wasn’t actually Domino at all, which makes her entrance even more notable.
In the introduction of Domino, a shapeshifter actually took the form of the mercenary and caused some pure chaos and confusion for the young mutants. Granted, Deadpool 2 probably won’t execute this approach to introduce Domino, since the shapeshifter moonlighting as Domino was Copycat (i.e. Vanessa). In the current Deadpool realm, Vanessa doesn’t have superpowers, or at least not yet. (Though maybe this could change after the anticipated time shifts in Avengers 4. Or who knows, maybe the X-Men could alter time again.)
However, Domino is one of very few characters to say that she was introduced into the comic book franchise without actually making an appearance (which is also an introverts ideal way to enter a party).
Domino embracing every aspect of her femininity without sacrificing her strength.
Beyond being an expert in armed weaponry, explosives and hand-to-hand combat, Domino realizes that femininity is a diverse definition, and there’s isn’t just one way to look and act feminine. After all, dresses and floral fashion doesn’t equate to being a woman, just like it isn’t synonymous with femininity.
As a way to fight outdated gender roles and biased beauty expectations, Domino embraces her armpit hair in Deadpool 2. The Independent reports that Zazie Beetz is proud that Domino rocks her hairy armpits. Domino is an overtly confident character who also embraces every aspect of her femininity because being hairy isn’t interchangeable with masculinity.
Granted, there are mere glimpses of Domino’s underarm hair in the movie—however, the way the writers of Deadpool 2 tackled how Wade Wilson responds to the character’s armpit hair shows that our societal perception of body hair on women is flawed. Though Wilson is known for being a sarcastic version of Ryan Reynolds, Wilson doesn’t joke about Domino’s hair, which helps create a more realistic expectation of women’s beauty standards. After all, men typically have body hair, so women shouldn’t be chastised for rocking their natural hair in every shape, form and surface. (Even Deadpool realizes that.)
Regardless of Domino’s badassery, there are still some people who apparently didn’t embrace the fact that Deadpool 2 cast a woman of color to play Domino. Inverse reports that certain fans were unnecessarily upset when they found out this probability-inclined mercenary would be portrayed by Zazie Beetz. When, in reality, Domino doesn’t need to be portrayed by a white woman just because she’s a white woman in the comics.
Though changing any detail about an iconic comic book can cause some havoc in the Twitterverse, Deadpool 2 makes major changes in the dynamic between Deadpool, Cable and X-Force. In the comics, the X-Force team was founded by Cable, and Deadpool was a longtime pesky antagonist of the X-Force and Domino. Apparently, fans don’t seem to mind that Deadpool 2 executed a plethora of creative liberties to scribe a new narrative for Deadpool and X-force, and instead, they’re upset by Domino.
Deadpool 2 rewrites Domino’s script in a healthy way that combats the notoriously white-washed pages of comic books and comic book-inspired movies. Yet, people disguised their racist criticism about Domino’s hair by stating that afros somehow are “impractical” for superheroes, The Mary Sue notes.
Somehow “critics” of the Deadpool 2’s Domino are worried that her afro will somehow be an adversary to her during combat. Never mind the fact that comic books and superhero movies alike constantly parade superheroes who have legitimate combat risks incorporated in their hairstyles and their wardrobe. By these critics’ standards, the noble Odinson, Thor, has at least two hazardous flaws: his (typically) canonically long, flowing mane and his trip-inducingly-long cape. (And that doesn’t take into account the dozens of other long-haired, cape-wearing heroes, villains, and anti-heroes.)
According to The Daily Beast, Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics both have a notorious problem of concentrating on white men in their superhero character line-ups. Although highly successful superhero movies like Black Panther have helped offset the overwhelming white superhero roster in the MCU, comic front-running are still typically reserved for white men.
Though Black Panther helped prove that there’s absolutely no reason to not cast a person of color as a lead character, especially in movies about empowering superhumans, Marvel Studios still has a history of problematic casting. Even when Marvel Studios assembled the Guardians, Zoe Saldana’s role as Gamora (who is undeniably vital to Guardians of The Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War, and the impending Avengers 4 movie) doesn’t necessarily employ meaningful representation in the MCU. While Saldana is a woman of color, Gamora’s character design conceals her in a layer of green makeup.
While a person’s blackness isn’t solely defined by someone’s complexion, covering up a person of color’s skin can erase part of their visible identity. This implicitly creates a toxic narrative for younger audience members that people of color can only be powerful heroes or villains if they are green, or blue, or hidden behind a xenomorph costume. Ultimately, Gamora’s green skin doesn’t make her Gamora—Gamora’s upbringing and lifestyle makes her character so inspiring. Because Gamora’s green skin isn’t essential to her storyline any more than comic book Domino’s white skin, productions can easily omit these details to completely feature empowering people of color in every facet of the word.
Instead of falling into the hackneyed comic book cliché, Deadpool 2 portrayed Domino in a way that not only celebrates the comic book character’s unique powers, but also celebrates people of color in a meaningful and respectful manner.