Marvel's Deadpool Movie - Samurai Swords and Guns - A look at the Katana Deadpool uses.

This February Marvel Comic's Deadpool will hit theaters. This marks one of the few times a comic book inspired movie will have an R rating. Others have been  the Blade movies, and the Watchmen. Like Blade, and the Watchmen, Deadpool also focuses on an anti-hero instead of a super hero. It's interesting to see FOX take the risk by making Deadpool rated R, and if it does well, it may encourage them to take a risk on a rated R version of Old Man Logan. 

Movies, and the movie business are not my area of expertise however, swords are. And like Blade, Deadpool is an anti-hero with an arsenal of guns and samurai swords. The katana as a weapon of choice for a fast moving hero looking to reap a nice harvest of bad guy limbs is actually a good one, as the primary weapon of the samurai was intended for one cut one kill scenarios. If you are an action hero looking to lop off a head in one shot, the katana if your go to sword. 

In the comic books, Deadpool sports a pair of katana, which, because they are comic books, he can sheathe and unsheathe from his back with no problems at all. In fact, a long katana blade worn on the back is almost impossible to draw, as the typical human arm length is far to short. If Michonne had to get here katana out of the back sheath she uses in a hurry, she would long since have joined the zombie ranks. It's just not going to happen.

That's where the ko katana comes in. Ko katana are not historical swords, as some speculate; they are modern katana with a tactical influence. What people tend to think of as a historical ko katana, are in fact wakizashi. A ko katana is composed of a short blade, and a long handle. It gives you the advantage of a wakizashi, which was used in very close quarters, and the two handed leverage of a samurai sword. Quick and nimble, they can be exceedingly deadly in the hands of someone with training and heightened reflexes like Deadpool.

So is Deadpool using ko katana in the movie? I have no clue. From the angle, my guess is that's a 24-25 inch blade in the picture below, which would be a ko katana.

But this one makes it look he has a 28-30 inch katana blade.

The movie version of Deadpool's swords also look like they have unwrapped wooden handles. This differs from the comic books, where Deadpool sports a more traditional looking diamond wrap, or hybrid leather wrap. Take a look:

Regardless of what Deadpool is actually using in the movie - a katana or ko katana, you can reassured there is only one way he is going to be using it; violently. Like Wolverine, Deadpool is a melee fighter that likes to get up close and personal. When the bullets run out, the swords come out. With an R rating, this is going to be a real samurai style blood bath. 

While it's unlikely Disney is every going to license a Deadpool samurai sword for sale, there are plenty of fan made kits on the web to take inspiration from. Just remember, for running around and looking cool, a back worn katana is pretty nice, but make sure you can actually get the sword out of the sheath before you take on a zombie horde.