Get Down, America! HOWARD THE DUCK 4K UHD in July
WAUGH! In a post made to Twitter by the “Dawn of the Discs” account on Monday, April 26th, 2021, it was revealed that Howard the Duck, the 1986 live-action movie directed by Willard Huyck, will be released by Universal Studios on 4K UHD in July 2021.
***NEW TITLE ANNOUNCEMENT***
Coming to 4K UHD in July from @UniversalPics !
Howard The Duck (1986)
MORE INFO TBA! pic.twitter.com/FnfvH3hs6B
— Dawn of The Discs (@dawnofthediscs) April 26, 2021
Trapped in a World He Never Made
The Howard the Duck movie is one of the earliest big-screen Marvel movies, Marvel Blog True Believers! While the flick, which features George Lucas as a producer, has something of a infamous reputation, it’s actually very faithful to its source material (and we love it for that)!
Photo: Marvel Comics
Howard – sans his beautiful sidekick, Beverly, played by Lea Thompson in the film, who doesn’t appear in any of the comics listed here – was first introduced in Adventure into Fear #19 (1974) by Steve Gerber, Val Mayerik, Sal Trapani, Art Simek, and Stan G.
Photo: Marvel Comics
In Howard’s next appearance in Man-Thing #1 (1974) by Gerber, Mayerik, Trapani, John Costanza, and Dave Hunt, Howard falls while traversing a path that lies outside reality, vanishing from this narrative…
Mind the gap, Howard! Photo: Marvel
But the Marvel Multiverse wasn’t done with Howard yet! In Giant-Size Man-Thing #4 (1975), we catch up with Howard as he continues to fall…
Photo: Marvel Comics
In the story “Frog of Death” by Gerber, Frank Brunner, and Tom Orz (with “The Good Duck Artist” Carl Barks credited as “Spiritual Guide”), Howard eventually lands in the universe designated 616!
Photo: Marvel
Howard goes on to face another Earth-monster in the Giant-Size Man-Thing (1975) #5 story “Hellcow” by Gerber, Brunner, Tom Palmer, Annette Kawecki, and Glynis Wein.
Are Hellcow and Bova related? Photo: Marvel Comics
Finally, Howard was ready for the big-time, graduating to his own solo series with Howard the Duck (1976) #1 by Gerber, Brunner, Steve Leialoha, and Costanza. The series ran for thirty issues and cast a long shadow, as it is still regularly referenced today!
Hellcow even made a cameo appearance in 2017’s LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2! Photo: Nintendo Switch
Brave New Multiverse
As many are likely aware, Howard has already appeared in three Marvel Cinematic Universe movies: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2015), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), and Avengers: Endgame (2019), in which he traveled through a portal, meaning he could currently be a resident of Earth in the MCU! In both of his MCU speaking appearances (both Guardians movies), Howard has been voiced by Seth Green.
Howard the Duck (voiced by Seth Green) in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Photo: SyFy
Plus, while we can’t be certain, we believe that you can see a glimpse of Howard in this still from the upcoming What If…? animated series on Disney+, suggesting we might get to see the foul feathered fowl interact with none other than Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa.
Starlord T’Challa voiced by Chadwick Boseman, with Howard the Duck. Photo: Marvel Studios
And there is one incarnation of Howard we almost met: the one who would have starred in the Hulu adult animated series from Kevin Smith.
Kevin Smith SAD about it all. Photo: Kevin Smith
One of four shows meant to culminate in a crossover called “The Offenders,” the planned Howard the Duck animated series is one of the apparent casualties of Marvel TV being folded into Marvel Studios near the end of 2019. However, one series from that era has survived, and you’ll be able to stream on Hulu it in May 2021: Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.!
Incoming WAUGH!
Photo: Marvel Comics
Will you be picking up a HD copy of Howard the Duck when it arrives in July? Have you read all of the issues available on Marvel Unlimited? Marvel Blog is waiting to hear from you! Let us know in the comment section.
