Breaking the Fourth Wall

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LittleSin

LittleSin

So,I'm reading the O'Neil run of The Question and in issue 17 a strange moment comes up where the aforementioned character picks up a copy of The Watchmen and finds himself identifying with Rorschach. I find this interesting because, before Charlton Comics went belly up, Moore was going to be using their characters for his graphic masterpiece and The Question was going to be filling the role of Rorshach. After it went to DC something happened, I think DC probably didn't like Moores direction with the characters, and they became unusable.

I'm not entirely sure if it's an example of breaking the fourth wall but it is a cool example of things coming full circle. Although, if I dwell on it, I come to the conclusion that in the DC universe all Vertigo comics must exist as, well, comic books. This sets off the line of thinking that the Watchmen and other Vertigo universes must exist in DC continuity simply based on the fact that Jay Garrick, the original flash, is acknowledged as being a fictional comic book hero in DC continuity but is 'real' in an alternate reality.

Ow. My head.

Anyways, any of you guys have any interesting examples of breaking the fourth wall?

DeadPool is a given, By the way.
 
Green_Lantern

Green_Lantern

Staff member
OP: Not really breaking, more like scratching

LittleSin said:
Bowielee said:
She Hulk
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Not really familiar with the She Hulk comics.Care to elaborate?

Same goes for Howard the Duck actually asall Ican recall is a terrible movie.
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It is one of her powers, she can break the fourth wall (not even hulk is so strong!)
 

Best example of the fourth wall being broken, AND being a major part of the story, would be Grant Morrison's run on Animal Man. He basically gained the power to jump off panel and even beat an evil Superman from another Earth that way.

Then, of course, is his showdown with Morrison himself in the final issue.
 
Vrii

Vrii

ThatNickGuy said:
Best example of the fourth wall being broken, AND being a major part of the story, would be Grant Morrison's run on Animal Man. He basically gained the power to jump off panel and even beat an evil Superman from another Earth that way.

Then, of course, is his showdown with Morrison himself in the final issue.
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That sounds awesome.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
Uautu the Watcher routinely talked to the reader as a narrative device.

There have been a lot of cases where Warner Brothers merchandise can be seen in stores in DC comics. Bugs Bunny dolls, Animaniacs toys, etc.

It's also interesting when famous people, or an artist's friends and family appear in the crowd scenes.
 
ElJuski

ElJuski

Staff member
Not a comic, but the movie Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang.

"And to the people in the Midwest, sorry we said 'fuck' so much."
 
Covar

Covar

Geoff Johns' last issue of JSA. At the end of the book Starman faces the reader and says "Thanks for Reading" Cyclone then turns to him and says "who are you talking to Starman?" "Everyone".
 

Vrii said:
ThatNickGuy said:
Best example of the fourth wall being broken, AND being a major part of the story, would be Grant Morrison's run on Animal Man. He basically gained the power to jump off panel and even beat an evil Superman from another Earth that way.

Then, of course, is his showdown with Morrison himself in the final issue.
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That sounds awesome.
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Totally. First volume is mostly classic superhero daring-do, second volume is a mix of that and starting to hint at fourth wall breakage, third volume is where reality goes right out the window. It's great stuff.

Another example: Ambush Bug. In fact, there's a mini-series that's yet to be finished that has a LOT of hokey inside jokes.

Infinite Crisis kind of had a fourth wall moment. Alexander Luthor was reaching out to different Earths, trying to find the right one. Then, he thinks about Superboy-Prime's Earth (Earth-Prime), which essentially supposed to be OUR universe. He looks right to the reader and starts reaching his hands out to grab the reader.

'Course, that was when he had his fingers blown off, but still.
 
G

Gadzooks

The very last episode of the 90s Spiderman Cartoon.

Spiderman, and a bunch of other Spidermen from different universes, go to see Stan Lee
 
V

Veteran

Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Entire cast is arrested for the death of a famous historian.
 
@Li3n

@Li3n

LittleSin said:
I find this interesting because, before Charlton Comics went belly up, Moore was going to be using their characters for his graphic masterpiece and The Question was going to be filling the role of Rorshach. After it went to DC something happened, I think DC probably didn't like Moores direction with the characters, and they became unusable.
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Eh, i'm pretty sure it was always a DC thing, but once they read the story they realised that they couldn't use the Charlton characters afterwards, making it a one off investment instead of a long term investment. So they had him use expys instead.
 
Kovac

Kovac

Krisken said:
Anyone mention Stephen King's The Dark Tower?
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Indeed.

The Dark Tower has the most epic breaking of the fourth wall out of anything that I have ever read.

It doesn't mess about either, it's a major plot element.
 
A

Alex B.

The Dan Slott run of She-Hulk never quite broke the 4th wall (that I recall) but it did introduce the concept that comics in the Marvel universe are essentially documentaries, and can be used as legal documents. And that same run frequently poked fun of the reader community and some of the ridiculousness that ensues.

Peter David's stuff often does much the same. If anyone has been reading his current run of X-Factor, he's started using the "last time in X-Factor" space to mock the online community. It's pretty funny.

Ambush Bug is the DC 4th wall abuser. He realizes he's a comic book character and often makes cracks about it.

The last arc of Bendis's Alias was interesting; the villain, The Purple Man, talked as though he knew he was in a comic book. It was put down to him just being insane, but you never know.
 
filmfanatic

filmfanatic

You know, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Blazing Saddles. I mean, our main characters leave the film, have a chase through a movie studio, end with a final capture at Grauman's Chinese Theatre and then sit back to watch the rest of their own film.
 
LittleSin

LittleSin

I love that movie.

I'm just thinking, how about that Matt Hazard game? He realizes he's a video game character and goes about beating up other game cliches. That's pretty slick.
 
C

cvgurau

Boston Legal did it a few times; most often jokingly, in blink-and-you'll-miss-it rants from Denny or Alan ("We were on Tuesdays at 9 but now we're on Sundays at 10", or whenever it was they aired, and Denny once said to a cowboy "Shut up. You're an extra; extras don't get any lines"), but most notably from John Laroquette's character, during a rant about how TV today doesn't feature any old people. "In fact, the only television show today to feature any regular cast members over 50 is Bos-- Well, I can't say it, because we'd be breaking that wall," and he glances at the camera.

Which I thought was pretty awesome.
 
Bowielee

Bowielee

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back had quite a few fourth wall jokes.

Particularly those revolving around Ben Afflek and Matt Damon.
 
checkeredhat

checkeredhat

Scrubs of course had some great ones, best one was Bill Lawrence appearing as the priest at the Janitor's wedding. "Alright then. It is now time to join these two, as only the creator can."

I also love Get Shorty and Be Cool for their winks to the camera. Especially the beginning of Be Cool, where he says "You know you can only say the F word once in a movie if you want a PG-13 rating? You know what I say to that? Fuck that." And that's the only F bomb in the movie.
 
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