If you’ve seen the Deadpool movies, you possibly noticed some jokes about feet. Of course, the Deadpool character embraces fourth-wall-breaking meta-jokes, but these truly take the cake because they refer to the experience of comic book writer, artist, and Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld. Ever since the 1990s, when Liefeld became a breakout superstar artist in the comic book world, he has developed a signature style known for its exaggerated figures: heroes with big, mammoth, beefy, and imposing frames, giant ammo pouches and belts, big, high-tech guns, and of course, skin-tight outfits. However, one of the biggest running jokes about Liefeld’s art style is his penchant for not drawing feet. It’s so prevalent that the gag made its way into both Deadpool 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. So, what is this whole thing about Deadpool’s creator, Rob Liefeld, and feet? It’s time to unpack the infamous issue that’s plagued Liefeld for most of his professional comic book career.
Rob Liefeld Has Been Mocked Over Feet Since the ’90s
The running gag since the 1990s is that Rob Liefeld doesn’t like drawing feet for his characters, and their feet are always out of frame. This issue became so prevalent that Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) actually jokes about the issue in the films. If you examine Liefeld’s interior pencils and cover artwork for his superhero books, it’s a recurring trait. Now, you can certainly find instances of the feet of the characters Liefeld draws appearing in his comic book panels and covers, but the criticism became so widespread that it followed Liefeld throughout most of his career.
There are certainly many instances where Liefeld does draw feet in his covers and interior artwork. However, sometimes his characters’ feet look weird, more like nubby protrusions disproportionate to their characters’ legs and torsos. This more than likely amplified the criticism and idea that Liefeld does not know how to draw feet or simply doesn’t like drawing them on his characters. Yes, the features and anatomy of Liefeld’s artwork can sometimes look odd, but that’s his trademark style. Not to mention, he often draws characters in the superhero world, where characters are bigger and larger than life.
The Feet Criticism Found Its Way Into the Deadpool Movie Franchise
The Liefeld feet issue has grown beyond mythical levels over the decades, and due to its mention in the Deadpool film series, it’s now entered the pop-culture zeitgeist. You might have noticed Deadpool makes a joke about feet in Deadpool 2 after Domino (Zazie Beets) explains her “luck powers” to Deadpool. After she joins the new X-Force team, Deadpool opines, “Luck?! What coked-out, glass pipe-sucking, freak show comic book artist came up with that little chestnut? Probably a guy who can’t draw feet!” The feet joke comes up again in this summer’s Marvel Studios blockbuster smash-hit, Deadpool & Wolverine. There was a shoe store in the background before the big climactic battle scene where Deadpool and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) are about to take on the Deadpool Corps. The store is called “Liefeld’s Just Feet.” The Liefeld feet criticism has now been immortalized in cinema for all time!
Rob Liefeld Maintains a Good Sense of Humor About the Feet Jokes
Liefeld is not blind to the foot jokes and criticisms that have inundated him for years. He genuinely embraces them as a badge of honor. Reynolds pitched the Deadpool 2 feet joke directly to Liefeld, and the comic book creator was one hundred percent on board with it, as he informed Inverse during a May 2018 interview. Liefeld explained at the time, “Ryan calls me and says, ‘Rob, we have this joke, I wanna run it by you. Please share your thoughts.’ I said, ‘Ryan, I absolutely love it.'” Liefeld considered the joke an extreme form of flattery. He continued while speaking to Inverse, “There’s no greater shout-out in the world. I love it; I love taking the piss out of people. I love people taking the piss out of me. I got three kids who make fun of me all day long, so if my characters are making fun of me, all my kids are trashing me. I love it.”
Liefeld similarly maintained his sense of humor regarding the “Liefeld’s Just Feet” store in Deadpool & Wolverine. During the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, he revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he was bowled over when the folks at Marvel called him up to tell him about the joke in the threequel. Liefeld stated, “I was laughing hysterically when the Marvel business affairs people called me. They were laughing, too.” Liefeld is well aware of what fans say about his artwork, and he owns it. Critics joking about how a comic book artist draws feet probably seem trivial when that artist’s creations are grossing billions of dollars at the box office. However, Liefeld can appreciate a good joke and doesn’t mind any witticisms being made at his expense, recognizing that it’s all good fun. The artist and creator has even taken to making jokes about feet on his social media accounts. He once joked about his artwork for Marvel Comics Presents #85, “Hi, I’m Rob Liefeld, and I have never known Da Feet….I mean defeat!!”
Rob Liefeld Is Working on His Final Deadpool Story
Currently, Liefeld is working on the five-issue Deadpool Team-Up miniseries from Marvel Comics. Issue #2 hit shelves on September 25. This will be Liefeld’s “last adventure” with his iconic character, the Merc with a Mouth, aka Deadpool. As he told THR back at Comic-Con in July, “I have nothing more to say with the character.” He continued, “This last adventure that I’m doing with him is so out of left field. It’s the farthest thing from me trying to be cool. It’s the farthest thing from me trying to make him pop. It’s just a weirdo story, and I feel like it’s the right kind of vibe.” Hopefully, before Liefeld rides off into the sunset with Deadpool, he throws in a couple of foot jokes for good measure.
Deadpool & Wolverine, complete with Liefeld’s Just Feet, is in theaters now in the U.S.
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