Mini Marvels is a
Self-Parody of the
Marvel Universe created by
Chris Giarrusso, a universe that deliberately pokes fun at the
Crapsack World aspect of the latter.
Much fun.
How much? Well, it comes off as a
Fun Personified universe compared to the mainstream M.U.. The kicker is, all the superheroes are
Peanuts-esque kids,
Secret Identity is
not a problem whatsoever, and most surprisingly,
The Good Guys Always Win.
The only (notable) adults are
Stan Lee, Jarvis, Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin, Aunt May,
Nick Fury and
J. Jonah Jameson.In particular, their versions of most
Crisis Crossovers always end up as
self-parodies, like
Civil Wards, which pokes fun at the un-needed
Conflict Ball present in the
Marvel Civil War.
There are many other memorable moments, such as when Harry Osborn
saves Gwen Stacy, thus making this incarnation of the character one of the few ones still alive (alongside the
other two*).
This series and its setting started as a series of strips by Giarrusso, called
"Bullpen Bits", relying more heavily on the
Peanuts aspect, but when it evolved into
Mini Marvels, the series' source of inspiration was ultimately dropped.
This comic series provides examples of the following tropes:
- Badass Adorable: Everyone.
- Better than a Bare Bulb: It might just be the most tongue-in-cheek version of the Marvel Universe ever.
- Crapsack World: Played with. Yes, the shades of the defining trait of the original Marvel Universe are still there... except nobody makes a big deal out of it.
- Crisis Crossover: The way they sum it up in only two panels
◊ provides the current page image for the trope. - Deadpan Snarker: Spider-Man is just like his mainstream counterpart. Just read this exchange.
Spider-Man: "I'm inclined to stay out of his way."
- Eye Scream: Implied.◊
- Getting Crap Past the Radar: More like a kind of Parental Bonus, but seriously. This universe includes every Marvel character... including◊ the Red Skull. What.
- Girls Have Cooties: "ROGUE HAS COOTIES!"
- Glad I Thought of It: Summed up in a single panel.◊
- Hand Wave: Parodied. Joe Quesada's (initial) explanation for One More Day ("It's magic! We don't have to explain it") was just begging people to snark the hell out of it, and so Giarrusso did.◊
- Homage Shot: Plenty. As a simple example, just compare the two-page spread◊ at the end of Secret Invasion (which started the Dark Reign) with Giarrusso's take on it.◊
- Insistent Terminology: Somewhat because it's not touched upon, but since he's not a man here (he's still a boy), everyone calls him "Spidey" in lieu of "Spider-Man". And we do mean everyone.
- Jerkass: this verse's Hawkeye has shades of this.
Sentry: "Really?!"
- Milking the Giant Cow: Played straight by Wolverine when he rants about the past he can't remember. Turns out he was using this as an excuse because he didn't do his homework.
- Mythology Gag: All over the place.
- Punny Name: Charles Xavier's name turns out to be this when you realise that, even after dropping the Peanuts aspect of the series, he still looks like Charlie Brown. Also counts as both a Stealth Pun and a Visual Pun.
- Refugee From TV Land: Doctor Doom's MiniMarvels-verse self is the current page image for that trope*
Here it is◊ - just in case it ever gets changed with another page image.
. - Self-Parody: Where to begin... there are parodies of Marvel Civil War ("Civil Wards"), World War Hulk, the Symbiote's origin*
It comes from newspaper print ink, who would've thought?
... and the list goes on and on... - Somebody Else's Problem: As a Take That towards the involvement of people outside the Illuminati in World War Hulk.
Iron Man: "C'mon! You heard him - - he's threatened the whole city!" Cyclops: "Only if you three don't show up!" Iron Man: "Sentry, can you do us a favor?" - At the end of the Planet Hulk parody, all of the Illuminati are freaking out over the Hulk approaching Earth...except Namor, who's in his best "don't give a crap" pose saying "I live underwater".
- Spared by the Adaptation: Gwen Stacy. That Gwen Stacy.
- Spiritual Successor: The Super Hero Squad Show. However, Mini Marvels is still an ongoing series.
- Take That: Many pot-shots at Marvel themselves. This universe's Sentry, in particular, gets a nasty one from none other than the MiniMarvels-verse Deadpool:
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Surprisingly, a "nasty" trope shows up in an All-Ages comic, but only in one panel. Poor Hawkeye.◊
- What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: The worry is understandable, given the source material. And then, outside of this series, Giarrusso plays the opposite trope for laughs with a drawing of... wait for it... Mini Watchmen. D'awwwwwwwwwwwwwww.◊
- What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: During Power Pack's fight with Sandman:
Zero G: Powa Pack, Attack! [saves
Spider-Man from Sandman's grip]
Lightspeed: Take dat! [punches Sandman in the face]
Energizer: Sandman go boom! [shoots energy beams at Sandman]
Mass Master: I'm a cloud! [floats around in the background]
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