She-Hulk + More Characters That Talk to the Audience
“Um, it’s true, I am a Hulk—and I’m guessing you’re not gonna be able to focus on this fun lawyer show until you know all about that, so let me get you up to speed…”
When She-Hulk’s TV series debuted, did you see that part where she turns to the viewers and offers to share her backstory about becoming another “Hulk”? That’s called breaking the fourth wall.
You see, in visual media—like film, TV, a stage play, or even a comics panel—the “fourth wall” is the imaginary wall separating actors or characters from the audience. The audience can see through this wall, but generally the actors pretend that they can’t.
But what happens when a character is aware of their artificial environment? They turn and acknowledge the audience.
One of the latest examples on TV is Jennifer Walters AKA She-Hulk, the lead in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Which is no surprise, of course—she was doing that years ago in the comics.
Find out more about She-Hulk below, plus several other examples of characters who’ve turned to talk directly to the audience…
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17 Sets of Characters Who Break the Fourth Wall
1 She-Hulk
The Marvel Cinematic Universe got a brand new heroine in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, featuring Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk (played by Tatiana Maslany). For years, fans have eagerly anticipated what Jen’s live-action debut would look like, and which elements of her diverse comics background would be used. With the launch of the first episode, we got several answers—including one of the most important: She talks to the audience!
As an L.A. lawyer trying to live a normal life, Jen finds her circumstances flipped upside down when she’s in a car wreck with her cousin. He happens to be Bruce Banner—aka The Incredible Hulk. In the course of rescuing her cousin from the wrecked car, some of his blood touches hers, and infuses her with the same radioactive effects that turns him into the giant green monster.
The way we learn her origin is when she’s headed for a court case, and realizes the viewers won’t pay attention until they know the details of her alternate identity. Which is why she turns to us and tells her backstory.
Of course, Jen has been breaking the fourth wall since her Sensational She-Hulk comic book from the 1980s. (Which happened several years before another Marvel comics character, Deadpool, did the same thing.) In that comic series, which was kicked off by writer/artist John Byrne, Sensational She-Hulk included fourth-wall breaks where she ripped through the pages to stomp across ads, and bursr into arguments with the book’s editor.
In a 2019 interview with SYFY, Byrne talked about his amazing work on different comics titles, including Sensational She-Hulk. Back when Marvel editor Mark Gruenwald was originally talking to Byrne about starting the She-Hulk series, he told the writer/artist to find a way to make it different.
“I took the subway home,” Byrne recounts, “and on the way I thought, She knows she’s in a comic book. Came to me just like that—just a mess with the whole format thing, stepping across panel borders. I have a wacky sense of humor that I don’t get to use too much in the regular work, but She-Hulk allowed me to have both.”
RELATED LINKS:
'She-Hulk' writer and director: Breaking fourth wall was "quintessential" (Inverse)
Marvel’s She-Hulk Fourth-Wall Breaks, Explained (ComicBook.com)
How She-Hulk Smashed the Fourth Wall (Before Deadpool) (Sideshow)
She-Hulk on Disney+: 8 Facts You Should Know Before Watching The Series (Monster Complex)
She-Hulk Is Back to Shake Up the Marvel Universe in New Comic Series (Monster Complex)
22 Monsters Who Are Marvel Superheroes (Monster Complex)
In the video below, IGN talks about the importance of fourth wall breaks to the series.
She-Hulk’s Fourth Wall Breaks Aren’t Just For Laughs (IGN)
Read the original fourth-wall-breaking comics in this volume
Buy She-Hulk Epic Collection: Breaking The Fourth Wall (Sensational She-Hulk 1989-1994) from Amazon
2 Ferris Bueller
A treasured classic of films from the 1980s, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was a platform for the young Matthew Broderick, who has since moved on from the film for lots of projects. But for many, he will always be the star of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Which almost didn’t happen due to Ferris’ breaking of the fourth wall.
Broderick was quoted as saying, “I thought [the script] was great, and I had a teeny hesitation because having just done [the plays] Brighton Beach [Memoirs] and Biloxi [Blues]. I was like, ‘Wow, I’m talking to the audience, just like in these plays… and even in [the 1985 movie] Ladyhawke he talks to the camera a bit. … You know, when you’re young or starting out you think, ‘I have to do something different.’” (LRM Online)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) - End Credits (oscarpsb)
How to Break the Fourth Wall (Now You See It)
3 The characters from Looney Tunes
For years, the various incarnations of the Looney Tunes—featuring the likes of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and so many more hilarious characters—have easily turned and acknowledged the audience. One of the most fun examples goes all the way back to Bob Clampett’s 1941 Bugs Bunny short “Wabbit Twouble.” Elmer Fudd, his face covered in soap, is reaching for a towel when Bugs leads him around with the towel on the end of a branch. Bugs turns and shares with the viewers, “I do this kind of stuff to him all through the picture.”
Watch the video below for a demonstration from the New Looney Tunes series…
New Looney Tunes | “Bugs vs The Animator” (Boomerang UK)
4 Miranda Hart
Apart from beginning each episode by addressing viewers directly (“Onwards with the show, my chums”) from the sofa of her living-room set, Miranda Hart also regularly catches the eye of the camera during a scene, the only character permitted to do so. “One aspect of the sit-com Miranda (BBC2) admits its star to a very distinctive televisual group: those who break the general convention that the performer doesn’t know the audience is there.” (The Guardian)
Miranda - Good word, isn’t it (Adrienne Elizabeth)
5 Moonlighting
Comedy drama TV series Moonlighting (1985-1989) starred Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis as private detectives, and Allyce Beasley as their receptionist. Mixing drama, comedy, mystery, and romance, the show is one of the earliest examples of a “dramedy.” Moonlighting frequently broke the fourth wall. Reportedly, some of these instances were to help fill air time, since the show’s dialogue was spoken so quickly that they needed more talking to fill the entire hour.
In the video below, watch how one episode was broken up by the studio crew tearing down the set…
2x18 Camille (o0Moonlighting0o)
6 Sam and Max
A pair of private investigators in New York City, the stars of Sam & Max: Freelance Police are Sam (a dog wearing a suit and a fedora) and Max (a “hyperkinetic rabbity thing”). They were created by Steve Purcell, and first appeared in a 1987 comic book series. The characters have since starred in a TV cartoon, a video game, and more.
For this article, I can’t seem to find anyone talking about the show breaking the fourth wall. However, I do remember one episode of the show where the pair were going to fight crime on the moon—and Max explained to viewers that a particular joke originally appeared in their comic book. Scroll down to watch…
Sam & Max 1x04 Bad Day On The Moon
7 It’s Garry Shandling’s Show
Comedian Garry Shandling starred in It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (1986-1990), which seriously cranked up the whole “breaking the fourth wall” vibe. Shandling starred as an over-the-top version of himself, aware that he was a character on a sitcom. In this case, however, the fourth wall was also broken by pretty much every character on the show—and even the studio audience was treated as a “character.”
Writer Alan Zweibel on breaking the fourth wall on It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (Foundation INTERVIEWS)
For It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, even the theme song spoke directly about itself. In the video below, the theme was performed by special guests The Turtles.
The Turtles perform the theme to It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (PIMannix)
8 Squirrel Girl and her squirrels
Created by Will Murray and Steve Ditko (Ditko also co-created Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, among many other comic book characters), Squirrel Girl has the powers of, well, apparently a squirrel. You might want to dismiss that, but she has been able to beat bad guys like Doctor Doom and Fin Fang Foom.
She’s another Marvel Comics character who breaks the fourth wall—as do her squirrel companions Tippy-Toe and Monkey Joe. To be honest, I’ve never read her adventures myself, but apparently they’ve been called upon to recap stories for the readers. Her sidekicks also critique the art and story.
9 Groucho Marx
In the Marx Brothers’ earlier films like Animal Crackers (1930), and Horse Feathers (1932), Groucho Marx would turn and speak directly to the audience. In the video below, he is actually doing a parody of Eugene O’Neill’s experimental (and controversial) play Strange Interlude—which includes nine acts! Strange Interlude makes extensive use of a soliloquy technique, which is another method of characters speaking their inner thoughts to the audience. In Animal Crackers, Marx riffs on it big time.
“Pardon Me While I Have a Strange Interlude” (Twenty Third Floor)
10 Wayne Campbell from Wayne’s World
One of the most successful examples of a Saturday Night Live sketch being transformed into a film—or, in this case, two films—was 1992’s Wayne’s World (and 1993’s Wayne’s World 2) starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey. The two star as Wayne and Garth, who both host a public-access TV show.
Wayne’s World featured several moments when someone turned and addressed the audience. One scene, shown in the video below, finds Wayne refusing to allow any sponsor to interfere with the film. (In a way.)
Wayne’s World—“I Will Not Bow to Any Sponsor” (1992) (Movieclips)
11 30 Rock
Inspired by creator Tina Fey’s experience working on the sketch show Saturday Night Live, the sitcom 30 Rock (2006-2013) pretended to take us behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy show. The show’s title refers to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City—where Saturday Night Live is done. The series starred Fey with a supporting cast that included Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, and a bunch more.
The series included a number of examples of breaking the fourth wall. But I want to talk about this: Long after 30 Rock had ended as a regular series, the cast was reunited for “30 Rock: A One-Time Special.” The reason I bring it up now is because—as often as the series would orbit around TV cliches and common show business practices—this reunion special was a self-aware promotional vehicle to sell the new Peacock streaming service. (And I found it hilarious.)
Watch this playlist for a few SUPER-SHORT YouTube clips of the show breaking the fourth wall…
30 Rock: There is no fourth wall
Watch the video below to see Ms. Mojo’s picks for the best moments of the show…
Top 10 30 Rock Moments (MsMojo)
12 Bat-Mite and Ambush Bug
Bat-Mite is a zany comic book character. Ambush Bug is a zany comic book character. Although these two DC Comics characters rarely appear together, I’m giving them one entry in this post so I can talk about their interactions in the series finale for the Batman team-up cartoon Batman: The Brave & The Bold.
In that episode, Bat-Mite decided he wanted to get the show cancelled so they’d create a grittier Batman TV series. Ambush Bug, who happened to be watching all this on TV, stepped in to try and stop Bat-Mite’s plan. By the end, however, the show was still “cancelled” (we were, in fact, watching the final episode).
I just want to stop for a moment and point out that the guest actors voicing the characters were Paul Reubens as Bat-Mite, Henry Winkler as Ambush Bug, and Ted McGinley played a “re-cast” version of Aquaman. (By the way, Winkler and McGinley were both co-stars on Happy Days.)
The closing scene of the episode was a farewell party featuring many of the show’s guest stars. Watch the video below…
Batman TBATB Ending (Furdemon Lar)
Scroll down to find out more about the comics history of Bat-Mite…
Who is DC Comics’ Bat-Mite? Batman’s Most Powerful and Irritating Fan! (New Sage)
Scroll down to find out more about the comics history of Ambush Bug…
Who is DC Comics’ Ambush Bug? Trust me... He’ll be there. (New Sage)
13 Community
The sitcom Community followed a study group at a community college. Over the show’s six seasons—soon to be a movie!—the ensemble cast included the likes of Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong, Chevy Chase, Paget Brewster, Keith David, Jonathan Banks, John Oliver, and Jim Rash. The show, created by Dan Harmon, often called attention to clichés found in film and TV.
In the video below, the folks at Watch Mojo analyze examples of fourth wall breaks on episodes of Community…
Top 10 4th Wall Breaks in Community (Watch Mojo)
14 Chowder
Chowder is an animated television series following a young boy serving as an apprentice with a catering company. (It’s a lot weirder and more hilarious than it sounds.) The show was created by C. H. Greenblatt and premiered on Cartoon Network in 2007. Scroll down to watch videos that share some of the series’ examples of breaking the fourth wall—including my favorite episode of all time, when they stop paying the animators.
Chowder breaks the fourth wall (Valien)
Why Chowder is the Master of the 4th Wall Break (Pineist)
15 Spaceballs
Comedy director Mel Brooks has broken the fourth wall more than once. Take, for example, the hilarious ending to his film Blazing Saddles.
Another example of Brooks breaking the fourth wall takes the idea to a whole new place: In the movie Spaceballs, the villains are trying to find the heroes—and realize they can find them if they get a video copy of the film that’s being taped. At this moment. Before the movie is done. Watch the, er, video below if you need to see it in action…as it’s happening…
Spaceballs—“We’re in Now Now” (1987) (Movieclips)
16 SpongeBob Squarepants
Created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg (1961-2018), the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants shares the lives of SpongeBob and friends in the underwater city Bikini Bottom. In the series’ long life—it premiered in 1999 and, as far as I know, it’s still going—the show has inspired movies, spin-off series, and won all kinds of awards. It has also allowed SpongeBob and company to break the fourth wall several times. Watch the video below for 10 examples…
Top 10 Times SpongeBob Squarepants Broke the 4th Wall (WatchMojo.com)
17 Deadpool
Comics fans who are keeping up know that She-Hulk was “breaking the fourth wall” years before Deadpool started doing it. But filmgoers (who don’t read the comics) saw him do it first in his movies. Checking out his comics roots, Deadpool first appeared in 1991’s New Mutants #98, but didn’t turn to speak to readers until 1999’s Deadpool #28.
Even though She-Hulk and Deadpool both now practice it onscreen, there’s a major difference between them: As pointed out by GameRant, “Deadpool breaks the fourth wall for meta jabs at the audience but She-Hulk forges an intimate relationship with the viewer by confiding her feelings.”
Watch the videos below for more details about Deadpool yakking it up with audiences…
31 Times Deadpool Broke The 4th Wall (Next of Ken)
15 Times Movies Broke The Fourth Wall (Screen Rant)
About She-Hulk
She-Hulk AKA Jennifer Walters is a Marvel Comics character created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema. After a blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner (who is the Incredible Hulk), Walters now becomes a giant, super-strong, green-skinned version of herself. However, unlike her cousin, she can continue to be in mental control.
Also a highly skilled lawyer, she frequently serves as legal counsel for others who are super-powered. In the comics, She-Hulk has also been a member of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, S.H.I.E.L.D, and more.
Walters made her live-action debut with the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), portrayed by Tatiana Maslany.
