Those who caught the debut of “Guardians of the Galaxy” this weekend know that a somewhat familiar . . . er, bill showed up.
A short post-credits sequence features none other than Howard the Duck, quite possibly the Marvel universe’s most offbeat character.
Remember Howard? He’s perhaps best known as the star of one of the biggest bombs of the 1980s, the eponymous 1986 “comedy” starring Lea Thompson and produced by George Lucas.
The story was about a talking bird from a planet called Duckworld who crash-lands on Earth. He befriends an LA woman and helps defeat an evil demon.
The film was savaged by critics and largely ignored by moviegoers, and has become a punch line as one of the worst movies of all time. It was especially disappointing to the legions of fans who had been following his comic book adventures since Howard’s debut in 1973. The cigar-chomping, wisecracking (quacking?) character was created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik as a tossed-off joke, but quickly became a counterculture icon, popular with the college students who read Marvel at the time.
Howard wasn’t without his share of troubles. In 1977, Disney claimed that the character looked a little too much like another famous duck: Donald. Marvel was forced to redesign Howard, including giving him pants. (The legal trouble is interesting considering Disney now owns Marvel.)
In 1980, Gerber sued Marvel, saying he owned Howard and was due more money. The case was settled in 1982.
Now Howard is back in “Guardians,” popping up in The Collector’s (Benicio Del Toro) lair. As the pawnbroker sits in his destroyed house, which was blown up earlier by a bomb, his pet dog approaches and begins licking his face. Cut to Howard standing behind him saying, “What do you let it lick you like that for? Gross.”
Could a full Howard movie be in the works? We’d be surprised. But then again, stranger things have happened. Like a movie starring a gun-toting raccoon and a talking tree becoming a hit.