Line #169 Creator/JossWhedon


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/joss_whedon_2.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:The metaphorical cradle of [[Website/TVTropes This Very Wiki]] in the flesh.]]
3
4	->''"This is my entire career in one scene: Look, she’s helpless! No, she’s kicking their asses!"''
5
6	Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon (born June 23, 1964) is a scriptwriter, script doctor, director, [[TheCameo cameo]] actor, television producer through his famed Creator/MutantEnemy production company, {{comic book}} author, and--as of his appearance on ''Radio/ThisAmericanLife''--a singer.
7
8	Whedon is best known for his work on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', ''Series/{{Angel}}'', ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'', the [[ScrewedByTheNetwork famously]] [[TheFireflyEffect cancelled]] cult hit ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', [[TheMovie its motion picture]] ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' and the [[Film/TheAvengers2012 first]] [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron two]] ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' movies in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. Coming from a family of talented writers, he is also notable for often being called one of the first ''third''-generation television writers.
9
10	Most of his works include [[ActionGirl badass female characters]], as well as [[WorldOfSnark numerous characters with dry, caustic wit]]. And [[TrueArtIsAngsty angst]]. [[{{Angst}} Lots]] [[DeusAngstMachina and lots]] [[DiabolusExMachina of angst]]. [[AngstDissonance Even in the middle of]] [[CerebusSyndrome comic storylines or situations]].
11
12	In fact, Whedon delights in [[SubvertedTrope defying audience expectations]], to the point that "{{Jossed}}" became synonymous with fan theories being disproven. For instance, rather than killing a major character, he'll kill off [[MauveShirt a minor but much more endearing character]]. Whedon explained in the DVD commentary for ''Serenity'' that he likes doing such things because people ''expect'' the hero to die or be horribly injured at some point -- but they don't expect the ''minor'' characters to die, so the impact is much greater! Unfortunately, he's [[SignatureStyle done this so often]] that nobody familiar with Whedon expects characters they like to live anymore.
13
14	He was also the first writer[=/=]director to have had a hand in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse and ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', if only by reshaping ''Film/JusticeLeague2017'' with reshoots, new scenes and repurposing of Creator/ZackSnyder's [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague scenes]] for the DCEU, and script doctoring for Fox's ''Film/XMen1''.
15
16	In 2020, Whedon was accused of abusive behavior on the set of ''Film/{{Justice League\|2017}}'' by actor Creator/RayFisher. He has since been accused of the same by a number of other collaborators including Creator/CharismaCarpenter, Creator/MichelleTrachtenberg, Creator/AmberBenson, Creator/JasonMomoa, and Creator/JoseMolina, in addition to 2017 accusations of infidelity by his ex-wife Kai Cole. These accusations came not long after he was accused of sexually pressuring several younger women who worked on his shows into affairs with him. Whedon has steadfastly denied all claims of impropriety while admitting that he can be "confrontational".
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18	[[folder:List of Works]]
19
20	[[index]]
21	[[AC:Television Work:]]
22	* [[AC: As Creator / Executive Producer / Director:]]
23	** ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''
24	** ''Series/{{Angel}}''
25	** ''Series/{{Firefly}}''
26	** ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}''
27	** ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD''[[note]]He co-wrote the pilot but his involvement after that is zero. The show is run by Jeffrey Bell, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen[[/note]]
28	** ''Series/TheNevers''[[note]]Created the series but exited its production in 2020[[/note]]
29
30	* [[AC:As Writer / Guest Writer:]]
31	** ''Series/{{Roseanne}}''
32	** ''Series/{{Parenthood}}'' (1990 version)
33
34	* [[AC: As Director:]]
35	** ''Series/{{The Office\|US}}'' ("Business School" and "Branch Wars")
36	** ''Series/{{Glee}}'' ("Dream On")
37
38	[[AC:Films written:]]
39	* ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''
40	* ''Film/{{Speed}}'' (script doctor)
41	* ''Film/{{Waterworld}}'' (original draft, which was mangled beyond recognition)
42	* ''Film/{{Twister}}'' (script doctor)
43	* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' (co-writer - UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Original Screenplay)
44	* ''Film/AlienResurrection''
45	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride'' (co-wrote the song "My Lullaby")
46	* ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'' (the draft that the final version was mostly based on)
47	* ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' (early script)
48	* ''Film/XMen1'' (script doctor)
49	* ''Film/{{Serenity}}''
50	* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'' (co-writer)
51	* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' (additional material, uncredited)
52	* ''Film/{{The Avengers\|2012}}''
53	* ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' (additional material, uncredited)
54	* ''Film/InYourEyes''
55	* ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''
56	* ''Film/{{Justice League\|2017}}'' (additional post-production material)
57
58	[[AC:Films directed:]]
59	* ''Film/{{Serenity}}''
60	* ''Film/{{Thor}}'' [[note]]Post-credits scene[[/note]]
61	* ''Film/{{The Avengers\|2012}}''
62	* ''Film/MuchAdoAboutNothing2012''
63	* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' [[note]]Mid-credits scene[[/note]]
64	* ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''
65	* ''Film/{{Justice League\|2017}}'' (uncredited)[[note]]Whedon took over as director for additional material due to Creator/ZackSnyder leaving for personal reasons and ExecutiveMeddling, and considerably reshaped the film. However Snyder is still credited as sole director, while Whedon is only given a writer's credit per DGA rules, due to not having directed at least half of the theatrical movie.[[/note]]
66
67	[[AC:Films Produced:]]
68	* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods''
69	* ''Film/MuchAdoAboutNothing2012''
70	* ''Film/InYourEyes''
71
72	[[AC:Comics written:]]
73	* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}''
74	* ''ComicBook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer: Season Eight'' and ''Season Nine''.
75	* ''[[ComicBook/AngelIDW Angel: After The Fall]]''
76	* ''Comicbook/AstonishingXMen''
77	* ''ComicBook/{{Fray}}''
78	* ''ComicBook/SerenityThoseLeftBehind''
79	* ''ComicBook/SerenityBetterDays''
80	* ''ComicBook/SerenityTheShepherdsTale''
81
82	[[AC:WebOriginal projects:]]
83	* ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog''
84	* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TiXUF9xbTo Whedon on Romney]]"
85
86	[[/index]]
87	[[/folder]]
88	----
89	!!TropeNamer for:
90	* AppliedPhlebotinum
91	* ICallItVera
92	* {{Jossed}}[[invoked]]
93	* ShinyNewAustralia
94
95	!!This creator and his works contain examples of:
96	* AbusiveParents: A staple of the Jossverse, sometimes lampooned. Amusingly, by Season 3 of ''Series/{{Angel}}'', this reached the point where the fact that Fred's parents were perfectly nice people came off as a shocking twist.
97	* ActionGirl: Though Whedon himself doesn't think this should even be a trope. He once recounted how interviewers always ask why he writes so many strong, competent female characters, saying he always wants to yell at them about why they aren't asking every other writer why they ''don't'' write these kinds of characters. Instead of viewing a character as a woman who does "action-y" things, view it as a character who does "action-y" things who happens to be a woman.
98	* AnyoneCanDie: Villains, heroes, children, the main character, ''anyone'' can die in a Joss Whedon production.
99	** ''Buffy'' / ''Angel'': [[spoiler:Jesse, Jenny Calendar, Doyle, Tara, Anya, Joyce, Lilah (sorta), Jonathan, Cordelia, Fred, Wesley, Lindsey, Spike, Angel, and Buffy herself, twice. Giles as well as of the Season 8 comics. Giles was resurrected at the end of Season 9 however, and Fred in Season 10]]
100	** ''Dollhouse'': [[spoiler:Topher Brink, Boyd Langton, Paul Ballard, Mellie!November, Bennett Halverson, and possibly the majority of the cast considering the {{Distant Finale}}s, particularly Mr. Dominic and Ivy]].
101	** ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'': [[spoiler:Korso, Preed, and Cale's father.]]
102	** When ''[=AoS=]'' star Creator/BrettDalton was asked to meet with the writers regarding [[spoiler:Ward's FaceHeelTurn]], he thought they were going to tell him his character was about to die. This is a bit HilariousInHindsight as [[spoiler:when the show did kill Ward off a couple years later, it was done in a way that allowed Dalton to stay on the show with the Inhuman Hive possessing his body.]]
103	** ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'': [[spoiler:Every last member of the cast and then the entire planet.]]
104	* AuthorAppeal:
105	** Likes characters with English accents, as he attended school in Britain (The Watchers, Spike, Adelle, Badger, Simmons).
106	** People with mental illness show up in a lot of his shows.
107	** Women walking around barefoot.
108	** Music/ElvisCostello references.
109	** Tends to turn his female characters into lesbians, if they weren't already.
110	** Likes to name his characters after objects (Willow, River, Spike, Faith, Book, Skye).
111	** [[MutantDraftBoard Mysterious organizations who recruit people with special talent]] (The Watchers Council, Blue Suns, The Academy, Wolfram & Hart, SHIELD and SWORD, The Evil League of Evil).
112	** [[DeadpanSnarker Snarkiness]].
113	** Petite women.
114	* BadBoss: Can be quite cruel to his staff, especially his writers. According to Creator/JoseMolina, he thinks it's funny.
115	* BadNewsInAGoodWay: He enjoys excitedly announcing to his actors that he's killed them.
116	* {{Bathos}}: He often follows up a tragic or serious scene with a joke for comic effect. He even provides the page quote!
117	* BetterThanABareBulb: The source of much Whedon comedy.
118	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: River, Drusilla, Alpha, Hawkeye.
119	* BuffySpeak: While he didn't invent it, Joss and his shows had a big hand in changing the way TV and movie characters talk, especially white teenagers. This isn't because he likes it so much as [[WriteWhoYouKnow it's how he speaks]].
120	* BuryYourGays: Joss actually likes having same-sex couples who are in happy, stable relationships. But since he also thinks TrueLoveIsBoring, this eventually leads to him killing one or both members of the couple for the sake of drama. Note that [[AnyoneCanDie he does this to heterosexual couples too.]]
121	* TheCameo:
122	** Guest starred as a sports agent in Creator/JaneEspenson's web series ''Husbands''.
123	** Appeared in an episode of [[Creator/FeliciaDay Geek & Sundry's]] ''Written By A Kid''.
124	** Douglas the car rental office boss in the ''Series/VeronicaMars'' episode "Rat Saw God".
125	* CreatorCameo: He has self-inserted himself into a number of his own works, including:
126	** Lorne's brother Numfar in ''Series/{{Angel}}''
127	--->"Numfar! Do the dance of joy!"
128	** The ''Buffy'' comics line.
129	** [[DeathByCameo The interviewer]] in [[Film/{{Serenity}} The R. Tam Sessions]].
130	** One of the singing cowboys in ''Dr. Horrible''.
131	* CastTheExpert: The casting of ballet dancer Creator/SummerGlau in an episode of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' and hiring Tony Award-winning Hinton Battle as a choreographer and as the dancing demon Sweet in ''Buffy'''s [[MusicalEpisode "Once More With Feeling."]]
132	* CasualDangerDialogue: One of the most represented types of [[DeadpanSnarker dry wit]] in his projects. For good or bad, after ''The Avengers'' and everybody copying it, he is considered one of the great harbingers of this type of character interaction in fiction from TheNewTens and onward.
133	* {{Chiaroscuro}}: The man adores negative space.
134	* CuteBruiser: A number of his {{Action Girl}}s also have SuperStrength, including [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]], [[Series/{{Angel}} Cordelia]] and Fred.
135	* DeadpanSnarker: In his own words, ''The Avengers'' has so much dry wit that it looks like a desert.
136	* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Though he's always had a reputation for using AnyoneCanDie, he's been accused of relying on it a bit too much, killing characters off just for cheap shock value long after we've learned to suspect it's coming. He always wanted to do this (for example, the character of Jesse in the first episode of ''Buffy''), but sometimes it was pushed on him by circumstance (Doyle was written off of ''Angel'' because of actor Glenn Quinn's drug abuse).
137	* DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Once jokingly asked Americans to vote for Mitt Romney in order to bring about an [[RuleOfCool awesome]] ZombieApocalypse.
138	* ForeignCussWord: A staple of his productions. Examples include Spike dropping British cuss words on ''Buffy'', the ''Serenity'' crew swearing in Mandarin, and Loki calling Black Widow a "[[CountryMatters mewling quim]]" in ''Film/{{The Avengers\|2012}}''.
139	* GenreBlending: His shows do mix various genres together.
140	** ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is a coming of age teen comedy drama supernatural horror series. It's spin-off ''Angel'' also mixes in neo-noir.
141	** ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' is a SpaceWestern drama.
142	** ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' is a superhero comedy drama musical.
143	** ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' is a psychological cyberpunk serial drama.
144	** ''Series/TheNevers'' is a steampunk sci-fi period drama.
145	* GirlOnGirlIsHot: If ''Buffy'' and ''Firefly'' are anything to go by.
146	** Considered making Xander gay, but Xander was his self-insert, so instead he made Willow gay and made her far more sexual.
147	** Inara picked up a female client. Everyone commented on it. "I'll be in my bunk."
148	* HollywoodAtheist: Malcolm Reynolds is deeply bitter against God/Christianity after losing a war. Creator/NathanFillion himself stated that Mal is actually a {{Naytheist}} who's pissed off after the Serenity Valley.
149	* ICallItVera: Wrote the script for the {{Trope Namer\|s}}. Also had a typewriter in school named "Creator/MutantEnemy".
150	* KillTheCutie: Many from his works:
151	** ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Examples include [[spoiler:Jenny Calendar, Tara, Amanda, and Jonathan]].
152	** [[spoiler:Cordelia Chase and Winifred Burkle]] in ''Series/{{Angel}}''
153	** If there's one blessing in the [[ScrewedByTheNetwork short lifespan]] of ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', it's that Whedon didn't get a chance to do this to us. Though he made up for it by killing [[spoiler:Book and Wash]] in [[TheMovie The]] [[BigDamnMovie Movie]].
154	** He also poked fun at his penchant for this in the pilot of ''Firefly'', with Kaylee's "death" (it all turns out to be a psychotic joke by Mal). The only reason that the joke was as effective as it was is because of Joss's track record.
155	** ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'':
156	*** [[spoiler:Bennett Halverson in "Getting Closer" (2x11).]]
157	*** In "The Hollow Men" (2x12) [[spoiler: Mellie kills herself to protect Ballard.]]
158	*** In 2x13, [[spoiler: Topher performs a heroic sacrifice and gets blown up.]]
159	* MoodWhiplash: Many heartwarming scenes and jokes in Whedon works are followed by a character being unexpectedly and often brutally murdered seconds late and many a very dramatic scene will be punctuated with a joke.
160	* PersonAsVerb: As the trope namer for {{Jossed}}.
161	* PrefersGoingBarefoot: While not as egregious as Creator/QuentinTarantino in that regard, Whedon often shows female protagonists who go barefoot by choice ([[BarefootLoon usually as a manifestation of eccentricity or free-spiritedness]]), from [[Series/{{Firefly}} River]] to [[Film/TheAvengers2012 Pepper]]. Also occasionally justified by having said characters using [[SheFu martial arts or other acrobatic maneuvers]]. He's even stated that River's feet are the eleventh character of the show (the ship Serenity being the tenth).
162	** Having Pepper barefoot in Film/TheAvengers2012 serves a practical purpose: Gwyneth Paltrow is a little taller than Creator/RobertDowneyJr. If she's not wearing shoes and he is, the difference is less obvious.
163	* PutOnABus: Numerous characters, but most notably [[spoiler: Kitty Pryde]] during his run on ''Astonishing X-Men''. Particularly shocking, considering how much he loved the character ([[spoiler:she's often cited as an inspiration for Buffy]]). [[ComicBookDeath Obviously, another writer undid it]]. But still...
164	* ShinyNewAustralia: Aside from ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' being the TropeNamer, in the documentary ''Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope'', he comments:
165	-->'''Whedon:''' When people say the geeks have inherited the Earth, I say (...) "How much of the Earth do I get? Can I have Australia?"
166	* StarCrossedLovers: If a relationship in one of Whedon's shows isn't unrequited or otherwise troubled, chances are it's doomed to end badly. Joss Whedon hates happy relationships.
167	* StrawMisogynist: Includes at least one in each of his television shows. They all suffer [[LaserGuidedKarma violent deaths]] at the hands of [[ActionGirl women]].
168	* StuffedInTheFridge: Any time he kills a character, their loved one will inevitably walk in on the corpse soon after to [[DeusAngstMachina amp up the angst]].
169	* TooHappyToLive: Whedon regularly kills happy characters, or destroys their lives, or ruins their relationships. Or all three.
170	* TrueArtIsAngsty: People who love and loathe his work can both agree that Joss has a peculiar love for this, almost to the point of overkill. Which is probably why the funny moments are much more powerful.
171	-->'''Whedon:''' "Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke."
172	* TrueLoveIsBoring: Every time Joss writes a happy, stable couple, he proceeds to kill one or both of them to make things more interesting.
173	* WaifFu: He's very fond of tiny {{Action Girl}}s kicking the asses of big, burly men, as seen with [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]], [[Film/{{Serenity}} River]] and to a lesser extent [[Film/TheAvengers2012 Black Widow]].
174	-->'''Buffy:''' I'm tired of super strong little women who aren't me.
175	* WorldOfSnark: Due to all his characters being exceptionally GenreSavvy, they tend to all be {{Deadpan Snarker}}s too.
176	-->'''Joss Whedon:''' Everyone has such a dry wit in [[Film/TheAvengers2012 this movie]]. It's like a desert of wit.
177	----
178	->''Grr. Argh.''

Context Creator / JossWhedon