Joker Star Makes Head-Turning Comment About Marvel Fans

It might be hard to put on a happy face after hearing these comments. 

Actor and comedian Marc Maron, who stars as Ted Marco in the upcoming Joker movie, made some head-turning remarks about Marvel fans during a recent interview with Conan O'Brien. 

Maron appeared on Conan to promote Netflix's acclaimed comedy-drama series GLOW, on which he stars as the gruff but oddly lovable Sam Sylvia, which recently entered its third season. Somewhere in their conversation, the topic shifted to Avengers: Endgame, given many were convinced that Maron played the younger Stan Lee in a cameo appearance and was just being coy about owning up to it. Maron confirmed that it wasn't him, and admitted that he has "some issues" with Marvel movies. He then offered his unfiltered thoughts on the superhero genre as a whole — as well as the people who enjoy it. 

"I generally don't like them," Maron said of superhero and comic book movies. "I don't wanna be bullied into seeing those [movies]. I'm a grown-up, I'm not seven, and I think those movies are for grown, male nerd childs."

When the Conan audience began to boo (albeit not loudly), Maron addressed them directly and said that they should accept the criticism. He also expressed frustration over the fact that he has to take extra steps to see the movies he wants to, since comic book movie fans always flock to larger theaters and make the filmgoing experience unenjoyable for him. Maron then fired another shot at the people telling him to see films like Avengers: Endgame, which he clearly has no interest in watching. 

"Oh, really? Take the hit, you guys are in charge of culture," Maron stated. "Now I gotta go travel 15, 20 minutes to a smaller movie theater to see a grown-up movie with other grown-ups, where we can all sit together and not understand the ending. You know? That's part of the experience ... where you walk out and you're like, 'I don't know! Did the guy die? It's not clear, it's not clear.' That's the kind of movie I enjoy. I'm not gonna be bullied by grown nerd men." 

O'Brien then laughed when asking whether Maron intended to come on the show and alienate a ton of people, which prompted Maron to say that he may have overdone it a little bit. "You know, look, I just don't go see them," he said. "I'm not interested. That's all."

That wasn't enough to stop Marvel loyals from going after Maron on social media. It wasn't long before the actor-comedian again addressed the fervid fans — this time taking things a few steps further. 

"Hey, Marvel movie fans! Stop acting like outraged religious fanatics defending their belief system. It's okay if I don't believe. Let it go," Maron tweeted. "Also, I'm actually big fan of a lot of comic art. Try to relax your mainstream a**es."

He added in another tweet, "good times doing the troll dance with emotional baby brains. forgot what an exciting waste of time this can be."

As he said, Maron's gripe is with superhero movies, comic book adaptations, and the fanbases (particularly the Marvel-loving community) that they attract — not with comic books or superheroes themselves. Even the highest-grossing movie of all time, Avengers: Endgame, isn't going to get him to change his mind, so it's best not to waste your breath trying to convert the unconvertible, Marvel fans. 

Jamie Mccarthy/Getty Images

Anyone familiar with Maron will know that this opinion of his didn't spring out of nowhere. He's long maintained status as a comic book movie opposer, previously stating during an episode of his podcast WTF with Marc Maron (via Pajiba), "[If] I seem slightly condescending to superhero movies and you think that's rude, I want to tell you this, honestly and from the heart: I will continue to do it. I will continue to condescend to grown-ups who defend, almost maniacally, the integrity and need and greatness of superhero movies ... The fact that you're a grown-a** f****** person and you've kind of justified it in your periphery and your f****** worldview that these are great and you just can't get enough of them, great. That's good for you."

Maron also condemned comic book movies for pushing aside "real dialogue and real human stories" to the point that he feels there are very few "grown-up themed" films that are "provocative and proactive in terms of making you think and making you move forward with your life and seeing things differently."

What's interesting about Maron's remarks is the fact that he himself is in a comic book movie: Joker. Granted, the Todd Phillips-directed, Joaquin Phoenix-starring flick doesn't outwardly appear like your average comic book adaptation — it's darker, eerier, and evidently tells a very different tale of DC's Clown Prince of Crime. It appears that Maron eased up on his staunch stance with Joker for that reason — plus the fact that starring in the film means that he got to work with Phoenix and Robert De Niro, who plays talk show host Murray Franklin. 

Maron went on record in the past to praise Phillips' vision and affirm that Joker isn't like other comic book films. 

"I've been somewhat judgmental when it comes to comic book movies and I've got a little pushback in the press for being a hypocrite ... Oddly, [Joker is] not that kind of movie. The approach that Todd Phillips has taken is more of an origin story and a character study of a mentally ill person that becomes the Joker," Maron told NME in March 2019. "It's more of an intimate and gritty movie with a very specific scope. It's going to be really interesting to see how it comes out."

If Maron signed on for it, Joker must be something truly remarkable. 

In the end, the same thing can be said for both sides of the argument here: no one should be shamed for liking or disliking things, so long as they're not hurting anyone. Maron can dislike superhero movies and Marvel fans can keep getting all hyped up about the new films that are in the works — it's relatively harmless. A problem arises, however, when one party gives the other a hard time for their interests, and then the opposing side lashes out in defense. Superhero films aren't everyone's cup of tea — and neither are super-serious "grown-up" flicks. It's best to live and let live... and prepare for what's apparently going to be a comic book movie unlike anything you've seen before when Joker hits theaters on October 4.