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Surely it's time to let superheroes be silly again.... what say you, Marvel & DC?

We've had enough modern mythology; can superheroes be over the top dumb fun once more?

Features by Graeme McMillan, Editor

Published on Wed Sep 11 2024

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As movies and TV shows become the dominant force in superhero storytelling — yes, I know more comics are published every month, but even the majority of those are taking their creative lead from the more financially successful movies and shows — I find myself thinking that something important has been lost from the genre in the translation… although, perhaps, it was an ingredient lost years earlier, in comics’ push to be taken seriously as a medium in the wake of things like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. I’m speaking, of course, of silliness.

Perhaps I’m biased because I’ve recently been revisiting some superhero comics of the 1970s which featured plots involving (a) a teleporting comic book that the Flash chases after because it’s missing from his own collection, (b) a comic book writer accidentally ends up in the DC Universe where he both has super powers and has turned evil, both of which are the result of a magical spell cast by another supervillain in the DCU for reasons entirely unexplained, and (c) Green Lantern getting trapped in an alien opium den where he hallucinates his ex-girlfriends and remembers how bad of a boyfriend he’s been. Each of these comic books were, genuinely, exceptionally enjoyable in their own way: inventive, fast-paced — amazingly so, by today’s comic standards, at times — and, yes, very very silly.

The silliness doesn’t feel at odds with everything else; after all, so many of the core superhero canons are inherently ridiculous. Green Lantern is a space cop with a magic wishing ring, after all. The Flash didn’t just survive getting struck by lightning, he came out of it with the ability to run as fast as lightning — there’s a certain level of joyous nonsense baked into these characters and their stories from the get-go, and even if there wasn’t, there’s a very particular flavor of fun in seeing just how inventive and creative these comics get in their dedication to the silly central premise of any core story.

For all that today’s superhero stories — in comics, onscreen, or wherever they are being told — are models of professionalism, demonstrations of talent, and labors of love that hold their characters up as modern-day myths… they’re also, all-too-often, very self-aware of their own legacy and importance… and, as a result, tend to lean into a more sober, serious approach to the subject matter. That’s not to say this is a bad thing (you can take my copy of King and Gerads’ Mister Miracle out of my cold, dead hands, for example), but it does feel as if there’s an entire history of the genre that’s been left in the dust as a result.

The strange thing is, I feel as if there’s evidence that not only does that not have to be the case, but that reclaiming the silliness in superheroes could bring in more fans. Looking at manga and anime hits like My Hero Academia or One Piece demonstrate the value of silly superpower storytelling, not just creatively and aesthetically — there is so much in both series that thrilling purely because it’s so over-the-top and outrageous — but commercially, as well. The fact that such series are so willing to be silly is a plus to their fans, and to newcomers; a desire to go as far as necessary, even if it’s beyond common sense or good taste.

Superheroes could do the same thing, again. Arguably, they should, at least sometimes. Not every superhero story needs to be silly, of course, but some should be. We’ve gotten close in terms of shows and movies with things like James Gunn’s Peacemaker or the (wonderful and underrated) Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur animated series, for one thing, but as we look towards a new DCU from Gunn and producing partner Peter Safran, and the next phase of the MCU, maybe we could see more of that kind of thing… which, in turn, might allow superhero comics to get that little bit sillier, as well.

After all, it’s about time the good guys got a small break from the end of the world every now and then.

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.