Deadpool 2: Who Is Yukio?

The X-Force weren't the only new characters introduced to the live action Deadpool universe in Deadpool 2. A brand new X-Man got added to the ranks--sort of. It's--well, OK, it's a little complicated. Negasonic Teenage Warhead has a girlfriend now, and her name is Yukio--but who is she, really? It turns out that's a really good question and the answer is: She's a couple of things.

First a foremost, she's one half of the first ever openly LGBT+ couple in a live action superhero movie, which is a pretty big deal, considering just how long it's been and just how many movies have ridden in on the superhero tidal wave. We may not know a ton about her and NTW's backstory together, or where Yukio actually came from, but we know flat out that they're dating and we'll absolutely take it. It's really about time.

Beyond her representational status, we get to see Yukio on screen be a pretty bubbly addition to the X-Mansion. She's not exactly the most verbose mutant around, but she seems pretty unbothered by Wade's presence, which makes her a standout among her teammates, who really would rather be anywhere but near him. Wade seems to like her, too--or maybe he's just happy to finally have an X-Man who isn't constantly on his case. It's honestly a 50/50 shot.

When Yukio was first announced and shown in the trailers we weren't given an official character name, just the actor, Shioli Kutsuna. Fans guessed that she was actually the mutant named Surge because of a clip featuring her swinging what looked like an electrified chain. Surge, over in the comics, is a Japanese mutant named Noriko Ashida and she--surprise!--has the ability to generate and manipulate electricity--so, really, a pretty good guess, given how little information was available.

Obviously, now that we know Yukio is not in fact named Noriko, the Surge comparison starts to get a little thin. Not only do the names not match, but Yukio's costume doesn't resemble Surge's uniform at all--no cool looking robot gauntlets to be found. That wouldn't necessarily be a dealbreaker, since costume updates for live action adaptations happen all the time, but given how no other pieces were falling into place, it seemed like pretty definitive answer. Yukio isn't Surge. At least, she's not really Surge.

We don't get a great look at Yukio's personality or mutation in Deadpool 2, but they obviously have something to do with electricity, or maybe even technology, given how she and NTW enable Wade's post-credits craziness. So it's probably a safe bet that Yukio's pulling a considerable amount of inspiration for Surge but, very likely, was the victim of some sort of rights issue when making the transition from page to screen.

The name "Yukio" is another X-Men callback, referencing a character from Logan's corner of the X-Universe: a beautiful and deadly human "ronin samurai" and thief who Wolverine encounters during his time in Japan. Despite her relative obscurity in the scope of Marvel's mutant roster, Yukio became a pretty endearing side character for a decent amount of the X-Men's adventures through the '90s, even going as far as to be one of the in-universe inspirations for Storm's iconic mohawk look and costume update. She was also a key player in the bulk of Logan's storylines involving his oft-forgotten wife, Mariko Yashida, and adoptive family. She even got her very own live action incarnation back in 2013 in The Wolverine, played by Rila Fukushima.

Clearly Deadpool 2's Yukio isn't exactly that character either. As far as we know, she has no connection to Logan and no history as a wandering samurai thief (though, hey, maybe she does? Who can really say. She didn't get that much screen time, maybe we're in for a big surprise somewhere down the line). This leads us to believe her name and the reference contained within is yet another shout out-slash-dig at Hugh Jackman's long list of X-Men and Wolverine spinoff movies.

Wade Wilson (and Ryan Reynolds) have never been shy about playfully taking shots at both Jackman and Logan, especially given Reynolds' weird history with his Deadpool debut in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Taking an obscure stab at The Wolverine by stealing one of the character names and, in effect, turning all of her tropes on their ear by making a hardened, ninja-inspired thief into a bubbly teen girl seems like it falls pretty squarely into the Deadpool wheelhouse.

So, who is Yukio? Well, as far as we can tell she's a totally new invention for Deadpool 2--but one that just so happens to be one part Surge, one part canonical, comics-verse Yukio, and one part left field Hugh Jackman meta-gag tossed into a blender, poured out, and re-shaped into something original. Nobody said Deadpool's handling of its own source material had to be faithful, after all. Making things simple just isn't his style.