10 celebrities who have been in comic books
KUALA LUMPUR - For comic book fans, Muhammad Ali was more than just a great boxer. He was also the star of the famous Superman Vs Muhammad Ali one-shot back in 1978, which is arguably one of the most iconic appearences by a real-life celebrity in the hist
Of course, real people appearing in comic books is hardly a new or rare thing. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby famously wrote (and drew) themselves getting turned away from the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm in 1965’s Fantastic Four Annual #3, while Grant Morrison took the word “comic creator” one step further by writing himself into the 1990 finale of his Animal Man run as the almighty “creator” of the character’s comic-book world.
Throughout the years, there have been numerous appearences by real-life celebrities in comics. Here are some of our favourites.
Muhammad Ali
Superman Vs Muhammad Ali, 1978
The inspiration for today’s article actually came from the recent passing of Muhammad Ali. While he is definitely THE greatest boxer in the ring, he was also once the greatest boxer in the galaxy!
As the story goes, Earth was being invaded by an alien species called the Scrubb. With their armada of spaceships already in position to destroy Earth, the aliens kindly (and frankly, stupidly) gave us Earthlings a chance to prevent the total destruction of our planet – by selecting our greatest champion to fight one on one with THEIR greatest champion. If our champion won, they’d let us go.
The problem is, Earth has two people claiming to be The Greatest – Superman, and Muhammad Ali!
With Superman technically and biologically not an Earthling in the first place, Ali steps up his claim as Earth’s greatest fighter, and backs it up by pummelling a powerless Superman in the ring! Now the undisputed greatest fighter of Earth, he then fights the Scrubb champion and saves us all!
President Barack Obama
Amazing Spider-Man #583, 2009
Obama is probably the celebrity and US President with the most comic-book appearances. Since making his “first appearance” in Licensable BearTM #4 (2007) when he was a senator, he has subsequently appeared in a host of comics, including Savage Dragon #137 and #145, Youngblood #8, Archie Comics #616 and #617, as well as unorthodox takes such as Barack The Barbarian and President Evil (!).
In an article titled “Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know” published by Britain’s Daily Telegraph just before he was elected in 2008, it was revealed that Obama is actually a huge Spider-Man and Conan fan!
Hence, it is only fitting that his most famous comic-book appearance would be in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #583, published a week before his inauguration. In it, the Chameleon shows up disguised as Obama, and Spidey has to figure out who the imposter is. After he does so by asking questions only the actual Potus would know, the inauguration goes on without a hitch. The issue went into a fifth printing, making it one of the top-selling comics of the 2000s.
President Bill Clinton
Captain America #450, 1996
If you think that recent expose of Steve Rogers as a Hydra agent was ridiculous, something even more ridiculous (but in a good way) happened 20 years ago during Mark Waid and Ron Garney’s stint on Captain America. In the first part of the Man Without A Country story arc, Cap was accused of committing treason and met then US President Bill Clinton to explain his case. Fearing the media backlash, Clinton took the easiest way out: by stripping Steve of his costume and shield, and exiling him to England!
President Ronald Reagan
The Dark Knight Returns #4, 1986
Last President, we promise! The only reason we HAD to include this was because Reagan was the one who kickstarted THE best Batman vs Superman showdown ever. After the “ruckus” (as Reagan puts it) Batman caused in Gotham, he orders the Government Lackey Of Steel to take down the Dark Knight, leading to that epic showdown in Crime Alley!
Eminem
Eminem/The Punisher #1, 2009
Prior to this one-shot promo comic, I had little knowledge about who Eminem is. After reading it, I found myself wishing even more fervently that the Punisher did exist – so that he can whup Eminem’s butt! Definitely the most “blasphemous” Punisher story ever, it even has Eminem knocking out Frank Castle with a gun-butt to the face! Hmm, I wonder why Jigsaw, Barracuda or the Kingpin never used that approach?
David Letterman
The Avengers #239, 1984
During his prime, legendary talk show host David Letterman interviewed the creme de la creme of celebrities. But the highlight of his career has to be the time he had Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on his show! After saving the world during the day, The Avengers made time for an appearance on the Late Night With David Letterman show. However, wherever our heroes go, trouble tends to follow and this time it came in the form of a B-grade villain named the Mechano-Marauder, who rigged the studio with booby traps! Of course, this is hardly a cataclysmic situation worthy of the Avengers, so in the end, it was left to Letterman himself to deliver the finishing blow to the party pooper!
KISS
Howard The Duck #12, 1977
KISS is a band that is perfect for comics, and they knew it. Throughout the band’s four-decade existence, there have been numerous comic books bearing their name and image, published by Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Platinum Studios, Archie Comics, and IDW Publishing, among others.
However, it was Marvel that gave the band its start in comics, in the pages of, er, Howard The Duck back in 1977, in which they appeared after an exorcism! The small cameo became popular enough that the band was featured in a few more instalments of the Marvel Super Special line.
Stephen Colbert
Amazing Spider-Man #573, 2008
Taking a cue from Letterman’s experience, Stephen Colbert (then host of Comedy Central’s late-night show The Colbert Report) chose to boost his “fantasy” presidential campaign by appearing in a back-up Spidey tale. Having interviewed Joe Quesada (then Marvel’s editor-in-chief) on several occasions, Colbert got his reciprocal wish by tag-teaming with Spidey against the Grizzly. Even though it had little impact on contnuity, I must admit that this offbeat tale was worth the effort.
The cast of Saturday Night Live
Marvel Team-Up #74, 1978
This tale had Spidey and Mary Jane Watson going for a live recording of comedy show Saturday Night Live, featuring comedians John Belushi, Bill Murray, Garrett Morris and Laraine Newman, among others.
If you found the Silver Samurai corny during his appearance in The Wolverine movie, blame it on this unorthodox outing, as the Samurai visits the set of Saturday Night Live in search of a ring that turns out to be in the possession of the late Belushi.
While it may sound lopsided, pitting someone who has tangled with Wolverine against a bunch of comedians, the final outcome actually saw the underdogs running riot all over the Samurai!
Allen Funt
Action Comics #345, 1967
The title of the story – The Day Candid Camera Unmasked Superman’s Identity! – really should tell you what this is all about. In one of the silliest real-world-meets-comics crossovers ever, Allen Funt, host of classic reality prank show Candid Camera, goes to Metropolis and tries to reveal the Man Of Steel’s secret identity on national TV.
