The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1
Writer: Various
Artist: Various
Colorist: Various
Cover Artist: Nick Bradshaw and Rachelle Rosenberg
Publisher: Marvel Comics
The Muppets and the heroes of the Marvel Universe.
There’s no way this should work, right?
Unlike one of Gonzo’s stunts, this issue does not crash and burn.
Unlike one of Fozzie’s jokes, this issue actually lands.
Unlike Kermit, this issue finds it… easy… being green?
Okay, never mind that last one.
I can just hear Statler and Waldorf mocking me…
Act One
“The Greatest Show (Not) On Earth”
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Pete Woods
This first story takes up 25 of the 50 story pages in The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1, so we’re going to spend much of our time here talking about it.
Starting off with another… er… night of crackerjack performances at the Muppet Theater, Kermit and the gang learn that Rowlf has been dognapped and taken to the Mojoverse!
Professor Honeydew introduces the gang to the Interdimensional Council of Bunsens, and it’s like Hickman’s Council of Reeds but way scarier. Before long, Kermit and company are off to the 616 Marvel universe to recruit superheroes that can help them against Mojo…
The Muppets hire Howard the Duck to help them recruit heroes, and what follows is basically every gag and matchup you’d expect, plus a few you didn’t. Oh, and musical numbers. Gotta have those.
This was so much fun. The rest of the book could have been awful (don’t worry, it wasn’t) and this story still would have been enough to warrant the cover price.
I'm pressed to pick which bits I enjoyed the most, so let's just pick out a few gems:
Howard the Duck pointing out how many of Spider-Man's foes are on the older side, and how he could actually nab most of them at once if he hit the bingo hall.
Emma Frost immediately being enamored with Miss Piggy.
Deadpool being too weird even for Gonzo. Now that is weird.
Spider-Man and Fozzie bear bonding over their bad jokes.
A particularly pointed shot at Cyclops (who does not take part in this issue) during the variety show, and the implication that the joke was written by Wolverine.
Much like Captain America, I could do this all day. But unlike Cap, I will capitulate here.
As you can tell, there was a lot of fun to be had here. This was a Muppet story through and through, with the Marvel heroes being along for the ride. Oh, they were all largely in-character, don't get me wrong, it's just that certain traits were a bit more exaggerated than they'd normally be. When in Rome (or the Mojoverse, in this case) and all.
Chip Zdarsky brought his usual irreverent sense of humor to this story, along with a clear love of the Muppets. He kept the pace brisk and things moved nicely from one joke/setpiece to another. And the puns... so many puns. Black Panther being from "Wocka Wockanda" was a personal favorite.
Pete Woods is clearly having just as much fun on the art side. The Muppets all look great, and just like you'd expect. The Marvel heroes are all pretty much exact to their current versions as well. He's got great comedy chops, between facial expressions and background gags (I love Jeff the Land Shark pointing at the very short fuse on Deadpool and Gonzo's explosive bit).
Act Two
"A Terrible Invention"
Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Mike Henderson
Colorist: Yen Nitro
Doctors Hank Pym and Bruce Banner are special guests on Professor Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker's science show. There are Pym Particles irradiated with Gamma Rays.
You can guess where this is going.
This one is short but pretty darn funny. Starks is a good fit for this motley group, and I love the idea of Pym and Banner being the voices of reason in a science experiment situation (when's the last time that happened?). Henderson's art is great for the story being told, although his Pym and Banner look just a smidgen "off" to me. He does physical comedy well, and that's what matters when you're abusing Beaker—I mean, conducting experiments...
"Pigs of the Galaxy"
Writer: Mackenzie Cadenhead
Artist: David Baldeon
Colorist: Yen Nitro
Pigs... In... Space! Miss Piggy meets Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Of course the three of them love each other immediately.
This was one of the weaker stories in the issue, but it was still entertaining. Rocket was a bit too "nice" for me, but I get that he was all about the awesomeness of Piggy here. Cadenhead does a good job with the script and the frankly ridiculous premise that Rocket immediately finds Piggy to be his second-favorite person in the universe (after Groot). Baldeon's slightly exaggerated art works well here, he's very expressive and this is a story that's told entirely through conversations.
"Bad Man"
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Athila Fabbio
Colorist: Mike Atiyeh
This is an entirely wordless story where Wolverine's bike breaks down and he hitches a ride with The Electric Mayhem. Oh, and he finds out that he and Animal like the same snacks.
Another fun one. The utter lack of dialogue (except for one instance of "Bad Man") is an interesting choice, especially when the temptation to have Animal say at least one thing in his distinctive style of talking is so great. So I applaud Johnson for his restraint there. Plus it's just a funny matchup, given how close Logan and Animal are in temperament. Fabbio's art is an exaggerated cartoony style, and combined with the colors everything has an almost psychedelic look—which totally fits with the band.
"Just What the Chef Ordered"
Writer: Ashley Allen and Chef Paul Carmichael
Artist: Paco Medina
Colorist: Yen Nitro
Stephen Strange's wife Clea has a cold, and the only soup that will help is one that her mother used to make for her. The only chef on Earth who can make said soup? The Swedish Chef.
The central gag here was great, with the Swedish Chef conducting himself in Strange's kitchen just like you'd expect he would, which so aggravates the sorcerer that he actually starts checking the multiverse for a less "weird" Swedish Chef (there isn't one). Allen and Carmichael keep the kitchen gags flying, and the Chef-speak is done well enough that you can understand the majority of what he's trying to say (and can't help but hear his voice in your head). Medina's art is expressive and manages the gag-a-minute pace of the story well. Exasperated Strange has to be one of the most fun Stranges to draw.
"Muppets Assemble!"
Writer: Adam F. Goldberg
Artist: E.J. Su
The Avengers are facing multiple crises at once, and some of their most powerful members are already away. They need more help. So they take time to... hold auditions? And only the Muppets show up.
This was probably the weakest story in the bunch. Goldberg has a lot of good jokes crammed in here (Pepe the Giant Prawn makes his only appearance in the whole book), but the central setup is so unbelievable. "Evil is afoot, and there's no time to waste, so let's waste time conducting auditions?" Really? Su's art is a little rough in spots, but handles the visual gags well, and that's the most important thing in a Muppet story.
Curtain Call
The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1 is a blast of a comic book that has one truly fantastic story, and a bunch of enjoyable-but-lesser ones. Everyone involved clearly "gets" and loves the Muppets, and neither they nor the Marvel heroes are made to look inferior to the other group. All I wanted from this issue was to have a good time, and I more than got that. This is how you do a crossover special, folks.