Take That/Comic Books: Difference between revisions

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** It's been a tradition for the two companies to do light-hearted jabs at each other for over fifty years. Unfortunately, writers today [[Armed With Canon|tend to forget that]].

* Ironically, when ''[[The Ultimates]]'' came out, their version of The Avengers seemed to be heavily influenced by a satirical version introduced when [[Mark Millar]] took over; a team of black-ops sociopaths controlled by the US government. The major villain on Millar's first arc is basically [[Jack Kirby]]; he's specifically described as "the guy who would've created all your favorite comic books" if he hadn't been hired by the US government. The series has a ''lot'' of [[Author Appeal]], and [[Anvilicious|they're not subtle about it either]]. He even takes shots at Charles Atlas bodybuilding ads. Also;

{{quote| '''[[Lawyer Friendly Cameo|Legally-distinct-parody]]-of [[Incredible Hulk (Comic Book)|The Hulk]]:''' Comics are for retards.}}

{{quote| '''[[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo|Legally-distinct-parody]]-of [[Incredible Hulk (Comic Book)|The Hulk]]:''' Comics are for retards.}}

* ''[[The Authority]]'' took this to a ridiculous extreme by fighting (and utterly destroying) satirical versions of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, SHIELD, and the X-Men. The authors explained this was a deliberate poke at traditional superheroes who they felt embodied and maintained the status quo.

{{quote| '''Hawksmoor:''': (To [[Bill Clinton]]) We're not some comic book super-team who participate in pointless fights with pointless super-criminals every month to preserve the status quo.}}

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* In [http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/6540566.html this] [[Spider Man]] comic, featuring a cameo by [[Stephen Colbert]], [[Joe Quesada]] is on his "On Notice" list.

** That issue went far easier on Quesada than the [[Daredevil]] movie, where the title character beats up and damns a rapist named "José Quesada" to hell before letting a subway crush him.

* The ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' series REALLY likes to dress up female lunatics in the costumes of whatever super-heroine is making Crisis Crossover trouble for the Marvel Universe today and drag them by police officers screaming their new catch-phrase. It's mostly [[Self Deprecation]] as the series got girl dressed as Scarlet Witch screaming [[House of M|"I'M NOT CRAZY! I'M NOT!"]] and one dressed as Spider-Woman yelling [[Secret Invasion|"EMBRACE CHANGE! EMBRACE CHANGE!"]] and [[Brian Bendis]] writes both USM and the cross-overs involved. However, one exception was the guy in the Speedball costume yelling [[Civil War (Comic Book)|NOT LIKE THIS! NOT LIKE THIS!!!]]

* The ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' series REALLY likes to dress up female lunatics in the costumes of whatever super-heroine is making Crisis Crossover trouble for the Marvel Universe today and drag them by police officers screaming their new catch-phrase. It's mostly [[Self-Deprecation]] as the series got girl dressed as Scarlet Witch screaming [[House of M|"I'M NOT CRAZY! I'M NOT!"]] and one dressed as Spider-Woman yelling [[Secret Invasion|"EMBRACE CHANGE! EMBRACE CHANGE!"]] and [[Brian Bendis]] writes both USM and the cross-overs involved. However, one exception was the guy in the Speedball costume yelling [[Civil War (Comic Book)|NOT LIKE THIS! NOT LIKE THIS!!!]]

** Note that the actual Ultimate versions of Wanda and Jessica look completely different, so we know it wasn't meant to be them.

* ''[[The Incredible Hercules]]'' arc "Love & War" was more or less a massive Take That at DC's ''[[Amazons Attack]]''. And by that, we mean it was completely awesome.

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'''Guy:''' A dollar a copy?! But they retail for $2.50 apiece! I bought this five years ago as a college investment!

'''Marlo:''' Not a dollar a copy. A dollar for the whole box. And frankly, it's guys like you who ruined the fun of comic reading for everybody else. }}

* Also, after Liefeld complained about how David revealed that Shatterstar is bisexual in ''[[X-Factor (Comic Book)|X-Factor]]'' comics because it was against [[Small Name Big Ego|his vision]] and that he was supposed to be like a Spartan warrior and Mel Gibson in ''[[Gladiator]]'', David said he's going to add a dialogue below in one of next issues. He kept his word.

* Also, after Liefeld complained about how David revealed that Shatterstar is bisexual in ''[[X-Factor (Comic Book)|X-Factor]]'' comics because it was against [[Small Name, Big Ego|his vision]] and that he was supposed to be like a Spartan warrior and Mel Gibson in ''[[Gladiator]]'', David said he's going to add a dialogue below in one of next issues. He kept his word.

{{quote| '''Guido:''' Tell me, Shatterstar, do you like... gladiator movies?

'''Shatterstar:''' Apparently.

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* [[Brian Bendis]] wrote a few take thats towards [[One More Day]], not only having [[Spider Man|Spider-Man]] reveal his secret identity to New Avengers as soon as he could and having [[Spider Woman]], who never has any [[No Fourth Wall|fourth wall breaking moments]], asking if Peter wasn't married.

* The [[Ultimate Marvel]] version of of the [[Iron Man]] story arc ''Armor Wars'' has Iron Man at point mixing it up with other power armored soldiers [[Halo|who bear a striking resemblance to a certain Master Chief]]. Iron Man then proceeds to casually blow them out of the sky. [[Word of God|The writer, Warren Ellis]] stated online that [[Stealth Parody|he used the story as an excuse to have a little fun and throw in as many jokes as possible]] (including one about Tony Stark using his computers to browse 4Chan).

* And who can forget this one line by Ultimate [[Captain America]]: ''"[[Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys|Surrender? SURRENDER?! You think this letter on my forehead stands for France?]]"''

* And who can forget this one line by Ultimate [[Captain America]]: ''"[[Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys|Surrender? SURRENDER?! You think this letter on my forehead stands for France?]]"''

** This then lead to a more subtle take that by Ed Brubaker in the pages of 616-verse Captain America, where Cap reflects on his time fighting with the French Resistance and chides the folks who dismiss the French as "cowards."

** To which another shout out was made in the pages of [[Nextwave]] - When Elsa Bloodstone is assaulted by a Captain America-imitation, and he claims she is just a victim, she blows him ten ways to Sunday, then points at the Euro-symbol on her T-shirt, and exclaims: "''Victim''? You think this letter on my chest stands for ''America?!''"

* ''[[The Awesome Slapstick]]'' is basically built on [[Shout Out|Shout Outs]] and [[Take That|Take Thats]], having things like "[[The Punisher|The Overkiller]], mutant murderizer" and "[[Batman|Skulker-Arounder]], dark, gritty, realistic avenger of evil".

* Almost every ''Spider-Man'' writer since 1996 thinks making at least one joke about ''Clone Saga'' (sometimes really funny, [[~~Sturgeons~~ Law|more often not]]) to be his holy duty.

* Almost every ''Spider-Man'' writer since 1996 thinks making at least one joke about ''Clone Saga'' (sometimes really funny, [[Sturgeon's Law|more often not]]) to be his holy duty.

* Marvel's ''Wha... Huh?'' features take thats against DC and people complaining about comics at the Internet.

** DC was hit with [[Identity Crisis]] parody with Impossible Man turning evil and murdering [[Stuffed Into the Fridge|Aunt Petunia]] for [[C List Fodder|being a character without a movie deal]] and then being killed by Identity Girl - "a new character you've never heard of that's just watered down version of a bunch of characters you have heard of." It was also featuring ''What if DC would let us do [[Batman]]\[[Daredevil]]'' by [[Brian Bendis]] and David Mack, which was a picture of frozen Hell.

** There was also "What if Internet existed in" segment, showing posts which would be written if Internet was around in [[The Sixties]], [[The Seventies]] and [[The Eighties]]. Here's few of them:

{{quote|-Who the hell does [[Jack Kirby]] think he is? Why can't he let someone else drawn a damn comics book? Who died and made him king?

-The new [[X Men|X-Men]] [[They Changed It Now It Sucks|team sucks!]] Why are they coming up with "great" new characters like Storm (white-haired black woman-- give me a break) and Colossus (like Thing but Russian) when we all know they're all going to fail. The only cool one was Thunderbird, so of course they killed him off! [[Ruined FOREVER|It's an insult to the fans of real X-Men]] [[Stan Lee]]'s X-Men, that we're forced to endure those pretenders!|All of sudden Matt Murdock is a ninja?? You gotta be kidding me?! Bring back Gene Colan and stop giving your books to these crazy people who clearly have never read a comics book before. }}

-The new [[X Men|X-Men]] [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|team sucks!]] Why are they coming up with "great" new characters like Storm (white-haired black woman-- give me a break) and Colossus (like Thing but Russian) when we all know they're all going to fail. The only cool one was Thunderbird, so of course they killed him off! [[Ruined FOREVER|It's an insult to the fans of real X-Men]] [[Stan Lee]]'s X-Men, that we're forced to endure those pretenders!|All of sudden Matt Murdock is a ninja?? You gotta be kidding me?! Bring back Gene Colan and stop giving your books to these crazy people who clearly have never read a comics book before. }}

* Subversion - [http://www.4thletter.net/2009/11/okay-now-im-getting-mad this page] created some [[Internet Backdraft]], because it was seen as [[Take That]] against everybody who criticize sexist costumes of superheroines, but [http://www.4thletter.net/2009/11/boobgate-nine-days-later/ this response from Jen Van Meter] explains it was never intended to be take that.

* One issue of [[Marvel Adventures]]: Avengers poked fun at the infamous [[Captain America]] direct to video movie (where Cap wore rubber ears on his mask) by having [[Wolverine]] sarcastically ask him "Are those ears real?!"

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== Other: ==

* [[Garth Ennis]] has also been known to viciously parody the concept of [[The Cape]]. Ironically, he's clearly fond of [[Superman (Comic Book)|Superman]]; when Superman appeared in an issue of ''Hitman'', the character was treated with complete respect, and a later issue had the [[Anti Hero]] main character remark that Superman was the only superhero he had any time for.

* [[Garth Ennis]] has also been known to viciously parody the concept of [[The Cape]]. Ironically, he's clearly fond of [[Superman (Comic Book)|Superman]]; when Superman appeared in an issue of ''Hitman'', the character was treated with complete respect, and a later issue had the [[Anti-Hero]] main character remark that Superman was the only superhero he had any time for.

* In an early issue of ''[[The Savage Dragon]]'' -- created and written by ex-Marvel artist Erik Larsen -- Officer Dragon is [[Let's You and Him Fight|randomly attacked by superhero Bedrock]], who at the end of the issue explains that it was a test to see if he was tough enough to join the team Youngblood.

{{quote| '''Dragon''': ''THAT'S THE STUPIDEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD!''

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* [[Alan Moore]]'s ''Supreme'' had a gratuitous scene with the Televillain killing Courtney Cox's character on ''[[Friends (TV)|Friends]]'' using his powers, thus showing that, in spite of his tacky feel, he was awesome.

** Billy Eliot is one big [[Take That]] against Grant Morrison and the resident [[Butt Monkey]]. His M.O. is to [[Kudzu Plot|create as much complicate and complex stories as he can, to the point that they fall under their own weight and become an unreadable mess]], other people think he's a total [[Jerkass]], Supreme's villains consider his presence an act of cruel and unusual punishment, the equivalent of the [[Legion of Super-Heroes]] hates him (especially after he accidentally joined their [[Legion of Doom]]) and the only person who likes him is a [[Captain Ersatz]] of [[The Joker]].

** Moore also delivered a few take thats against Hillary Clinton when Korgo The Space Tyrant took over the United States and made her his bride. First, we see her during a press conference claiming this is not a bad thing and that the press should stop panicking about nothing. And then we find out she's [[Too Spicy for Yog Sothoth|so horrible that Korgo willingly allowed Supreme to beat him to get away from her]].

** Moore also delivered a few take thats against Hillary Clinton when Korgo The Space Tyrant took over the United States and made her his bride. First, we see her during a press conference claiming this is not a bad thing and that the press should stop panicking about nothing. And then we find out she's [[Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth|so horrible that Korgo willingly allowed Supreme to beat him to get away from her]].

* [[Jhonen Vasquez]]'s ''I Feel Sick'' is basically aimed at [[Nickelodeon]], according to this [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Feel_Sick entry here].

* The Curtis', owners of the comic book company, Shanda Fantasy Arts, upset at the horrific [[Screwed By the Network|screwing]] of ''[[Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew (Comic Book)|Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew]]'' in their last mini-series where the team is exiled on the main [[The DCU|DCU story world]] and trapped as ordinary animals unable to express their unchanged intelligence. In response, the Curtis', with aid of the series' original creator Roy Thomas, are preparing a special comic book using their ''Atomic Mouse'' license, ''Atomic Mouse Meets Power Jack And The Lost Menagerie'' where apparently the title character will rescue a [[Captain Ersatz|disguised version of the Zoo Crew]] who are suffering an equivalent fate.

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* Whilst [[Alan Moore]]'s ''1963'' is more of an [[Affectionate Parody]] of the characters and stories of the [[Silver Age]], particularly those debuting in [[Marvel Comics]], it's more of a pointed Take That to the creators behind them; in the letters pages provided in the issue, it's made pretty clear that "Affable" Al Moore is an egotistical tyrant who shamelessly takes credit for the work and achievements of others.

* [[Don Rosa]]'s comic ''Super Snooper Strikes Again'' is a huge [[Take That]] to dark and violent superhero comics, eventually leading in [http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i212/Kerrah_photos/TakeThat.jpg this panel] and the follow-up, where the nephews decide that [[Donald Duck]] is greater than Super <s>Man</s> Snooper, because he can face everyday problems and support three nephews without any kind of superpowers.

** In another Don Rosa story, ''The Money Pit'', Scrooge ridicules coin collectors for hoarding their collections solely for their resale value. That, and the comment about "plastic sleeves", makes it obvious Rosa is actually talking about comic book collectors. Rosa is a collector himself, so it doubles as [[Self Deprecation]]. In the commentaries he gave to his stories in Finnish collection books, Rosa wrote that when Donald says that paying a dime for a single comic book is too much in ''The Crocodile Collector'', he was dissing himself for paying hundreds of dollars for old comics.

** In another Don Rosa story, ''The Money Pit'', Scrooge ridicules coin collectors for hoarding their collections solely for their resale value. That, and the comment about "plastic sleeves", makes it obvious Rosa is actually talking about comic book collectors. Rosa is a collector himself, so it doubles as [[Self-Deprecation]]. In the commentaries he gave to his stories in Finnish collection books, Rosa wrote that when Donald says that paying a dime for a single comic book is too much in ''The Crocodile Collector'', he was dissing himself for paying hundreds of dollars for old comics.

** Rosa's final installment in ''[[The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck]]'', "The Richest Duck in the World," is partially devoted to dispelling the "[[Depending On the Writer|supreme bit of absolute balderdash]]" that Scrooge's [[Number One Dime]] is lucky.

* ''[[Wanted (Comic Book)|Wanted]]'' ends with the [[Villain Protagonist]] spouting a monologue [[You Bastard|about how your humdrum life of working for a living and not being awesome like him is pathetic and you should feel bad]], ending with a closeup of his angry mug saying "This is my face while fucking you in the ass".