Breaking the "fourth wall"
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Dupac
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Breaking the fourth wall is basically when chracters in a comic acknowledge they're in a comic and sometimes sat things directly to the reader. more times than not it's pretty witty and comical in nature...
off the top of my head the only two characters that i know do this often is the Joker and Deadpool...
does anyone else know off hand what other characters do this on the regular?
off the top of my head the only two characters that i know do this often is the Joker and Deadpool...
does anyone else know off hand what other characters do this on the regular?
Comments
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lol, never mind.. found a list...
A literary term often utilized in theater to describe the imaginary barrier between the actors and audience, separating real world and fantasy. Breaking the fourth wall is observed sometimes in literature, where a character directly addresses the reader.
Some characters have been known to 'break the fourth wall' by speaking to, or about, the audience. Not only do they talk to the reader, but they (usually) know that they are fictional creations in a story. On occasion, this may be a vehicle for dramatic irony. Deadpool, the most well known example of this phenomenon, has been known to refer to his own history in issue format, lean on the panel borders, and see or touch his thought boxes and word balloons.
The fourth wall can also be reinforced by a character saying that, i.e., 'this isn't a movie, you know'.
Characters
Here are some characters that have broken the Fourth Wall:
Alex Luthor
Ambush Bug
Animal Man
AO Major
Bat-Mite
Canis
Cerebus
Deadpool
Demon
Fig Keele
Forbush Man
Gabreality
Gary, the Pathetic Fallacy
Go-Go Fiasco
Grifter
The Intern
Jack Horner
Jamie Braddock
John Constantine
John Lynch
The Joker
Lobo
Loki
Mr. Mxyzptlk
Mr. Revise
Phantom Stranger
Purple Man
She-Hulk
Squirrel Girl
Starman
Superboy Prime
T-Ray
The Killer
Uatu the Watcher
Zatanna
(Note: Characters may have broken the 4th wall at one point in time, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they currently retain the knowledge of the world beyond the comic they are in.)
Creators
Some writers break the fourth wall by inserting themselves into the story, wherein their character admits to writing the story they are appearing in:
Ben Templesmith as Ben Templesmith
Grant Morrison as The Writer
Peter Milligan as Miles Laimling
Fifth Wall
When characters break the "Fifth Wall," it shows they have knowledge of other fictional characters from another, unrelated actuality.
Examples:
in The Amazing Spider-Man #123, after being hit through a window by Spider-Man, Luke Cage says "I dig, Spider-Man ... but here's something you don't! Some dudes have to do this number for a livin' -- we ain't all rich playboys like Bruce Wayne." Note that Luke Cage should probably not know of Bruce Wayne, and vice versa.
In Superman vol. 2 #50, Mr. Mxyzptlk makes several statements hinting that he is also the Impossible Man from Marvel Comics and has knowledge of the Fantastic Four, such as "Having fun with my new fantastic friends," "back to my four new friends," It's blubbering time," and "Sometimes it's just impossible to remember what I look like from world to world."
Recap Pages
Some comics have recap pages before the actual story in which characters from that issue (or sometimes the previous one) show up and talk to the reader, breaking the Fourth Wall. These instances are generally isolated and after the recap page, the characters no longer have the ability -
Deadpool is the main one, lol they made alot of nods to it in Marvel vs Capcom 3
She Hulk is another one -
bcotton2000@yahoo.com wrote: »Deadpool is the main one, lol they made alot of nods to it in Marvel vs Capcom 3
She Hulk is another one
Yeah when John Byrne wrote and drew She-Hulk's book, that was her claim to fame, now its Deadpool's.
Many characters can and will break the fourth wall as a one time joke or for a one time story, but only Deadpool does it consistently. -
In Superman vol. 2 #50, Mr. Mxyzptlk makes several statements hinting that he is also the Impossible Man from Marvel Comics and has knowledge of the Fantastic Four, such as "Having fun with my new fantastic friends," "back to my four new friends," It's blubbering time," and "Sometimes it's just impossible to remember what I look like from world to world."
didn't know this.
pretty cool ideal........... -
FYI:
Deadpool does it because he is insane. And he is insane because its a side effect of the healing factor which he required artificially. I recall him losing the healing factor and actually regained his sanity and in return “forgot” he was a comic character -
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...al though obviously not a comic Will Smith and Zach Morris did this alot on their shows...
its a pretty cool concept for comic characters tho... -
cranky kong from donkey kong country breaking the fourth wall constantly>>>>>>>
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Word to Jack Napier...
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...al though obviously not a comic Will Smith and Zach Morris did this alot on their shows...
its a pretty cool concept for comic characters tho...
ice cube nods @ the audience dam near every movie and in killer instict 1 of the fatalities is hitting an opponent on the screen -
yeah I was wondering why she hulk wasn't on the list. I remember her fighting madcap and tearing him out the panels of the comic
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