History Creator / MarkMillar

** However, according to him, all of his works not for DC or Marvel coexist, which means somewhere out there is a genuinely kind and humble man named Huck who also has super strength and the ability to locate anything. Superior also shows that there are truly virtuous people still left in his world. It's not much, but this world is ''entirely'' the playground of the Fraternity, Nemesis, and Hicks.

* ''ComicBook/{{Trouble}}''

** ''ComicBook/{{Supercrooks}}'' is "''ComicBook/XMen'' meets ''Film/OceansEleven''.

* ''Franchise/TheFlash'' (with Grant Morrison)

** Zauriel was created by him and Creator/GrantMorrison as a stand-in for ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}, who had been {{retcon}}ned so badly that [[ContinuitySnarl he was unusable]]. Morrison made it a point to lampshade this so readers would get the point, too. The first time he sees Zauriel, ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} momentarily mistakes him for Hawkman. Later on, Franchise/{{Superman}} invites him to join, saying, "there's always room in the Justice League for, well... a big guy with wings like you."

** He also had fun subverting street-level heroes in an issue of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. Franchise/{{Batman}} {{c|aptainErsatz}}lone Nighthawk tries to stop a gang of teenagers, only to ''break his ankle'' during his {{Dynamic Entr|y}}ance and end up beaten to a bloody pulp.\\\

* WeUsedToBeFriends: Creator/GrantMorrison was a mentor to Millar, even ghost writing Millar's ''Swamp Thing'' to help get Millar's foot in the door at DC. Then came the DarkerAndEdgier work Millar is best known for, featuring tone and tropes Morrison is known to despise, and they broke off their friendship with Millar.

Compare with Creator/GenUrobuchi and Creator/MohiroKitoh, essentially his Japanese equivalents.

Similar to other comic book writers and artists known for dark and gritty subject matter, he's got significant detractors, with plenty of critics calling him out for overselling the sociopathy and elaborate deaths of his characters to [[RatedMForMoney make a quick buck]], and a tendency to gleefully [[YouBastard mock his audience]] for eating it up. He's got a MisaimedFandom as well, fans who find layered meanings in characters Millar says are meant to be interpreted as [[http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114150/mark-millar-kick-ass-2-author-comics-sickest-mind# comically insane.]] All that aside, he is generally praised for advancing (or outright [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped shoving]]) the medium into depths it normally wouldn't venture.

* DisproportionateRetribution:
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'', Lex Luthor breaks off his engagement and relationship to ComicBook/LoisLane in order to devote his entire life to beating Superman because....The deformed clone of Superman beat him in Chess! This is particularly hilarious because earlier he had explicitly stated "I have no doubts that [Superman] and I would get along if we had been born in the same country."
** In ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'', Wesley Gibson gains the resources to do whatever he wanted. As an example, he deals with the frustration of a neighbor being ''too'' cheery with...a bullet to the face. BLAM.

* RealityEnsues:
** He also had fun {{Deconstruction}} street-level heroes in an issue of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. Franchise/{{Batman}} {{c|aptainErsatz}}lone Nighthawk tries to stop a gang of teenagers, only to ''break his ankle'' during his {{Dynamic Entr|y}}ance and end up beaten to a bloody pulp.\\\
In the same issue it even deconstructs the concept of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits by showing how badly a group of people (ComicBook/TheDefenders), inexperienced at superheroing, with the exception of one, performs during their first outing as superheroes.
** ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'' essentially shows the realistic outcome of what a LegionOfDoom team could accomplish were it not for StatusQuoIsGod. Once they ditch the goofy gimmicks and campy schemes, they realize that by sheer numbers they completely outnumber the world's heroes, and make short work of ComicBook/TheAvengers, ComicBook/FantasticFour, and ComicBook/XMen.
** ''ComicBook/KickAss'':
*** A teenager with no powers or special training decides to become a superhero. Especially when Kick-Ass fights crime for the first time [[spoiler:he ends up getting stabbed by one of the thugs.]]
*** Then subverted by... most of the comic after that point. To start with, getting stabbed and hit by a car gave him just enough, very specific nerve damage to stop feeling almost any pain.
*** Unlike other {{Tykebomb}}-turned-superheroes in other media, Mindy is clearly damaged by her upbringing as Hit-Girl, escalating into disturbing hallucinations of her Father still giving her orders and advice.
*** Dave's pretending to be gay in order to get close to the girl he likes works out improbably well for him in the film once he reveals that he's actually straight. Here, though, she is ''extremely'' pissed off to have been lied to and manipulated by what she thought was her GayBestFriend, has her boyfriend beat the crap out of Dave in retaliation, and then later taunts him with pictures of the two of them having sex.
** The second issue of ''Superior'' has a kid testing out the superpowers of his favorite Superman {{Expy}}. He attempts to use his "super-breath" to put out a house fire, only to ''demolish'' the house and spread the fire over a much larger area.

That said, his comics sell [[CriticalDissonance very, very well]], despite their divisive reception.

Not to be confused with Creator/FrankMiller or [[Literature/WaysideSchool Mark Miller]].

* BlackAndGrayMorality: When his characters aren't morally reprehensible there are others who, while decent, are just as flawed but not as monstrous. Trying to find a genuinely good character in his works is a rarity.
** Well, there is Huck himself, who’s a pretty decent guy.
** And Superman, in Millar's ''Superman Adventures'' comics.
* TheConspiracy: A frequent feature in his works is the idea that either a cadre of CorruptCorporateExecutive types is just offscreen, enriching and entertaining themselves by creating a CrapsackWorld for the rest of us and secretly controlling world governments, the military-industrial complex is in bed with them or just doing WarForFunAndProfit, or that the GenericDoomsdayVillain works for or leads some form of HollywoodSatanism group...complete with real DemonsAndArchDevils. Sometimes, the HollywoodSatanism folks ''are'' the Corrupt Corporate Executives.
** In particular, Millar likes to use the CorporateConspiracy and GoivernmentConspiracy tropes together as a MetaOrigin for villains.

** He also had fun {{Deconstructing}} street-level heroes in an issue of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. Franchise/{{Batman}} {{c|aptainErsatz}}lone Nighthawk tries to stop a gang of teenagers, only to ''break his ankle'' during his {{Dynamic Entr|y}}ance and end up beaten to a bloody pulp.\\\

** Except it's worse than our world, because it's our world secretly ruled by a conspiracy of supervillains, who can do everything they want, we have no power to change the situation and it wasn't always this way? At least our world isn't (I hope)

* LighterAndSofter: According to an interview, he started doing lighter stories after seeing ''Film/ManOfSteel''. He seems to have a soft-spot for Superman, as his comic 'Superior' is basically a love letter to the character, which contrasts heavily with the dark deconstruction he gives almost every other kind of superhero.

** Firmly on the idealistic side is Starlight, the story of a Flash Gordon expy returning to the world he liberated forty years ago to save it from an even greater evil. The protagonist is shown to be heroic, kind, and totally selfless, preferring to live a quite life on Earth rather than become king of an entire world. Decency and kindness are highly valued, villainy punished, and there isn't a hint of cynicism in sight.

** ''Starlight'' is ''Film/FlashGordon'' meets ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''.

** Subverted in ''ComicBook/KickAss'' by Damon [=MacCready=], a.k.a. Big Daddy, who despite looking like [[TheSimpsons Ned Flanders]], raises his little girl to be a ruthlessly efficient vigilante in order to exact revenge on John Genovese [[spoiler:(not really revenge, he was just bored with his life and wanted his daughter to have an interesting life)]].

That said, his comics sell [[CriticalDissonance very, very well.]], despite their divisive reception.

Mark Millar (born 24 December 1969) is a prominent Scottish writer of comic books. Millar has written for many a character, particularly those within the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, as well his own creations in the form of ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'', ''ComicBook/KickAss'' and so forth.