While theMCUhas turned into the biggest cinematic franchise of all time for good reason, the first-ever Marvel movie from 39 years ago is so bizarre that it’s no wonder the franchise took so long to come together. It isn’t as ifMarvel sidesteps all things bizarrein the MCU. It does, after all, adapt some wild concepts from Marvel Comics - from Asgardian aliens to the Quantum Realm. This is what makes the MCU so magical, as it straddles the line between the sublime and the ridiculous, delivering genuinely touching and grounded stories while remaining comic-accurate.
It isn’t as if the MCU is without its missteps, of course. Yet eventhe MCU’s worst-rated moviesaren’t as widely panned as some of the earliest superhero movies ever made. In fact, at a time when DC’s Batman was dominating cinema, Marvel characters were starring in such movies as the direct-to-video and critically pannedCaptain Americain 1990. As wild as that release was (debuting the mostterrifying version of Red Skullin the process), it didn’t hold a candle to its Marvel movie predecessor starring a character infinitely more obscure than Cap.
Howard The Duck Being Marvel’s First Feature Film Only Gets Weirder With Time
Howard The Duck Was Marvel’s First Live-Action Movie Produced By Lucasfilm
Howard the Duckwas released in 1986 as Marvel’s first-ever feature film. Its protagonist, the titular Howard the Duck, is one of Marvel Comics' most bizarre characters whose role was to deliver satirical takes on real-world events in his misadventures as an anthropomorphic duck navigating a human world. Despite his relative obscurity today, he was a hit among comic book fans of the late 1970s for his more adult-oriented satire. This would lead to the development of aHoward the Duckmovie, though the character had significantly declined in popularity by 1986.
Howard the Duckhas a higher Rotten Tomatoes score thanMadame Web, with 13% and 11%, respectively.
Unlikethe MCU movies of today,Howard the Duckdeparted quite substantially from the source material. Instead of being a generally ill-tempered antihero, Howard is portrayed as a much more amenable character. Additionally, instead of being used as a vehicle for satire, the filmmakers (which included Star Wars' George Lucas as producer) decided to lean into the funnier, more absurd side of the anthropomorphic duck navigating Earth. Unfortunately,the movie bombed and was critically lambasted- even earning four Razzies and being nominated for seven. 39 years later, the existence of this movie remains particularly bewildering.
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There Aren’t Many People Who Know About Howard The Duck
Of course,it’s hard to reconcile the overall quality ofHoward the Duckwith the standards of the MCU today. While the MCU has started to push the boat out with its concepts, using such tools as the multiverse to venture into weird and wonderful territory likeWerewolf by NightandMarvel Zombies, it is only able to do so confidently off the back of the success of the MCU’s back catalog. To think thatMarvel Studios' record-breaking franchisebegan with a movie as bizarre and unsuccessful asHoward the Duckis pretty mind-blowing.
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Now, Howard the Duck has started to return in a far morecomic-accurate capacity in the MCU, as voiced by Seth Green. The character more closely resembles his comic book counterpart, while the multiverse has yet to deliver the original live-action iteration as a variant. Despite helping out in the Battle of Earth inAvengers: Endgameand starring in one of themost bizarre episodes ofWhat If…?ever made,it remains unlikely that Howard the Duck will contribute totheMCUin a more meaningful capacity - and past experience dictates that perhaps this is for the best.
