Line #150 Creator/MarkMillar


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/millar_6182.jpg]]
2
3	Mark Millar [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever MBE]] (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.
4
5	Millar's writing style is known for pretty much taking the concept of DarkerAndEdgier and [[{{Satire}} letting it]] [[BlackComedy off the leash.]] His stories involving popular superheroes are sometimes cynical, [[BlackandGrayMorality forcing heroes to deal with darker moral themes than usual.]] On the other hand, some of Millar's earlier super-hero work (on ''ComicBook/TheSupermanAdventures'') and even some of his more recent projects like ''1985'' [[ALighterShadeOfGray are more optimistic in tone.]] He also runs his own little slice of the internet known as [=MillarWorld=], a comic news/forum where he's more than happy to dole out his opinion on whatever, and has been involved with charity work for children with disabilities.
6
7	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 shoving) the medium into depths it normally wouldn't venture.
8
9	That said, his comics sell [[CriticProof very, very well]], despite their divisive reception.
10
11	Not to be confused with Creator/FrankMiller, [[Literature/WaysideSchool Mark Miller]] or Creator/MilesMillar.
12
13	----
14	'''Selected bibliography:'''
15
16	[[WMG:Millarworld]]
17
18	A set of several independent comics written by Millar. He's confirmed they are all connected, a promise that later came to fruition with the ending of ''Nemesis: Reloaded'' which directly segues into ComicBook/{{Millarworld}}'s first CrisisCrossover ''Big Game''.
19
20	[[index]]
21	* ''ComicBook/TheAmbassadors''
22	* ''ComicBook/AmericanJesus''
23	* ''ComicBook/BigGame2023''
24	* ''ComicBook/{{Chrononauts}}''
25	** ''Chrononauts: Futureshock''
26	* ''ComicBook/{{Empress}}''
27	* ''ComicBook/{{Huck}}''
28	* ''ComicBook/JupitersLegacy'' (two volumes)
29	** Its prequel, ''Jupiter's Circle'' (two volumes)
30	** Its sequel, ''Jupiter's Legacy: Requiem'' (one volume, with another one planned)
31	* ''ComicBook/KickAss''
32	** Its interquel, ''Hit Girl''
33	** Its sequel, ''Kick-Ass 2''
34	** Its second sequel, ''Kick-Ass 3''
35	* ''ComicBook/TheMagicOrder''
36	* ''ComicBook/{{MPH}}''
37	* ''ComicBook/{{Nemesis\|MarkMillar}}''
38	** Its "SoftReboot" ''Nemesis Reloaded''
39	* ''ComicBook/NightClub''
40	* ''ComicBook/{{Reborn}}''
41	* ''ComicBook/TheSecretService''
42	* ''ComicBook/{{Starlight}}''
43	* ''ComicBook/{{Supercrooks}}''
44	* ''ComicBook/{{Superior}}''
45	* ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}''
46	[[/index]]
47
48	See also ''Millarworld'', AnthologyComic series with stories based on Millarworld series by various creators.
49
50	[[WMG:Marvel Universe]]
51
52	[[index]]
53	* ''ComicBook/{{Civil War\|2006}}''
54	* ''ComicBook/Marvel1985''
55	* ''ComicBook/TroubleMarvelComics''
56	* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel''
57	** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''
58	*** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates2002''
59	*** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates2''
60	*** ''ComicBook/UltimateComicsAvengers''
61	** ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour''
62	** ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen2001''
63	* ''ComicBook/OldManLogan''
64	[[/index]]
65
66	[[WMG:DC Universe]]
67
68	[[index]]
69	* ''ComicBook/TheAuthority''
70	* ''ComicBook/{{Aztek}}'' (with Creator/GrantMorrison)
71	* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' (with Grant Morrison)
72	* ''ComicBook/TheSupermanAdventures'' (the comic version of the animated series)
73	* ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon''
74	* ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' (with Grant Morrison)
75	[[/index]]
76
77	[[WMG:Fleetway Comics]]
78
79	[[index]]
80	* ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic''
81	[[/index]]
82
83	[[WMG:Other]]
84	[[index]]
85	* ''ComicBook/TheUnfunnies''
86	[[/index]]
87
88	----
89
90	!!Mark Millar's works contain examples of:
91	* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: As a child, Millar assumed that superhero comics were based on true stories. When wondering what happened to the heroes, his brother told him that they were all wiped out in a war with every supervillain teamed up. This lie inspired Millar to write ''Wanted'' and ''Old Man Logan''.
92	%%* BetterThanABareBulb
93	* 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 (like Huck or Superman himself) in his works is a rarity.
94	* CanonWelding:
95	** Some fans suggest that all of his later Marvel works (''1985'', ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', ''ComicBook/KickAss'', and ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'') is all interconnected. (Three of those are automatically canon to each other anyway, of course, but ''Kick Ass'' is more of a surprise.)
96	** Even earlier he established connections between three comics published by different companies -- ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'', ''Chosen'' and ''ComicBook/TheUnfunnies''. The reason why at the end of the ''Chosen'' [[spoiler: media doesn't report Antichrist's miracles is that they're controlled by supervillains from ''Wanted'']]. And Troy Hicks from ''Unfunnies'' [[spoiler: helped Satan rape Antichrist]]. Never published ''Run!'' was supposed to be set in that world too.
97	** ''Kick-Ass 3'' ends with several references that imply ''Superior'', ''Nemesis'', ''The Secret Service'' and ''MPH'' take place in the same universe.
98	** The ending to ''ComicBook/{{Nemesis}}: Reloaded'' concretely reveals that almost all of Millar's creator-owned works are all in a SharedUniverse created by the CosmicRetcon by the Fraternity from ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}''.
99	* CaptainErsatz:
100	** 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, ComicBook/{{Superman}} invites him to join, saying, "there's always room in the Justice League for, well... a big guy with wings like you".
101	** ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}''. Originally it was a Legion of Doom Reboot and got shut down. So he made it DarkerAndEdgier and changed the names. It's really obvious who most of the characters are supposed to be.
102	** ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' faced off against Ersatzes of classic Marvel heroes in his inaugural arc. The Americans were obviously Avengers pastiches with named ones being the Commander (Captain America), Tank Man (ComicBook/IronMan), Hornet (Wasp) and Titan (Giant Man) while the rest were clearly based on Thor, Hulk, ComicBook/BlackPanther, ComicBook/ScarletWitch, Hawkeye, and the Vision. Later, they took down unnamed Ersatz teams resembling the X-Men, ComicBook/TheInhumans, Fantastic Four (with additional Silver Surfer, Galactus, Watcher and H.E.R.B.I.E. knock-offs, all of which are most famously associated with the FF) and the Howling Commandos while other Wildstorm heroes fought Ersatzes of Spider-Man, ComicBook/ThePunisher, Daredevil, ComicBook/{{Elektra}}, Doctor Strange, Namor and others. The story's BigBad, Jacob Krigstein, was an evil ersatz Creator/JackKirby.
103	** Big Daddy from ''ComicBook/KickAss'', is one of ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'', minus the skull. [[spoiler:And tragic backstory, it turns out]].
104	** Duke [=McQueen=] from ''ComicBook/StarLight'' is clearly an older ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'' after retirement from space adventures.
105	* ClusterFBomb: A lot of his edgier works like ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' and ''ComicBook/TheUnfunnies'' has characters swear like sailors.
106	* ComicBookFantasyCasting;
107	** Jesus in ''Saviour'' is drawn to look like Creator/JonathanRoss.
108	** Wesley and The Fox from ''Wanted'' look like Music/{{Eminem}} and Creator/HalleBerry.
109	* 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 DemonLordsAndArchdevils. Sometimes, the HollywoodSatanism folks ''are'' the Corrupt Corporate Executives.
110	** In particular, Millar likes to use the CorporateConspiracy and GovernmentConspiracy tropes together as a MetaOrigin for villains.
111	* CrapsackWorld: The setting of ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' plays with this: the villains who finally beat the heroes changed reality to make it a CrapsackWorld... in other words, ''[[TruthInTelevision ours]]''.
112	** And even worse, ''Wanted'' shares the world with two other comics - ''Chosen'' and ''ComicBook/TheUnfunnies''. So it means that [[spoiler:the president of the United States is an Anti Christ and Satan is very real and actively trying to bring the Apocalypse]] and that people can enter the worlds they wrote by switching places with their characters, exposing completely innocent beings to general crappiness of their world.
113	** 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 isn't ''entirely'' at the mercy of scum like the Fraternity, Nemesis, and Troy Hicks.
114	* {{Deconstruction}}:
115	** He also had fun subverting street-level heroes in an issue of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. ComicBook/{{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.\
116	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.
117	** ''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.
118	** ''ComicBook/KickAss'':
119	*** 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.]]
120	*** 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.
121	*** 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.
122	*** 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.
123	** 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.
124	* DisproportionateRetribution:
125	** 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".
126	** 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.
127	** ''ComicBook/KickAss'':
128	*** In Volume One, Kick-Ass leads with violence, in the face of non-violence. In particular, during his first foray into vigilantism, he brutally ambushes some young graffiti artists. Although he loses the battle, there's no indication that what he did was immoral. And this would lead to UnreliableNarrator - it's the perpetrator that's narrating the story. And the narrator is a supremely bored high schooler.
129	*** What Red Mist does to destroy Dave in Volume Two. [[spoiler:Unmasks him, murders Katie's parents and rapes her, kills his dad, and bombs his funeral]].
130	*** Mother Russia supposedly killed the other bodyguards of the Russian Prime Minister when they accused her at cheating at cards.
131	** In ''ComicBook/SuperCrooks,'' the Bastard is considered the most terrifying super-villain on Earth with a story told of one guy making the mistake of trying to rip him off. Another villain might kill the guy. Another might go a step further and kill his family. The Bastard methodically tracks down and murders ''every single person'' this guy has ever been close to. Family, lovers, his drug dealer, his banker, right down to second grade classmates. ''Then'' he kills the guy.
132	* EveryoneHasStandards:
133	** Like Creator/GarthEnnis, despite his cynical approach to writing superheroes (though he doesn't outright ''hate'' them like Ennis), even he has nothing but respect for ComicBook/{{Superman}}. In fact, ''Film/ManOfSteel'', in his words, "traumatized" him with its gritty and brooding portrayal of the Big Blue Boy Scour, to the point where he wrote an idealistic comic, ''ComicBook/{{Huck}}'' in response and began doing more lighthearted work from there.
134	** Judging by how he's [[BuryYourArt completely disowned]] ''ComicBook/TheUnfunnies'', it seems like even he realized he crossed a line... or several.
135	* EvilParentsWantGoodKids:
136	** The toy maker in ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' had his wife and daughters fooled he was a regular and even SickeninglySweet and fastidiously proper toymaker and not a supervillain. Interestingly, he enjoyed the services of hookers in other dimensions.
137	** Subverted in ''ComicBook/KickAss'' by Damon [=MacCready=], a.k.a. Big Daddy, who despite looking like [[WesternAnimation/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)]].
138	* GenericDoomsdayVillain: With some exceptions, Millar's villains barely get any characterization further than "they're the bad guy AndThatsTerrible".
139	* IJustWantToBeBadass:
140	** In ''ComicBook/KickAss'', two characters become superheroes: the title character because he wants to help people... and in a straighter version of this trope, [[spoiler:Big Daddy because he was frustrated with his marriage and thought his life was boring. He even creates a fake BackStory to enhance his new identity.]]
141	** This is the basic idea of ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'', both the original comic and the movie adaptation. The protagonist is a loser guy who becomes a badass when he finds out he has a badass gene inherited from a father he never knew. The comic book (but not the movie) also [[spoiler:attempts to deconstruct this trope by scolding the reader for identifying with the main character, who's essentially a violent sociopath]].
142	* LampshadeHanging:
143	** In ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'' Issue 4, Nick Fury is asked who he would expect to play him in a movie featuring the Ultimates. His response is; "Why, Mister Creator/SamuelLJackson, of course. That's not even open for debate".
144	** He did this to death when he was writing ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen''. Every time a plot device didn't make sense (the U.S. Army sending ''robots'' to fight ''Magneto'', the Brotherhood goons not recognizing Cyclops, Professor X not noticing that the Hellfire Club was plotting against him, etc.), someone in the cast would point this out. One almost gets the impression that he was simply trying to apologize for creating so many plot holes.
145	** ''ComicBook/KickAss'', at one point, tries to traverse the New York City skyline, but finds that the buildings are too far apart, and notes that, in comics, said buildings seem to be much closer and less high...
146	* LighterAndSofter: According to an interview, he started doing lighter stories after seeing ''Film/ManOfSteel'' (which, he claimed, "traumatized" him). 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.
147	** Adaptations of his work usually take a lighter and softer approach, toning down the more shocking, edgy aspects of the source material and making the characters a bit more well-adjusted and often a great deal saner.
148	** Millar's work on the ''Superman Adventures'' series - some of his earliest work for DC - is shockingly light and fluffy compared to the well-earned reputation of his later works. It helps that (a) Millar does have genuine affection for Superman, and (b) these are comics aimed at a younger age group than most of his work.
149	** ''ComicBook/{{Huck}}'', which he wrote precisely as a result of seeing ''Man of Steel'', is a lighthearted story about a simpleminded but kindhearted SupermanSubstitute who uses his powers to help anybody in need.
150	* ParentsAsPeople: Following his "trauma" when he saw ''Film/ManOfSteel'', this trope started popping up left and right in his more recent LighterAndSofter books. Though even all the way back in ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'', Millar had been including flawed but loving parents who want nothing more than for their children to be happy and/or stable.
151	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain:
152	** Close to all of the villains in ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' are this. The Future is definitely the worst though, as he's an unapologetic Nazi and misogynist.
153	** In ''ComicBook/TheSecretService'', James Arnold gives horribly offensive nicknames for his disabled henchmen. For example his [[TheDragon Dragon]] with leg prosthesis is nicknamed Gazelle.
154	* TheProblemWithPenIsland: He deliberately invoked this trope with his British comics magazine ''[=CLiNT=]'', launched in September 2010.
155	* RealityWarper: If it involves superpowers, there's a chance someone can twist space and time like a pretzel in Millar's work. More often than not, it's a villain bending reality.
156	* ShoutOut: Early in his career, he did a stint writing ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic''. He credited this gig with helping to pay for his wedding, and thus there are references to Sonic in several of his works, including ''Secret History of the Authority'' and ''Wanted'' mini-series.
157	* ShowWithinAShow: The way some of his Marvel work references Creator/DCComics implies that in his interpretation of the Marvel Universe, Franchise/TheDCU exists as one of these.
158	* SignatureStyle:
159	** He has powers of ten show up a lot. Someone will be ten times smarter than someone else or something will be calculated to the tenth decimal point or will be miscalculated by misplacing the decimal.
160	** He also had a tendency to use Nazis repeatedly in his works until someone called him out on it with ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. He hadn't even realized he was doing it.
161	** When writing ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', he would often have his characters pointing out obvious PlotHoles and FridgeLogic. It's unclear if he did this as a sort of SelfDeprecation, or as a way of apologizing for his own mistakes.
162	** His works feature a lot, and we mean a '''lot''', of anal rape, committed on both men and women.
163	** [[AuthorCatchphrase Expect repeated askings of]] "[[http://wtfmarkmillar.tumblr.com/ What are you talking about?]]"
164	** PreAssKickingOneLiner
165	*** [[FlatWhat What?]]
166	*** Ass kicking ensues.
167	** Villains and heroes alike will talk about the billions of dollars that have gone into their equipment.
168	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Millar had a well-earned reputation for being among the more cynical comic book authors before seeing ''Film/ManOfSteel'' caused his shift to lighter works.
169	** ''ComicBook/KickAss'' is about as cynical as it gets, even more so than Watchmen. Dave is a [[ThisLoserIsYou loser]], Big Daddy is [[spoiler: a complete fraud]], Hit Girl is [[spoiler: lied to by her father about her mother dying, and not allowed to have a normal childhood]], and everyone else except for maybe Dave's father is a scumbag of one sort or the other (Katie is a shallow bitch, Red Mist is completely unsympathetic unlike in the film, his father is evil, etc). Despite all this, it's incredibly funny. Many people preferred the movie adaptation since it toned down the utter bleakness of the comic book, but taken on its own terms, the comic is a great BlackComedy.
170	** His other most famous work was ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' which also falls in the far end of the Cynical side as well as ''ComicBook/TheAuthority''.
171	** Probably the one book he did that falls squarely on the idealistic side is Superior, a book about a 12-year-old boy suffering from multiple sclerosis who gets super powers, loses them, and in the process, learns to come to terms with his disability.
172	** Firmly on the idealistic side is Starlight, the story of a Franchise/FlashGordon {{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 quiet 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.
173	** Huck is also on the idealistic side, being about a superpowered KindheartedSimpleton who helps anyone in need with his powers. In fact, Millar wrote it specifically because ''Film/ManOfSteel'' applying DarkerAndEdgier to Superman himself was too much even for him.
174	* SupermanSubstitute;
175	** ''Wanted'' has Earth's first superhero who was [[LawyerFriendlyCameo implied to be]] Superman. WordOfGod later retconned him to be the Utopian from ''Jupiter's Legacy''.
176	** The Utopian is his world's first and most famous superhero. The main difference between him and Supes is that the Utopian was a human TouchedByVorlons and his friends also got similar weaker powers at the same time.
177	** ''Superior'' is an In-universe one featuring in various comic books and movies who didn't become real until a child was granted a wish and wished to be him. WordOfGod says that Superman, Superior and all the other Superman Substitutes in the Millarworld were created by people who subconsciously remember the Utopian before [[ComicBook/{{Wanted}} the Fraternity wiped all superheroes from reality.]]
178	** ''Huck'' is a rare variation that's based on Clark Kent's life growing up on a farm and doesn't show his superhero adventures in a city.
179	* TakeThat:
180	** In ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'', the major villain on his first arc is Creator/JackKirby; he's specifically described as "the guy who would've created all your favorite comic books" if he hadn't been hired by the US government. The series has a ''lot'' of AuthorAppeal, and [[{{Anvilicious}} they're not subtle about it either]]. He even takes shots at Charles Atlas bodybuilding ads. Also;
181	--->'''[[LawyerFriendlyCameo Legally-distinct-parody]]-of [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk The Hulk]]:''' Comics are for retards.
182	** He hated UsefulNotes/BillClinton, and so in his run on ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' and the Jenny Sparks mini-series had several jabs against him. One of the issues of the mini-series even goes so far as to implicitly compare Clinton to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler.
183	** One of the supporting characters in ''Marvel 1985'' is an obnoxious {{Hipster}} who keeps talking about how stupid people who like superhero comics are, and how the only ''good'' comics are indie fare like ''ComicBook/{{Cerebus\|TheAardvark}}'' and ''ComicBook/LoveAndRockets''. Accordingly, you can imagine how humiliated he is when ComicBook/IronMan saves his ass near the end of the book.
184	** After he left Ultimate Comics, a continuation of his title ComicBook/TheUltimates was given to Creator/JephLoeb, who created the poorly received ''Ultimates 3'' and the even more widely panned ''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}''. After that, Millar returned to writing comics in UltimateUniverse. The ''very first page'' of his ''Ultimate Comics Avengers'' starts with ComicBook/NickFury looking at the mess caused by Ultimatum and saying "What the #$%^&? I leave for ten minutes and everything goes to hell". He gives another one towards Loeb (and possibly towards mainstream Marvel) in issue four of ''Ultimate Avengers vs New Ultimates''. Tony Stark gives ten million dollars to charity in exchange for Thor promising to talk like a normal person again. He started using the whole "Faux Shakespearean" thing during Loeb's run.
185	** His recent attempts at writing more light-hearted stories appears to be one towards DarkerAndEdgier comics, possibly including the ones he's most well known for.
186	* ThisLoserIsYou:
187	** ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' has Wesley Gibson, an [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Eminem look-a-like]] who is saddled with a dead end job, and an annoying, cheating girlfriend, bullied by assorted townfolk, and in general is shown to be practically spineless in regards to his life. Of course, afterward he [[NoFourthWall breaks the fourth wall]] to tell you that [[TakeThatAudience you suck even more than he does]]. The idea is that Gibson is one of the people making life ''actively worse'' for anyone who isn't a super-villain - and yet the structure of the story encourages you to root for him as the underdog hero. He's reminding you, metatextually, that [[VillainProtagonist he's the bad guy.]]
188	** ''ComicBook/KickAss'' is not subtle about this. The story is about a pathetic, sometimes egotistical, American comic book nerd trying to be a superhero, and follows as he starts off getting his ass kicked, constantly humiliates himself and only manages by sheer luck and the intervention of the more successful heroes, Hit-Girl and Big Daddy. His crush only pays attention to him because she thinks he's gay, [[spoiler:and when she finds out he's not, she tosses him aside, after he gets beat up by her boyfriend and left with a picture of her going down on said boyfriend for him to wake up to.]] The story is designed as a deconstruction on the teen superhero concept, but it crosses into this in how mean spirited it is in making the Dave as 'normal' as it can. His friends, who're also comic fans, aren't shown any better, and even Big Daddy, [[spoiler:revealed to be a comic book fan himself instead of being an ex cop, is depicted as a pathetic loser who decided to become a superhero and train his daughter to be one after his marriage broke down.]]
189	* ATrueStoryInMyUniverse:
190	** ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' says the world used to be a StandardSuperheroSetting until the villains teamed up and built a machine that altered reality, turning the superheroes into actors in movies and TV shows. Superhero media is written by people who subconsciously remember the old world. The superheroes are unnamed [[LawyerFriendlyCameo Lawyer Friendly Cameos]] of the [=DC=] heroes though Millar later said the SupermanSubstitute was the Utopian from ''ComicBook/JupitersLegacy''.
191	** ''ComicBook/Marvel1985'' is about a portal to the Franchise/MarvelUniverse bringing supervillains to our world. It ends with the protagonist growing up and writing for Creator/MarvelComics. In ''ComicBook/KickAss'', Chris buys ''Marvel 1985'' and the clerk tells him the author claims it was based on a true story.
192	* UltimateUniverse: He says most of his ''Millarworld'' comics are set in the same universe with ''ComicBook/JupitersLegacy'' and ''ComicBook/{{Supercrooks}}'' are set in a universe where [[ComicBook/{{Wanted}} The Fraternity never got rid of the superheroes]].
193	* UrbanLegend: Expect these to turn up and be treated as fact in narration and even as plot points, especially in his work around the TurnOfTheMillennium and TheNewTens. Examples include:
194	** The "special forces are trained by having them raise, then kill an animal" myth in "Enemy of the State".
195	** The "girlfriend sends a picture of herself having sex with another guy" myth in ComicBook/KickAss.
196	* VulgarHumour: His earlier works could get rather crass at times, though this went out the window when Millar eventually shifted to penning LighterAndSofter books.
197	* JustForFun/XMeetsY: Often describes his own comics this way;
198	** ''Reborn'' is ''Film/MadMax'' meets ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
199	** ''Starlight'' is ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'' meets ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''.
200	** ''The Magic Order'' is ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' meets ''Series/TheSopranos''.
201	** ''ComicBook/{{Supercrooks}}'' is ''ComicBook/XMen'' meets ''Film/OceansEleven''.
202	* YouBastard: He likes this trope almost as much as he hates his readers, whom he's argued use comic-book violence as a substitute for the emptiness and meaninglessness of their lives. ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' is particularly explicit about this.

Context Creator / MarkMillar