Poor Johnny Storm. In Deadpool & Wolverine, the Human Torch Variant managed to avoid capture by Cassandra Nova’s minions until he got mixed up with Wade Wilson and Logan. The Merc with a Mouth couldn’t keep his yap shut while Nova interrogated the three superheroes. Wade made outrageous claims about horrible things Johnny called the powerful Void despot during the drive to her compound. Despite his stringent claims of innocence, she responded by ripping the Fantastic Four member’s skin right off his body. Why did Wade do it? Why would he make up such ridiculous, awful things and endanger the life of someone who just tried to help him? Deadpool & Wolverine‘s only post-credits scene showed he hadn’t. (Probably.)
So what actually happened to Chris Evans’ other Marvel superhero? Here’s what that post-credits scene revealed and why it was both meaningless and really funny.
When Deadpool met Cassandra Nova, he immediately (over)shared what Johnny Storm had supposedly told him about Charles Xavier’s evil twin. Deadpool regaled her with a vivid, highly-specific, over-the-top fountain of insults, profanities, threats, and boasts. The more Wade spoke, the more a desperate, scared Johnny promised Nova he hadn’t said any of that. He claimed his innocence right up until she turned him into a skinless mush of human meat and bones.
Why did Wade say any of that even as Wolverine told him to shut the f*** up? Why would Deadpool lie about someone who just tried to save him? He didn’t! In the Deadpool & Wolverine post-credits scene, Wade returned to the TVA to show the audience footage from that trip to Nova’s lair we didn’t get to see originally. It revealed Johnny really had said every horrible thing about Nova exactly as Wade claimed.
Was Wade lying after the fact? Had he deep-faked a Johnny video to get himself off the hook? Was the footage just more bullshit to cover up the bullshit that got the Human Torch de-skinned? The very good, very funny joke only works if Johnny really did say all those things to an idiot who wouldn’t know when to keep them private.
There’s reason beyond the humor of both scenes to believe Wade, too. Wolverine never disputed anything Deadpool told Nova. He merely recognized Wade was putting Johnny’s life in danger and tried to make him stop. Plus, it’s not exactly a stretch to think the brash, arrogant Johnny Storm might run his mouth. He just didn’t know not to do that in front of the Merc with an even bigger one.
What does this scene ultimately mean for Deadpool and the MCU? Nothing, really. This was an extra gag post-credits scene rather than one that works as MCU serialization. If you insist on a bigger meaning, though, it revealed Deadpool can still break the fourth wall even though the film closed the door on the Fox era of Marvel movies. That means he might continue to do so if he ever shows up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe agains.
That Johnny Storm just won’t be around to see what Wade Wilson does in the MCU. Hopefully other Human Torch Variants stuck around for Deadpool & Wolverine‘s post-credits scene to learn why they should keep their yap shut if they ever meet a hero with an even bigger mouth.