Howard the Duck's Lea Thompson: "I am the First Queen of Marvel"

Just becuase you get someplace first, does that make you royalty, even if your role is...well, [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Just becuase you get someplace first, does that make you royalty, even if your role is...well, let's charitably say not wildly popular?

That's a question answered by Lea Thompson, the Back to the Future star who appeared in Marvel's first theatrically-released feature film, Howard the Duck.

In a recent Yahoo! Movies interview (via io9), Thompson embraced the role that nearly destroyed her career, saying, "I am the first queen of Marvel."

It was a title nobody would fight for, for over 20 years. While female characters were prominently featured in X-Men movies, the only female-led solo film based on a Marvel heroine has been Elektra, whcih was only slightly better received than Howard the Duck.

Remember that while Marvel is an imposing empire now, calling oneself royalty in a kingdom that produced forgettable Captain America TV movies and Punisher and Fantastic Four films that never got their planned theatrical releases isn't exactly conquering Hollywood.

Howard itself has remained a notorious bomb for decades, widely regarded Tim Robbins's worst appearance in a comic book film even in spite of his role in Green Lantern.

From executive producer George Lucas and the pages of Marvel Comics comes Howard the Duck, an unbelievably funny comedy about a fast-talking, cigar-chomping, beer-loving duck from a parallel universe who crashes to Earth and somehow winds up in Cleveland.

As Howard attempts to return to his own planet, he falls in love with rock singer Beverly Swizzler (Lea Thompson, Back to the Future) and must battle an evil invader known as the Dark Overlord.

This wacky, elaborately produced spoof of life, love, comic books and horror movies featuring out-of-this-world special effects is a treasure the whole family can enjoy.

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