Humor District

There has been a recent movement on Twitter to cast Donald Glover as the next Spider-Man. Glover is best known for his role as Troy on NBC’s Community, and for his sketch comedy group Derrick Comedy. It appears that one of the driving forces behind Donald Glover’s nomination for the Spider-Man role is that people want a black Spider-Man. Personally, I think Donald Glover would be great, but for a different reason.

First off, a black Spider-Man would be pretty awesome, especially if he teamed up with Luke Cage. More specifically, a Donald Glover Spider-Man would be awesome, because he fits the role so well. Anybody who has seen his sketch comedy performances knows that Donald Glover often plays the socially awkward guy with a touch of nerd. There we have the Peter Parker side. Donald Glover also has enough muscle definition to play the star quarterback on Community. Here we have solved the dilemma of having a character who not only has a nerdy side, but a side that can punch clear through your chest cavity. We only had one of those sides with Tobey Maguire. Most importantly, Donald Glover can recapture the humor of Spider-Man. Spider-Man used to be known for his witty one-liners in the heat of battle. It is his humorous personality that makes him so lovable. Tobey Maguire never showed that side of Spider-Man, preferring to go for the emo dance routine version. I firmly believe Donald Glover can bring that funny side of Spider-Man back. If you have seen any of his work I am sure you will agree. Not every comic book character needs to be moody and have a voice that sounds like a poorly maintained gravel driveway like Batman. That is why I plan on fully supporting the #donald4spiderman movement on Twitter. Let’s see what Donald Glover can do.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Aliens are pretty popular in movies, as shown by the success of movies like Alien. It is entertaining to think about what other life could be in the universe, whether it is hunting us down like in Predator, or showing children the power of its finger like in E.T. Sometimes these alien characters become such a part of our lives that we forget that they are aliens at all. These are those aliens who have become so well known that the fact they are aliens is often overlooked. We can be very accepting towards fictional characters when we want to be.

Transformers

The first thing people think of when they hear Transformers is “I want one”. The next is the fact that they are robots in disguise, and those disguises are awesome cars and fighter jets. The key term there is “robots”. Aliens are not mentioned anywhere in the catchphrase. Yet the Transformers are exactly that, coming from the planet of Cybertron. It is stated in the movies that Transformers are aliens, but their robotic nature overshadows their alien heritage.

Superman

Superman has starred in many movies as the purveyor of truth, justice, and the American way. Some would say Superman is as American as apple pie, especially when he was played by Christopher Reeve. The truth of the matter is Superman is not only an alien, but an illegal alien. He was launched in a rocket from his dying homeworld of Krypton to land on earth when he was a baby. Didn’t fill out the proper paperwork or anything. Superman has been such an iconic hero that we tend to forget the fact he is an alien altogether, at least until he messes up.

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker is a strange and alien creature. If you remember the opening to Star Wars, it begins “A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away”. It is safe to assume that since the story is set in a galaxy that is not the Milky Way and none of the planets are called earth, Luke Skywalker is not from earth. Therefore, Luke Skywalker is an alien. It is hard to think of him as an alien when he looks so normal and other characters like Chewbacca and Yoda are so obviously aliens. That does not change the fact that Luke Skywalker, and even Han Solo are alien creatures who must have had similar evolutionary paths to ours.

Spider-Man’s Costume

First off I would like to apologize for bringing up Spider-Man 3. I’m sure you were trying to forget having seen it and Tobey Maguire’s dancing. Spider-Man himself was not an alien, he was just a normal guy who got bit by a radioactive spider and developed superpowers. Just your everyday earthling stuff. It was his costume in Spider-Man 3 that was an alien. We usually think of aliens as at least vaguely humanoid creatures, not a pair of blue jeans, so it is hard to think of Spider-Man’s costume as a living sentient entity. It is harder to think that living alien entity was all up in Spider-Man’s crack.

Popularity: 2% [?]