History LeaningOnTheFourthWall / ComicBooks

-->'''Catwoman:''' Oh... yeah. Well, [[HandWave you can't believe everything you read]].\\

** In ''The Flash'' (volume 2) #133, the end of the first Creator/MarkMillar and Creator/GrantMorrison storyline concludes with Wally putting on a cod Scots accent and Linda telling him "You've spent entirely too much time around Scottish people." Of course, she's talking about Ewan [=McCulloch=] (Mirror Master) and not the two writers.
** In ''The Flash Annual'' (volume 4) #3, Future Flash, a future Barry Allen, says that if it wasn't for him, Wally would be married and have two kids, and that it's his fault Wally is dead. While the latter is more guilt for not saving the current Wally, it's uncanny how this dialogue matches up with complaints about Barry's actions during ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' which led to the {{RetGon|e}}ing of the original Wally West and his entire family.
** ''[[ComicBook/TheFlashRebirth The Flash]]'' (volume 5) #24 has Eobard Thawne, who remembers the pre-Flashpoint timeline and not the ComicBook/New52 one, mock the new Kid Flash, Wally West II. This Kid Flash was originally the New 52 version of Wally West, before negative reception led to DC reintroducing the original Wally West and retconning the New 52 Wally into the original's cousin. Eobard beats up Wally West II while exclaiming that he's a "fake" Kid Flash and not even the "real" Wally West. This also doubles as a TakeThat, as the modern incarnation of Eobard Thawne and especially this run depict him as what amounts to a crazed Flash fanboy.

* ''ComicBook/BlackPanther'': Creator/{{Christopher Priest|Comics}}'s run also featured a fair bit of subtext as well. In the very first issue, Ross dismisses the Black Panther as one of the second-string [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]] and questions just how dangerous he can be, which Priest has said was a deliberate reference to the way that prior to the 90s, many fans didn't see the character's worth.

** In the Flash-centric ''ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal'' spin-off ''Speed Metal'', Barry and Wally have a conversation that can easily be read as the audience complaining about how Wally was completely sidelined in favour of Barry after his return, and DC acknowledging that and promising to do better. Additionally, Barry confesses that, because he wasn't there to see Wally grow up, he still thinks of him as his sidekick rather than a hero in his own right; which seems to reference how fans of the old [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] stories saw Wally as a supporting character who was just filling in for the "real" Flash rather than a beloved protagonist in his own right.

* In ''ComicBook/SecretOrigins Special'' #1 published after the start of UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, the Riddler is interviewed about his career, looking nostalgically back at the early days when he used to do tricks involving giant props and the "camp" period (corresponding to the [[Series/Batman1966 1960s TV show]]) and bemoaning how DarkerAndEdgier things have gotten lately.

-->"I miss Superman. I miss the guy who actually inspired people. The Superman who had time to help a kid who fell off a bike. Before he was changed. Before he gritted his teeth and looked angry all the time. Before he became all hard and dark because people, supposedly, needed him to."

** In ''The Just #1'', a character reacts in surprise at seeing a comic book and asks if people even read them anymore. Similarly, there's this little nugget from the ''Pax Americana #1'' issue, which comments on the trend of superhero movies being huge at the box office while actual comic sales are in the gutter.
--> Heroes are for movies. The super-hero is dead.

* Creator/JuddWinick's ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' run had ADayInTheLimelight issue focusing on John Stewart. In it, John lamented his reputation as "[[TokenMinority the black Green Lantern]]," as well as the way the Guardians of the Universe often viewed him as their third choice behind Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner. This mirrors the way John was underutilized by writers (usually in favor of Hal or Guy) and ignored by fans before the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' cartoon gave him a significant popularity boost.

* ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'' loved to play around with this trope.

* A very similar scene occurs during the last story arc of Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' comic: Franchise/{{Batman}}, Franchise/{{Superman}}, and the Comicbook/MartianManhunter are talking about dreams they'd had. Batman and Superman discuss how they've both had dreams about how they're not themselves, but simply actors playing themselves on television. Martian Manhunter laments that he's never had a dream like that (not having had a live-action actor at that point).
* In issue #9 of ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures: Super Heroes'' (first run), ComicBook/DoctorStrange admits to Wong that he just doesn't get abstract art, that it seems more conceptual than artistic; ideas without proper execution. Which is hilarious considering that Strange's original adventures had him regularly visit locations drawn entirely in abstract art styles like the Dark Dimension, whose design likewise was never given any explanation beyond "[[RuleOfCool it looked cool]]".

** When Agent 355 asks Yorick why he has "Fuck Communism" engraved on his lighter, he explains it's truly from a [[Comicbook/{{Preacher}} comic]]. "They can say 'fuck' in comic books?"

* ''ComicBook/SheHulk'' is famous for BreakingTheFourthWall, but in the mid-aughts she had a series where, by editorial mandate, she couldn't. So in the first issue, in response to someone asking if it's true that she acts like she's in a comic book, she gives an AsideGlance to the readers, grins and says "No". Then, in the last issue, after the book is cancelled, Mallory Book is talking to her mysterious employees (the Fourth Wall Foundation) and cancels the plans they had for She-Hulk. One of them starts narrating about how the Fourth Wall might be battered, but it will ''not'' be broken, even though they must face the fact that their plans for She-Hulk are what...(Dramatic pause) Book's cancelled. Then, of course, it becomes an actual Breaking The Fourth Wall moment as he turns to another member and asks "Get it? I said Book's cancelled-" [[DontExplainTheJoke and then they tell him to shut up]].

** In ''Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #2, when Spidey explains Theresa Parker's backstory to the Human Torch, Johnny snarks about how this fits with Spidey's everyman status, which reads more as a [[SelfDeprecation self-deprecating]] comment on the storyline and how Peter is "supposed" to be written:

* In one ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'' album, Rantanplan (after having eaten [[ExtremeOmnivore a piece of soap]]) wonders whether he's the only one making [[SpeechBubbles bubbles]].
* Done in ''ComicBook/QuantumAndWoody'' when Woody reads the "Dark Kitty" comic book, an {{Expy}} of Creator/MarvelComics' ComicBook/BlackPanther (also written by Creator/{{Christopher Priest| Comics}} at the time). Woody [[WhoWritesThisCrap badmouths the book]] [[SelfDeprecation with criticisms that are entirely applicable]] to ''ComicBook/QuantumAndWoody''...

* Christopher Priest's ''ComicBook/BlackPanther'' run also featured a fair bit of subtext as well. In the very first issue, Ross dismisses the Black Panther as one of the second-string [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]] and questions just how dangerous he can be, which Priest has said was a deliberate reference to the way that prior to the 90s, many fans didn't see the character's worth.
* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'':
** ''Recap/AsterixAndTheRomanAgent'' has a few panels where Impedimenta laments that Asterix received a valuable vase from a Roman for being "the most important man in the village." When Vitalstatisix mutters that he's the most important, she retorts, "If anyone was fool enough to write down the story of our village, they won't be calling it ''The Adventures of Vitalstatistix the Gaul''!"
** In a similar fashion, in ''Recap/AsterixAndTheSoothsayer'', when the soothsayer offers to "read" the entrails of Dogmatix, Obelix retorts "No-one has ever read us, and no-one will!"
** Also, in ''Recap/AsterixAndTheCauldron'' when Asterix and Obelix are trying to make money, Obelix suggests that they could tell tales of their adventures and call them, "''The Adventures of Obelix the Gaul''". Asterix then replies that nobody would pay to listen to that.
* A story in Tales from the Crypt called "Concerto for Violin and Werewolf" had the main character figure out the plot twist of the story because it was similar to one he had read in an American comic book called Tales from the Crypt. The story he refers to, called "Midnight Mess", was an actual story that had been published a few issues before.
* The Creator/ECComics story "...So Shall Ye Reap!" (''Shock [=SuspenStories=]'' #10) shows a mother hypocritically scolding her son for reading what she calls a "cheap lurid comic book" full of "nothing but murder and violence" while being interested herself in reading news reports of grisly murders. HypocriticalHumor aside, this was more or less the complaint MoralGuardians were making against EC's publications at the time.

* From ''Franchise/TheFlash'':

* In ''Comicbook/{{Squee}}'', the six-year-old titular character suddenly [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior becomes uncomfortably self-aware]] as he laments his status as a CosmicPlaything:

* ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'':
** ''Comicbook/JLA1997'' featured an arc where Triumph, a largely-forgotten former member of the League from the 90s, fought against the then-current team. Triumph railed against the way he and his teammates were dismissed as second-stringers and never treated as "real" members of the Justice League, and accused the public of only caring about the "Big 7"[[note]]Franchise/{{Batman}}, Franchise/{{Superman}}, Franchise/WonderWoman, Comicbook/{{Aquaman}}, Comicbook/MartianManhunter and any of the [[LegacyCharacter various iterations]] of Franchise/GreenLantern and Franchise/TheFlash.[[/note]] heroes. This could be seen as a reflection of the way that ''Justice League'' runs featuring some iteration of the Big 7 tend to be more popular than those that do not, as well as the notorious reputation comic fans have for [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks refusing to accept change]].

** One storyline in the Creator/DwayneMcDuffie run had Anansi as the villain. As the Prince of Stories, his alteration of the characters was presented as rewriting the story, and when they teamed up anyway, he reflected that he shouldn't have set them all in the same continuity. He even (ironically) dismissed Comicbook/AnimalMan as far too metafictional.
** In the storyline that led into the controversial Detroit-era Justice League, Aquaman disbanded the JLA and argued that it needed a roster that was fully committed to the team, not a bunch of part timers who had other, more important things in their lives to focus on. This is pretty much exactly why writer Gerry Conway disbanded the team in real life, as he wanted to get rid of all the characters who had their own books (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Comicbook/GreenArrow and ComicBook/BlackCanary, Comicbook/{{Hawkman}} and Hawkgirl, and Comicbook/{{Firestorm|DCComics}}) and create a new Justice League that consisted solely of second string heroes he could have complete creative control over, such as Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and Comicbook/{{Zatanna}}.

* Modern Loki is so prolific in doing this that any given speech balloon has a significant chance of containing something that leans on the fourth wall. [[Comicbook/JourneyIntoMysteryGillen Lamenting]] that ''they'' don't have the power to write a happy ending for themselves while {{Aside Glanc|e}}ing at the reader (You could! Please!), [[Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard stating]] that "It's never the end of all stories." about ''Comicbook/SecretWars2015'' (Yeah. No. Not really a reboot.), and [[Comicbook/{{Thor2014}} going on tangents]] about Loki being an important supporting character in Thor's life even when everything is Comicbook/{{All New All Different|Marvel}}.

* Likewise, ''Comicbook/WestCoastAvengers'' #12 introduced a brand new costume for Comicbook/WonderMan, one that quickly proved ''extremely'' unpopular with readers. After months of reading fan letters calling the new suit terrible, writer Steve Englehart got rid of it in issue #24 by having one of Wonder Man's associates tell him that market research had shown that "the public" hated the costume.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManDeadpool'' #6 is all about the current spate of superhero movies. An actress playing [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]] asks why the other Marvel actors never talk to her, with the actor playing ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} saying that [[ExiledFromContinuity it's like they don't exist]].[[note]]The X-Men couldn't be used in the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] because their film rights were owned by [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios Fox]] at the time.[[/note]] Comicbook/{{Deadpool}}'s [[Film/XMenOriginsWolverine movie debut]] proves to be a disaster behind the scenes and is eventually cancelled, but Spider-Man assures him he'll get [[Film/Deadpool2016 another shot someday]]. Then, in a bit of SelfDeprecation, Spidey backs this up by saying Hollywood loves doing {{Continuity Reboot}}s of [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries the same stuff]] [[Film/SpiderManHomecoming the audience has already seen a dozen times before]]. And of course, the guys go to see a movie called ''[[Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice Nighthawk v. Hyperion: Yawn of Boredom]]'', which proves to be terrible, and has a NeverLiveItDown scene involving the two heroes' moms sharing a name.
* Done as TheReveal in ''Comicbook/NewSuperMan'' #8: in the epilogue a mysterious figure visits Super-Man Zero (China's first attempt at creating a Superman, from ''ComicBook/TheFinalDaysOfSuperman''), claiming that he was there at the beginning, and if it wasn't for him there wouldn't ''be'' any superheroes. The final splash page shows that he's [[spoiler:the YellowPeril villain from the cover of ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' #1, which is exactly duplicated]].

* The current [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Ms. Marvel]] was a fan of superheroes, in the sense that they're famous people in her world, long before she gained her powers. She even writes (and reads) FanFic about them, which has led to some mild embarrassments now that she hangs out with them. Her vocabulary when talking about her adventures frequently sounds exactly like a comics fan.

* In the final issue of ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'', Gwen gives a nod to her own case of IAmNotShazam:

* The subtext of the 2018 ''Death of ComicBook/TheInhumans'' mini-series seems to mirror the state of the franchise following the cancellation of almost all of the Inhuman-related books and the spectacular failure of [[Series/{{Inhumans}} their live-action TV show]]. [[spoiler: Throughout the series, the Inhumans' empire is systematically torn down and destroyed (with the narration explicitly likening it to the fall of Rome), with many of the [=Nuhumans=] created during the ''ComicBook/{{Inhumanity}}'' push ending up as CListFodder. Though most of the core Inhumans do ultimately survive, it's made clear that their golden age has ended and that they will no longer be as powerful or prominent as they previously were, seemingly mirroring the fact that while the attempts at turning the Inhumans into a massive franchise failed, the characters themselves will still live as part of the Marvel Universe]].
* ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'': Franchise/WonderWoman sees that her memories of the past (her origin) keeps changing...much like her ''actual'' comic book origin keeps changing significantly with each reboot.
* In''ComicBook/DannyPhantomAGlitchInTime'', Danny asks Clockwork to [[spoiler: erase everything since ''[[Recap/DannyPhantomS3E1EyeForAnEye Eye for an Eye]]'', which was the premiere episode of the third season, in order to undo the damage that Dark Danny did to the timeline]]. This can be seen as a TakeThat towards the rather weak quality of the season, which has been a source of contention for most of the "Phans".

* In''ComicBook/DannyPhantomAGlitchInTime'', Danny asks Clockwork to [[spoiler: erase everything since ''[[Recap/DannyPhantomS3E1EyeForAnEye Eye for an Eye]]'', which was the premiere episode of the third season, in order to undo the damage that Dark Danny did to the timeline]]. This can be seen as a TakeThat towards the rather weak quality of the season, which has been a source of contention for most of the "Phans".

** Christopher Priest's ''Justice League'' run had a similar story element. In addition to the main villain being a deranged fan who [[TakeThatAudience refuses to accept a Justice League that isn't the one he grew up with]], Simon Baz points out the real life hierarchy of the team when it comes to popularity, particularly the way Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are effectively the FaceOfTheBand.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'': Franchise/WonderWoman sees that her memories of the past (her origin) keeps changing...much like her ''actual'' comic book origin keeps changing significantly with each reboot.

** In ''The Flash'' (volume 2) #133, the end of the first Creator/MarkMillar and Creator/GrantMorrison storyline concludes with Wally putting on a cod Scots accent and Linda telling him "You've spent entirely too much time around Scottish people." Of course, she's talking about Ewan [=McCulloch=], the Mirror Master and not the two writers.

** ''[[ComicBook/TheFlashRebirth The Flash]]'' (volume 5) #24 has Eobard Thawne, who remembers the pre-Flashpoint timeline and not the ComicBook/New52 one, mock the new Kid Flash. This Kid Flash was originally the New 52 version of Wally West, before negative reception led to DC reintroducing the original Wally West, retconning the New 52 Wally into the original's cousin. Eobard beats up the new Wally West while exclaiming that he's a "fake" Kid Flash and not even the "real" Wally West.

** In the Flash-centric ''ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal'' spin-off ''Speed Metal'', Barry and Wally have a conversation that can easily be read as the audience complaining about how Wally was completely sidelined in favour of Barry after his return, and DC acknowledging that and promising to do better. Additionally, Barry confesses that, because he wasn't there to see Wally grow up, he still thinks of him as his sidekick rather than a hero in his own right; which seems like an admission from the writers that they were mostly fans of the old [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] stories and saw Wally as a supporting character who was just filling in for the “real” Flash rather than a beloved protagonist in his own right.

** One famous scene in issue #49 featured ComicBook/{{the Ray}}, ComicBook/{{Impulse}}, and the ComicBook/PostCrisis ComicBook/{{Superboy|1994}} (Kon-El) talking to each other about how their comics -- excuse me, their ''favorite'' comics -- were cancelled for no reason. For added points, all three of them glare at Tim "ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}}" Drake when he comes in at the end of the scene. Robin, of course, starred in a solo title that was still going strong at the time and lasted roughly as long as the other three characters' titles combined.

* ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse:

** ''Comicbook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'' shows how Scrooge [[BerserkButton isn't happy]] about the rumors that his NumberOneDime is [[{{Flanderization}} a lucky charm]].

** In the storyline that led into the controversial Detroit-era Justice League, Aquaman disbanded the JLA and argued that it needed a roster that was fully committed to the team, not a bunch of part timers who had other, more important things in their lives to focus on. This is pretty much exactly why writer Gerry Conway disbanded the team in real life, as he wanted to get rid of all the characters who had their own books (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Comicbook/GreenArrow and [[Characters/BlackCanaryTheBlackCanary Black Canary]], Comicbook/{{Hawkman}} and Hawkgirl, and Comicbook/{{Firestorm|DCComics}}) and create a new Justice League that consisted solely of second string heroes he could have complete creative control over, such as Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and Comicbook/{{Zatanna}}.