Comic book illustrator and writer Rob Liefeld, best known for creating Marvel comics assassin Deadpool, has revealed that he will cut all ties with the publication, following the premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine. Liefeld, also credited for creating the character Cable, disclosed his decision in a recent episode of his Robservation podcast.
In the podcast, he states that he was treated unjustly by the cast and crew during the premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine and claims that no one from the team invited him and his family to the afterparty. He also felt deliberately snubbed by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.
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“It was meant to embarrass, diminish, defeat me,” Liefeld said on the podcast. The 57-year-old believed that Marvel no longer wanted him around, and said, “At some point, you go, ‘I’ve received the message, and the message is clear.'”
The illustrator also believes that the apparent slights came after an email he sent to the studio on June 2024, one month before the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. In the email, Liefeld asked if he could be credited as the creator in the film's opening credits. Marvel usually lists creators in its closing credits.
The email reads: “Marvel’s treatment of creators has never been their strength. Without the worlds, the characters and the concepts that we create — and in this specific case, the world of Deadpool — there are no films to shoot. No blockbusters to distribute.… I am not the easy button at Staples. I am the human imagination behind it all. Comic book creators cannot continue to be relegated as afterthoughts. This is easy to address. Unless I reach out to address it, it will never manifest.”
Thank you to everyone who has reached out today. I appreciate you all so much. I will always believe that comic creators are special and deserve special treatment. It cost nothing to share a kind word, sadly, even that was beneath Marvel & Disney. My family and I deserved common… pic.twitter.com/bfH2x0TMqK
— robliefeld (@robertliefeld) February 7, 2025
Liefeld claims that he got back radio silence from the studio, but was told by his agent that the message was not well received. The Image Comics co-creator also said that he did not feel slighted during the production of the first two Deadpool films, which was under 20th Century Fox.
“Kevin Feige does not treat comic book creators well. That is my personal experience,” he added on the podcast. Liefeld’s final Marvel collaboration, Deadpool Team-Up No. 5, will hit the stands on February 12.
