If the superhero comics of the last century—and the various movies, TV shows, video games, and radio plays that were inspired by them—teach us anything, it’s that even the most hated crime-fighters don’t work alone. Through years and years of stories, superheroes (and even super-villains) have developed their own sets of side characters, whether in the form of friends, family members, co-workers, or love interests. While this concept has had a path of its own in the comics (there are multiple cases of creator killings or excluding supporting actors for a book for the sake of “reinventing”), hasn’t always made its way onto the screen effectively, with a few tweaks in the past few decades that reduce any secondary characters to a mix of predictable metaphors, cannon fodder, and other unrelated characters.
As adaptations of superheroes become ever stranger and more extensive, telling stories about B, C, and even D-list characters, that spirit is gradually starting to change, with an entirely new cast of compelling – and refreshingly normal – supporting actors unexpectedly appearing. This was nowhere more evident than in three superhero adaptations from the past two years: DC suicide squad And the peace makerand Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Yes, unclothed supporting characters have always been a part of superhero movies and shows in one form or another — decades of Batman and Spider-Man reboots have helped turn characters like Alfred Pennyworth, Lucius Fox, and May Parker into household names. But there is certainly a difference between the side characters that are there to support the main character’s narrative, and the side characters that are irreplaceable in the actual plot. suicide squad Highlight this latter category in spades, with a whole life-and-death game full of kaiju-infused plot that ultimately revolves around one incredibly small thing – Flo Crowley (Tinashe Kajessi) hits Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) unconscious with a golf club, before Being able to kill the entire main cast. (Honestly, a lot could be written about Amanda Waller’s special significance as a strong supporting civilian character in a world of gods and monsters, which is probably why Davis is set to return as a character in black AdamIt is said that in the surrounding subsidiary works.) suicide squadChapter III.
peace maker He took on the idea of the supporting characters being important and basically built the entire show around them, then transformed suicide squad Veterans Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economy (Steve Agee) in reluctant co-stars of Christopher Smith/The Peacemaker (John Cena), along with a host of new, largely unclothed characters as Liotta Adebayo (Daniel Brooks) . It’s impossible to imagine the show’s final battle against Project Butterfly – or the vast majority of Season 1’s action – playing without this specific team, and the various weird but capable things they each brought to the table. (Biggest joke in the end, that Peace Team was able to save the day long before the literal Justice League came into being, arguably only works because they’re a bunch of non-superpower civilians.)
While Strong womanA plot that’s still going, we’ve seen small instances of random side characters being the main parts of it, both in Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany) as she solves a super-villain’s parole case thanks to an impromptu comment from her former co-worker Dennis Bukowski (Drew Matthews), or the sexual comments from her various bad dates that help her win a lawsuit related to the She-Hulk name. All of these examples have found unpredictable, but excellent ways to develop their narratives, without falling short of dealing with a “man in a chair” and a set of tools.
Far from just narrating their own shows and movies, this new crop of superhero supporting characters has become something special by… being something special in their own right. Once again, Harcourt and the Economist were just random civil servants in a government agency with a few comic shows each before. peace maker. But their individual stories were so compelling that viewers quit making hobbies out of Harcourt and invested in Economos’ concerns about his “dyed beard” by the end of the season. While theories have surfaced about whether Harcourt could secretly be the daughter of someone like Sarge Steele, that possibility is far from the only thing that makes her interesting – and if it did, it would only create another compelling story to throw. to her. Compare this to some of the other superhero modes of recent years (notably a lot of shows from The CW’s Arrowverse), where the vast majority of the supporting cast are comprised of meticulous comic characters reinterpreted as a window into the main character’s story, essentially spinning off them. wheels so that they can finally wear a superhero suit and their own name.
this dimension, Strong woman He had no shortage of urban side characters with incredibly distinctive and entertaining characters – just see how viewers of the show became enamored with Jane’s friends and co-workers, like the lovable and lovable Nikki Ramos (Ginger Gonzaga), and the lovable Augustus “Pug” Police (Josh Segara) . Even Mallory’s book (Renee Elise Goldsberry), which only had one line of dialogue until the show’s fifth episode, is still instantly celebrated by members of the fandom. Perhaps there is no better example of this than Madisynn (Patty Guggenheim), whose scene-stealing role as a key witness in the recent She-Hulk court case — and Wong’s party-loving new best friend (Benedict Wong) — essentially broke the Internet. Although some of their personality traits are amplified for the sake of entertainment, Madisynn and Strong womanThe other cast members feel like very specific people you can meet and make friends with in the real world – something that still seems unprecedented to see, even though it’s been nearly fifteen years in the MCU.
Delivering well-supported cast members, these shows and films have also fleshed out the central superhero stories on both a personal and aesthetic level. Honorary personalities for both peace maker And the Strong woman They had something more specific to fight for in their superhero crusade – Chris’ dynamic with Harcourt and the team adds extra oomph to his solo fight with Project Butterfly in peace makerseason 1 finale. And while we don’t know exactly what the endgame will be Strong womanThe idea of Jen fighting a threat from the other world to protect her friends will definitely be in the back of some fans’ minds as she embarks on futuristic adventures in the MCU. Both storylines are essentially similar to the “You can’t be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there’s no neighborhood” line from Avengers: Infinity Warbut on a much more personal scale.
This special trio of shows and movies also finds clever ways to showcase the reality of being a typical person in the superhero universe, both through suicide squadTask Force X employees are betting which team members will hit the bucket, and some of those employees are spreading lewd rumors about Batman and Green Arrow on peace makeror Strong womanCo-workers discover the world of Super Tailors and the illegal Avengers merchandise. These moments are not only some of the most entertaining characteristics of each, but they are expressive and honest in a way that brings us closer to presumptuous. marvelsScattered anthology on civilian perspectives that address parts of the Internet campaign every year or so.
Superhero stories are, at their core, tales of ordinary people who are able to do extraordinary things in extraordinary circumstances. By leaning into that story’s ordinary world—particularly the imperfect, bonding, and powerless people within it—the latest crop of superhero shows and movies has not only given its heroes something to fight for, but it has given viewers an extra reason to be entertained. While Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, And the Strong woman Far from the first or last edits to publish this tactic (I mean, just look at fan excitement about whether or not Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll will return as Fuji Nelson and Karen Page in Daredevil: Born Again), all of whom have shown how easily and effectively this can be done, while bringing a sense of camaraderie and family that has struck differently after the past few years. In an age of superhero movies and shows more than ever, these three projects have found a whole other way to keep us invested.
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peace maker It was renewed for a second season, which is set to premiere on HBO Max at a later date. New episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Premieres Thursday exclusively on Disney+. If you haven’t checked out Disney+ yet and want to give it a try, You can do it here.
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