Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Boys season 4, episode 7!

The Boys season 4’s episode 7 features an easy-to-miss Deadpool reference that is both clever and hilarious. Like its predecessors, The Boys season 4 continues to feature parodies of superheroes from Marvel and DC Comics. While almost all these parodies and nods to popular superhero franchises are overt and add more heft to the show’s fascinating portrayal of morally skewed superheroes, perhaps the most memorable among these is season 4’s depiction of an unrecognizable Spider-Man-esque character named Webweaver.

Unlike the “friendly neighborhood” character featured in the original Marvel Comics and MCU movies, The Boys‘ Webweaver is completely anti-Disney because of his many vices and weird sexual connections to Tek-Knight and Ashley Barrett. While The Boys season 4’s reference to Deadpool is not as relevant to the overarching narrative as the portrayal of Webweaver, it still gives viewers a humorous moment to appreciate the Amazon show’s attention to detail. At the same time, it also makes The Boys season 4’s parodies and superhero nods more relevant for the time.

The Boys Season 4, Episode 7 Subtly Recreates A Hilarious Deadpool 2 Scene

The Show Draws Parallels Between Kimiko & Deadpool’s Regeneration Abilities

In The Boys season 4, episode 7, Sameer injects Kimiko in her foot with the supe-killing virus before fleeing the scene. As the virus spreads through Kimiko’s bloodstream, her foot almost instantly gets covered with white cysts, and Frenchie realizes he must do something before the virus reaches her vital organs. Therefore, he chops her leg off to prevent the virus from reaching other parts of her body.

Since Kimiko has impressive regeneration abilities, a brief shot in the next sequence shows how she has already started recovering and has a weird baby foot popping out of her leg’s stump. It is a hit-or-miss moment in The Boys season 4’s episode 7. However, it seems hilarious because it perfectly calls back to a scene from Deadpool 2.

Ryan Reynolds’ character also has incredible healing powers in the Deadpool movies, allowing him to fully regenerate his legs when The Juggernaut rips his body in half in Deadpool 2. Like Kimiko, Deadpool, too, walks around with the tiniest legs for quite some time before his regenerated legs grow back to their regular size. The Boys’ Deadpool nod seems even more hilarious because the show does not even call attention to it, leaving it as a subtle Easter egg to the MCU’s funniest character.

The Boys’ Deadpool Reference Could Not Have Come At A More Perfect Time

Deadpool & Wolverine’s Release Is On The Horizon

Given how Deadpool 2 premiered almost six years ago, featuring a Deadpool reference in an earlier season would not have had a lot of heft. However, since Deadpool & Wolverine‘s release is right around the corner and the hype around the Marvel superhero is higher than ever, the timing of the subtle Deadpool nod in The Boys season 4 is perfect. It not only serves as a clever reference to one of the funniest moments in the Ryan Reynolds movie series but also taps into the current excitement surrounding Deadpool & Wolverine‘s imminent release.