Did you hear ABC is working on a Marvel sitcom? Sorry: another sitcom. Paul Lee revealed that, in addition to Damage Control, ABC and Marvel have a second sitcom in the works. What could it be? We have a few ideas:
1. Squirrel Girl
This is the staff favorite by far. Squirrel Girl (whose alter ego is the even more ridiculous Doreen Green) is a collection of the world’s most seemingly useless superpowers. She has claws, so she can scratch things, and she can talk to squirrels, but can’t like order them around. If she wants the squirrels to help her, she has to convince them first. However, Squirrel Girl’s secretly Marvel’s answer to Batman: her real superpower is an incredible ability to punch waaaay above her pay grade. Her victories include: Doctor Doom, Wolverine, MODOK, Deadpool, Thanos, and motherfucking Galactus. In fact, that’s the only real problem with Squirrel Girl in the MCU: how can we possibly take Thanos seriously as a threat knowing that Squirrel Girl’s right around the corner?
2. She-Hulk
We’ve talked at length about She-Hulk before because we just can’t get away from her. Jennifer Walters is the plucky cousin of Bruce Banner, but more importantly, she’s a Single Female Lawyer. Jennifer must navigate a world of legal briefs, unruly clients, and angry courtrooms, all while having the strength of her angry cousin and none of the rage. (Well, okay, a bit of the rage.) Given how heavily law practices and lawyers factor into Daredevil and Jessica Jones, it would be nice to see a more lighthearted take on lawyers in the MCU.
3. Power Pack
Despite having a dozen movies and almost ten TV series, there’s one genre that the MCU has not cracked: the family adventure. The Power Pack are basically the pre-teen version of the Fantastic Four: after their parents are kidnapped by the evil alien Snarks, a dying alien bestows superpowers on 12-year-old Alex Power and his younger siblings Julie, Jack, and Kate. They battle the Snarks, save their parents, and become superheroes. Though the space element might be a bit expensive for TV, their powers aren’t exactly budget-breakers: Alex controls gravity, Julie flies (with a light beam behind her), Jack can make himself dense (IE super strength) and Kate has energy beams. Marvel has tried for years to make a Power Pack TV series, including a (terrible) cartoon pilot in the early ’90s. Maybe a zippy, Flash-esque comedy is the best way to bring the siblings to life.
4. Hercules
Everyone loves the second act of Thor, right? That “fish out of water” subplot is commonly thought to be the highlight of his film series. Why not build a whole show around that, starring his rival Hercules? In Marvel Comics, Hercules is the mighty Greek demigod of legend, but also kind of a pompous ass. Even more than Thor, a huge part of Hercules’ characterization comes from him reacting to the modern world (or more accurately, the modern world reacting to him). While Thor battles his way through the cosmos, Hercules battles his way through DVR menus.
5. The Daily Bugle
This is simultaneously the likeliest, and least-likely, of the bunch. It makes so much sense for ABC: a workplace comedy, meta humor, and the cheapest idea on this list. It would be incredible to have the Bugle team cover superhero stories from throughout the MCU. They could even take the pseudo-documentary approach of Modern Family. And while editor J. Jonah Jameson is the iconic leader of the group, there is a whole slew of writers and reporters that could anchor a series about news coverage in a world of superheroes.
It’s a chance to greatly deepen the lore of the MCU, while at the same time following a unique cast of characters with their own motivations and arcs. It would also make a great sister series to Damage Control, another show looking at life in a superhero universe from a civilian perspective. Plus, the cast of the Bugle TV show could easily pop in for a cameo in 2017’s Spider-Man film, finally bridging TV and the films in a way that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn’t been able to figure out.
So why is this unlikely? The new sitcom is being developed by ABC, not Sony Television. That’s an important distinction: while 2017’s Spidey film will be in the MCU, it is produced by Sony Pictures. It’s very unlikely that Marvel and Disney own Spidey’s TV rights altogether, and Sony Television would have to be a part of anything involving him or his supporting cast. But hell, who thought Spidey would’ve ever returned to Marvel to begin with? Stranger things in life have happened than a sitcom based on the Daily Bugle. (Hat tip to MCUEx writer Brendan Faux for the idea.)
What do you think? Which Marvel comedy are you itching to see? Sound off below!