Much of the indifferently directed action takes place in the Void, a metafictional realm very palely resembling the desert of the Mad Max films, where discarded Marvel characters are subject to the iron whim of youthfully androgynous psycho queen Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin).

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The gender politics are convoluted enough to defy analysis in a short space, even before we get to Matthew Macfadyen as the scurrying supernatural bureaucrat Mr Paradox, perhaps the first Marvel villain who would fit smoothly into the universe of Are You Being Served?

Still, this might be the queerest Marvel film ever, in its necessarily facetious way. Deadpool still pines for his old girlfriend (Morena Baccarin) but proclaims his pansexuality every chance he gets – and while the heroes don’t literally wind up in bed together, their powers of instantaneous healing allow them to spend a lot of time plunging weapons into each other’s flesh: an especially energetic bout of combat is backed by You’re the One that I Want from Grease, in case there were any doubt the filmmakers are in on the joke.

Nor is there doubt, on the other hand, that the film remains a Disney product at heart. All kidding aside, we can rest assured by the end of the two-hour-plus runtime Deadpool will learn the true meaning of heroism and friendship, and Wolverine will realise becoming a mass murderer is a necessary stage in self-development, while showing he’s not too manly to tear up when circumstances demand. Bugs Bunny, who in his prime never stuck around for more than seven minutes, would have slunk away in boredom long ago.