Marvel TV may be headed in a new direction…
Over the past few years, Marvel’s TV and Netflix output has taken itself pretty seriously. Agents of SHIELD Â focused on espionage and myth building; Agent Carter provided period spy adventures with a side of sci-fi; Daredevil offered crime noir; and Jessica Jones a psychological thriller. Humour hasn’t been on the list, apart from the odd sprinkling of: playful banter, sarcastic comments, and mirthful deaths.
That might be about to change.
Marvel and ABC Studios are rumoured to be shopping around an idea for a half-hour comedy at various networks. The potential show will follow the adventures of the New Warriors-they should have been an edgy 90s pop band-and Squirrel Girl.
For the uninitiated, Squirrel Girl (Doreen Green) is a fan-favourite character who started out as a joke. She has a tail, talks to squirrels, has a cute squirrel sidekick…and can defeat every supervillain she faces within seconds. In her debut, Squirrel Girl had a ‘crazy fan’ moment and ambushed Iron Man but made up for it by defeating Doctor Doom. After that she: joined the GLA-Avengers rejects-became the nanny of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones’s daughter (spoiler), began a computer sciences degree, and joined the New Avengers. Squirrel Girl is everywhere, on par with Wolverine and Deadpool. You’ll have a Squirrel Girl onesie in no time.
The New Warriors are a team of teen and young adult heroes, that have gone through numerous lineups and mission statements. They’ve been everything from young Avenger wannabes to superzero reality TV stars.One version was a team of mostly depowered mutants, and another was partly responsible for the Stamford Disaster which kickstarted ‘Civil War.’ A legacy of greatness, they do not have.
The show will probably team Squirrel Girl with the original roll call: Night Thrasher (leader, Batman-lite); Namorita (Atlantis royal and tough cookie); Marvel Boy (all-American boy with traumatic backstory); Firestar (original amazing friend); Nova (powerhouse intergalactic policeman); and Speedball (eternal optimist and lover of fun). Together they fought the cosmically powered Terrax, fell in love with one another, and stopped the Sphinx from replacing the world with an alternate one. Not bad for a bunch of second raters.
But the New Warriors don’t have a history full of LOLs. Their story is more tragic than comic. Night Thrasher had an obsession with punishing all wrong doers only to be betrayed by his own company. When Namorita took over as leader, she got drunk and revealed the team’s secrets to one of their enemies. Marvel Boy was abused by his father, and killed him. Firestar, Nova and Speedball had a good time, though. What a shitstorm of comedy gold.
At least we can look forward to a side-splitting tragedy.
Still, Squirrel Girl: Wooop!
Details are yet to be officially confirmed.
