'Horrified': Marvel 'Deadpool' shirt sparks backlash for Māori ta moko design

A Marvel shirt is sparking backlash for featuring traditional Māori cultural designs.

The long-sleeve tee, sold and shipped by Walmart Canada, features a large image of the popular masked character Deadpool. Within the mask, intricate details - including many resembling Māori tā moko - can be seen on the character's chin and forehead.

The website describes it as being “styled with a crew neckline, long raglan sleeves, a cool front graphic print, and a colour-blocking design.”

There is no acknowledgement of the cultural designs anywhere within the product details.

The shirt is now sold out, having been on clearance for $5 CA ($6.20 NZD).

Multiple New Zealand news outlets have reported the outrage over the shirt.

A man who spotted the shirt in-store was “horrified” and “frustrated” by what he saw, according to Stuff.

Meanwhile, Johnson McKay (Ngāti Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Mahuta), head of culture and strategy at Ira Aotearoa, told the outlet: “Associating these spiritual and cultural art forms with Deadpool seems incongruous.”

Marvel does have ties to New Zealand, including actor Julian Dennison, who starred in 'Deadpool 2' (2018), and Taika Waititi, who directed and co-wrote 'Thor: Ragnarok' (2017) and 'Thor: Love and Thunder' (2022).

Neither have mentioned knowledge of Marvel using Māori culture in merch designs.

This isn’t the only recent concern over the use of Māoritanga.

An Australian-based athleisure brand recently went viral for all the wrong reasons after naming themselves “Aroha,” despite having no Māori connections.

The founder and CEO, Katie Bourke, addressed the outrage in a video statement uploaded to the brand's Facebook page last month. They have since changed the clothing brand’s name to VYRA.

Walmart Canada and Marvel have yet to address the recent controversy surrounding the Deadpool shirt.