We are still not done with semi-subversive takes on superheroes and villains, it seems. The Hollywood Reporter has the news that Netflix is creating a live-action adaptation of the Dark Horse comic series Minor Threats, from writers Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum and artist Scott Hepburn.
Oswalt and Blum are, of course, not just the writers of this comic; Oswalt has appeared in just about every geeky property for the last two decades (including, recently, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, pictured above). Along with Blum (American Dad) he co-created M.O.D.O.K. (in which he also starred; Blum was the showrunner). The pair are set to serve as writers, showrunners, and executive producers on this adaptation of their own comic. (Artist Hepburn is also an executive producer.)
Dark Horse’s synopsis of Minor Threats goes like this:
It’s hard out there for a supervillain. Not the world conquerors, chaos engines, or arch-nemeses . . . but the little guys. The ones who put on uniforms, knock over jewelry stores, and get tied to poles. And things are about to get worse. The psychotic Stickman has murdered Kid Dusk, sidekick to Twilight City’s premier crime-fighter, the Insomniac. The Insomniac’s teammates are tearing Twilight apart, turning it into a police state–desperate to capture Stickman and stop the Insomniac from crossing that final line which he may never come back from. Caught in the middle are the small-time c-list villains, finding it impossible to walk down the street without being harassed by these heroes. With a bounty on the Stickman’s head, former villain Playtime decides to assemble a ragtag team of villains to take down the Stickman and kill him themselves.
I’m a little bit hung up on applying “supervillain” to “the little guys” but perhaps this is a case of aspirations more than accurate nomenclature.
The Hollywood Reporter says the series is in “early stages of development,” so it’ll be a bit before we hear more details.
