The X-Men Movies Used NSYNC's Bye Bye Bye Long Before Deadpool & Wolverine

There is a lot going on in "Deadpool & Wolverine." One could even say too much. From the gags to the cameos, many Marvel fans would be eager to rewatch the movie and try to catch everything, though /Film's Chris Evangelista disagrees in his not-so-enthusiastic review. Still, there are plenty of silly and irreverent gags to keep the audience entertained. This is a movie that gives one of the best actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe a profanity-laden speech reminiscent of Steve Martin's car rental f-bomb tirade in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," and a movie that introduces the most powerful creature in all of the Marvel multiverse.

Granted, "Deadpool & Wolverine" isn't all jokes. It also serves as a heartfelt celebration of the good, the bad, and the weird of the last 25 years of superhero movies, not only providing several exciting cameos but also paying homage to 20th Century Fox's Marvel movies through an emotional montage during the movie's end credits, albeit by misusing a great song. But there is one song that is phenomenally used in the film, NSYNC's hit "Bye Bye Bye," which accompanies a fantastic dance sequence over the opening credits delivered by dancer Nick Pauley.

As cool as the NSYNC sequence was, it was not the first time a Marvel movie featured the hit song for a comedic scene.

In "X2: X-Men United," the X-Mansion is attacked by William Stryker's strike team, leaving the students to chaotically try to escape their home. During the attack, Wolverine manages to lead Rogue, Pyro, and Iceman to safety as they successfully leave the mansion in Cyclops' car. As they drive away, to try and clear their minds from the horrific trauma they've just experienced, Pyro decides to play some music to drown out the awkward silence and the first song to play is NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye." Unfortunately, it seems none of the X-Men are a fan of boy bands, and they collectively groan as Pyro quickly stops the track, rather than belt out this 2000 banger.

Given how much of "Deadpool & Wolverine" is a homage to the "X-Men" movies, the use of the NSYNC song in the new movie may very well be a callback to this scene — particularly as it features an annoyed Wolverine taking care of some kids on a road trip, just as he does with Deadpool. But there's more. The tone of both scenes is also an indication of how much things have changed the past 20 years. The "X2" scene makes it clear that everyone hates the song, and it is meant to make Cyclops somehow look bad for liking boy bands. It makes sense given how much the "X-Men" trilogy seemed to hate Cyclops. But the joke is on them, because Cyclops being an NSYNC fan makes him infinitely cooler, as seen by how badass Deadpool looks dancing along to the song in the opening of "Deadpool & Wolverine."