Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck
Alter Ego: Howard Duckson
Notable Aliases: Cynical Duck
First Appearance: Fear #19 (December, 1973) (Unnamed); Man-Thing #1 (January, 1974) (Name Revealed)
Howard is a cigar-smoking anthropomorphic duck who lived in New Stork City on the planet Duckworld (in a parallel dimension). He was transported to and became trapped on our world, where he became close friends with Beverly Switzler. Most people of Earth simply do not believe that he is a talking duck.
Howard the Duck appears in:
Notable Comics
- Howard the Duck:
- vol. 1 (1975 — 1986)
- Written by Steve Gerber. Penciled by assorted artists, most prominently Gene Colan.
- vol. 2 (1979 — 1981)
- An oversized black-and-white run. Written by Bill Mantlo. Penciled by Gene Colan.
- vol. 3 (2002)
- Marketed as part of Marvel's mature "MAX" line. Written by Steve Gerber. Penciled by Phil Winslade.
- vol. 4 (2007)
- Written by Ty Templeton. Penciled by Juan Bobillo.
- vol. 5 (2015)
- Written by Chip Zdarsky. Penciled by Joe Quinones.
- vol. 6 (2015 — 2016)
- Written by Chip Zdarsky. Penciled by Joe Quinones.
- vol. 1 (1975 — 1986)
Flm
- Howard the Duck (1986)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (2014-present), voiced by Seth Green:
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019) note
- What If…? (2021)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Video Games
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (2013)
- Marvel Puzzle Quest (2016)
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 (2017)
Howard the Duck provides examples of:
- Affectionate Nickname: Howard is called "Ducky" by Beverly, and "Ducko" by her uncle Lee.
- Anthropomorphic Animal Adaptation:
- Inverted. He's a human named Howard T. Duck in Earth-65, Spider-Gwen's home reality.
- Also inverted in the Howard the Human one-shot, where Howard is the only human in a world of anthropomorphic animals.
- BFG: Howard owns a laser cannon and specifically refers to it as a BFG.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Early on Howard would do this on occasion. In one adventure he directly addresses the readers and tell them that he knows the story took a weird turn, but it beats the initial Driven to Suicide plot. As time went on this deescalated to a general focus on metacommentary without explicit meta-awareness.
- Breakout Character: Howard was initially intended as a single-appearance character, even getting killed off after his debut, but fate (and popular demand) wouldn't have it.
- Catchphrase:
- Howard's whining "Waaaugh!"
- "Case closed!" in the Zdarsky/Quinones series.
- Cosmic Plaything: Quite aside from being trapped on a planet full of apes (no, not that Planet of the Apes: we mean Earth),note Howard perpetually finds himself getting swept up in surreal and dangerous events. Unlike most superheroes — or, indeed, most Cosmic Playthings — the stress this involves creates appropriate Angst in Howard.
- Deadpan Snarker: Howard's usual coping mechanism (aside from the long-suffering "Waaaugh!")
- Foo Fu: Howard is a self-proclaimed master of Quack Fu.
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Howard smokes cigars and is the hero of his world. His "good guy" smoking is excused in part by being under extreme stress and by being a bit of a badass.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Only in his earliest appearances. A threatened lawsuit from the creators of a similar pantsless duck resulted in Howard donning a pair of trousers, becoming a Barefoot Cartoon Animal. And now Disney owns Marvel.
Huh. However, Howard was able to get away without wearing pants in his Marvel Zombies appearances. - Humanlike Hand Anatomy: Howard has White Gloves on human-like hands, but has webbed feet.
- Interspecies Romance: Sometimes implied between Howard and Beverly, but we only see them reciprocate their affections in Vol. 2 and the MAX series.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Howard is arrogant, opinionated and selfish and doesn't hesitate to insult people or throw snarky comments at them... but he also helps those that have been wronged and is very loyal to his friends.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Howard has a jaded attitude and a total lack of interest in supernatural affairs.
- Only Sane Man: Howard is often the voice of reason surrounded by relative craziness.
- Phrase Catcher:
- "You're a talking duck!" Sometimes it was just "You're a duck!"
- Played with in an issue of The Sensational She-Hulk - when one of the characters says this, he replies "That ain't the half of it, toots," as he pulls out a cigar. "I'm also a smoker."
- Modern depictions take it up a step to, "You're a duck. Wearing pants." To which Howard responds, "My lawyers tell me I've always worn pants."
- Talking Animal: Howard is a talking duck.
- Toothy Bird: Howard is sometimes drawn with teeth.
- Unfazed Everyman: Beverly pretty much fills this role, if you consider that her friends includes a sleepwalking painter with a vigilante alter-ego, a psychic with a speech impediment and, of course... Howard.
- Un-person: During Civil War (2006), Howard attempted to register, but the government considered him to be such a hassle with his status, they just decided altogether that he didn't exist at all. He was quite overjoyed as that meant no more taxes.
- Weirdness Magnet: Howard thinks that he is one. He might be right, as the talking duck is more often than not the least ridiculous thing about the stuff that goes on around him.
Allies
Alter Ego: Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis
First Appearance: Savage Tales #1 (May, 1971)
Man-Thing is a powerful swamp creature and guardian of the Nexus of all Realities. He was once human and turned himself into a monster as a last act of defense and a way too avoid his serum falling in the wrong hands.
Beverly Switzler
Alter Ego: Beverly Switzler
Notable Aliases: Swizzle
First Appearance: Howard the Duck #1 (January, 1976)
Beverly Switzler is the closest thing Howard the Duck has to a sidekick and friend.
- Go-Go Enslavement: In her first appearance, she was the slave of a evil wizard and wearing little more than a bikini.
- Most Common Super Power: She is extremely well endowed. Add to that, Beverly is one of the few Marvel characters to appear fully naked on panel.
- Ms. Fanservice: Beverly, who particularly in Vol. 2 was often shown in skimpy clothing and was seen naked on at least two occasions. In addition, the character's backstory included time working as a nude model. Then there's the fact that she wore a literal Chainmail Bikini in her first appearance (a nerdy evil magician with a Conan complex put her into it).
Winky Man
Alter Ego: Paul Same
Notable Aliases:
First Appearance: Howard the Duck #4 (July, 1976)
Narcoleptic split-personality sleepwalker, eccentric artist, and a good friend of Howard the Duck.
She-Hulk
Alter Ego: Jennifer Susan "Jen" Walters
Notable Aliases: Hulk
First Appearance: Savage She-Hulk #1 (February, 1980)
After being shot by mobsters, Jennifer Walter received a life-saving blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk. Due to Banner's irradiated blood, Jennifer gained the ability to transform into the Sensational She-Hulk.
Machine Man
Alter Ego: Aaron Stack (legal name), Z2P45-9-X-51 (model number)
Notable Aliases: Agent Stack, Clanky, Jack Kubrick, Machine Manwoman, Machiney Machine Sentinel, Metal Human, Metal Demon, Mister Machine, robot-face, Sentinel Supreme, Sir MacHinery, X-51
First Appearance: 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 (July, 1977)
The sole surviving robot of a government project, X-51 also had the benefits of humanity by being raised as a son by Dr. Abel Stack. Dubbed "Machine Man", he became a superhero and later an Avenger until being corrupted by Sentinel technology and developing a strong dislike for humans.
Gwenpool
Alter Ego: Gwendolyn "Gwen" Poole
Notable Aliases: Ghostface No-Pants Killer
First Appearance: Howard the Duck (Vol. 6) #1 (November, 2015)
Gwen Poole was just a regular girl from the "real" world before somehow being transported to the world of Marvel Comics.
Originally, Gwen had no powers. She relied on guns, katanas and Plot Armor in order to fight. As of issue 16, she becomes a Reality Warper based on manipulating the fourth wall. The most common use of her power has her breaking panels and using the space between them.
Lea Thompson
Alter Ego: Lea Katherine Thompson
First Appearance: Howard the Duck (Vol. 6) #8 (June, 2016)
Actress Lea Thompson is most famous for her roles as Lorraine McFly in Back to the Future and... Beverly Switzler in the Howard the Duck movie. She is now also an actual comic-book character in the Marvel Universe.
Squirrel Girl
Alter Ego: Doreen Allene Green
Notable Aliases: Rodent, The Anti-Life, The Slayer of All That Breathes, Lady Crimepocalypse, Nutcase Girl, Tail Girl, Nutball, Bass Lass
First Appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes (Vol. 2) #8 (December, 1991)
A hero with squirrel-like abilities and features, Squirrel Girl is not always taken seriously, but she has nonetheless defeated many of the Marvel universe's greatest villains. She is a longtime member of the Great Lakes Avengers, and briefly served as a nanny for Luke Cage and Jessica Jones.
Tara Tam
First Appearance: Howard the Duck (Vol. 5) #1 (March, 2015)
A tattoo artist who befriended Howard the Duck. Tara has shapeshifting powers.
- Alliterative Name: Tara Tam.
- Cannibalism Superpower: She gained her shapeshifting powers from unwittingly eating a skrull that took the form of a duck.
Winda Wester
First Appearance: Howard the Duck #11 (April, 1977)
The wisping— I mean lisping psychic ally of Howard the Duck. Like all Howard the Duck characters, she's a little... special in the head.
- Alliterative Name: Winda Wester.
Enemies
Hellcow
Alter Ego: Bessie
First Appearance: Giant-Size Man-Thing #5 (August, 1975)
A Cow that was bitten by Dracula. Cow + Vampire = Hellcow. Truly horrifying.
Kidney Lady
Alter Ego: Selma Blotte
First Appearance: Howard the Duck #2 (March, 1976)
Howard the Duck villain with an obsession for harvesting kidneys.
Doctor Bong
Alter Ego: Lester Verde
First Appearance: Howard the Duck #15 (August, 1977)
Doctor Bong is a former journalist turned mad scientist with an unhealthy obession for Beverly Switzler, who he first met in a life-drawing class. His helmet is a bell that he can hit for powerful sonic attacks.
Ringmaster
Alter Ego: Maynard Tiboldt
Notable Aliases: Martin Thraller, Dr. Arnold Quaid, Dr. Roland Grand
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk #3 (September, 1962)
The Ringmaster is a powerless man with a unique hat which is designed to hypnotize people, thus allowing him to take complete control over their actions. He originally traveled across America as the manager, director, and ringmaster of his small traveling circus, which was actually a front for his "Circus of Crime".
