John Oliver Takes On Superhero Movies

Last Week Tonight may be off from airing on HBO tonight, but that's not stopping host John Oliver from taking to the internet to do "the most internet thing imaginable," and that means complaining about superhero movies.

Oliver begins his segment by listing off some of the major superhero film release of 2016, including "Mean Spider-Man" (Deadpool), "Sadman vs. Super-Sadman" (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), and "The Insane Clown Posse Takes Manhattan" (Suicide Squad).

Rather than critiquing any of these films, Oliver instead offers a brand new character for Hollywood to adapt: Johnny Strong. The bit presents Strong as a thinly veiled cipher for Oliver himself as a child, doing battle with such devilish villains as his own clarinet teacher.

"By day he is mild-mannered fifth-grader John Olivier (no relation)," Oliver monologues. "But from the time school lets out until dinner he becomes the, let's say, unconventionally handsome hero Johnny Strong."

In the first issue of Johnny Strong's adventures, he does battle with a horrible mutant that is probably Oliver's cat, especially since the second issue involves travelling through a world of missing cat posters.

It's good for a bit, but it may touch a serious issue for Hollywood. Sequels struggled at the box office this year, so seeing the same characters on the big screen over and over seems to be having diminishing returns with audiences. Maybe Hollywood should give Johnny Strong a chance after all.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver returns with new episodes on HBO on Sept. 25, 2016.