Peter Wisdom Is Nothing Like His Deadpool & Wolverine Character

In Deadpool 2, Peter Wisdom was introduced as a member of X-Force, distinguished by his lack of powers. He brings a chipper demeanor and attempts to provide some much-needed common sense to the team, but like most of X-Force, he dies as soon as their first mission starts. He’s one of several characters saved by Deadpool through time travel to appear in Deadpool & Wolverine.

In the comics, Peter Wisdom is primarily known as an Excalibur character who goes by the nickname Pete. While rarely an actual member of the UK-based X-Men associated team, he was often a supporting character in their books, making his first appearance in Excalibur #86. While Deadpool & Wolverine makes the friendship between Wade and Peter a multiversal constant, they don’t have a strong relationship in the comics. 

One of the most obvious differences between the two versions of Peter Wisdom is his powers or lack thereof. In Deadpool 2 it’s made explicitly clear that he has no superpowers, which is part of his charm. However, the comic book version is a mutant who can absorb heat from the environment and release it as spikes of pure thermal energy from his fingers. 

Another huge departure from a comic-accurate depiction of Peter Wisdom is his personality. The version of the character who appears in the Deadpool movies is a cheerful, optimistic, supportive force of positivity. However, in the comics, he’s deeply cynical and brash, often butting heads with other characters, even those he’s close to. 

Another important distinction between the two versions of the character is his job. In the comics, Peter Wisdom is a spy who works for MI6 and numerous fictional spy agencies such as M-13 and Black Air. The movie version has much more mundane career choices, including being a used car salesman in Deadpool & Wolverine and a beekeeper in Deadpool 2.

The final difference between the two is their nationality, which wouldn’t be a major change for some characters but is for Peter Wisdom. In the comics, he is a British citizen, and his patriotism often creates tension with other heroes, particularly during the Krarkoa era of X-Men. Played by American comedian Rob Delaney, the movie version is an American who doesn’t seem to have strong patriotic feelings. 

As much as I love the Deadpool movies, there are some characters I wish they’d made original characters rather than arbitrarily giving them the names of comic book characters. I love the character’s role in Deadpool & Wolverine, but he shares almost nothing with the Peter Wisdom I grew up reading in Excalibur. In the modern era of superhero movies, where character adaptations are generally close to their source material, his lack of accuracy feels out of place.