The Spider-Man

How to #Write Hilariously

Mia Manns
Mia Manns
Jul 27, 2017 · 6 min read

The return of high school aged Spider-Man sans repetition of origin story deserves to be lauded for simplicity and the breath of fresh air in the lungs of every audience member to suffer through numerous stale sequels and reboots. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) is also a refreshing escape from the serious and complicated Avengers movies, which volume after volume raise the tension to extremes requiring of the comic relief chortled out of every other line of Tony Stark dialogue.

New York may be in danger, but more importantly, Peter Parker has a crush on the leader of his academic decathlon team, and he’s continuously screwed it up with her as his vigilanteism leads to absenteeism and he misses every chance she gives him. He’s a bit distracted, however, with training in the use of his Stark sponsored Spidey suit, saving/terrorizing the neighbors, and uncovering a villainous plot, all the while trying to prove he’s a man despite being a fifteen-year-old kid; the fact that he’s only a child becomes clearer with every attempt to prove the opposite.

The villain of Spider-Man: Homecoming wins the popularity contest among critics and … well … everyone’s a critic. Who would have expected a treatise on class warfare to be the central plot of the high school aged relaunch? Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) is enveloped in the struggle of the labor class man against the big guy, transforming into Vulture in a Robin-Hood-esque attempt to steal from the Avengers and give to the working man — himself. A city contractor screwed once before out of salvage left by the Avengers’ destruction of Manhattan, he just wants his fair share. And considering the hero of the Avengers series is billionaire Tony Stark, who can turn his dreams to reality at the touch of a bank transfer, Toome becomes a fairly relatable and empathetic villain. It’s essentially Breaking Bad with a steampunk aerodynamic bird suit.

Sony Pictures Entertainment

Marisa Tomei is the coolest of cool aunts to rock the Aunt May moniker. Strong supporting females include Zendaya as Michelle (secret identity withheld) and Laura Harrier as Liz the love interest. Visions of Avengers faves like Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan punctuate an otherwise standalone volume, in addition to Tony Stark’s omnipresent and somewhat snarky mentoring. Donald Glover is too chill and immersed in his role for this cartoony flick; I felt his acting transcended the Marvel mood and felt like he was aiming for an Oscar nod or auditioning for a relaunch of The Wire, which broke the fourth wall a bit. It was exhilarating to recognize Martin Starr from Freaks and Geeks and Silicon Valley and Superbad and one episode of Community pop up in the role of teacher and academic decathlon coach Mr. Harrington. Stars from here and there delivered the comedic lines in constant punches far more interesting than those in the actual action sequences.

Spider-Man: Homecoming was directed by Jon Watts, known for twenty-three episodes of The Onion, so it’s no surprise he co-wrote this screenplay where almost every utterance was a brain scratching craft of wit. Almost every single line was funny. Laugh out loud funny. Even during the melodramatic eye watering parts. It’s quite an achievement, and a super power to be harnessed by any budding writer to strengthen a sci-fi, fantasy, action hero, super hero, super villain, anti-villain, anti-hero or just plain vanilla hero story.

Comedic writing can be a script saver when it comes to pulling off a plot and jargon heavy standalone or debut work. Marvel is marvelous at this. To distract from the cheesiness of the story and its ridiculous plot elements, not to mention explanations of technologies and mechanics that are needed to make the machine run, it’s a good idea to keep the jokes coming. It’s like sleight of hand. While you were busy clutching your gut and giggling at the one liner, you missed the villain’s flimsy motivation, the silly name of the alien tech, the logical flaws in the hero’s reasoning — not that your tech should have a silly name, your hero’s reasoning should have a logical flaws, or your villains should have flimsy motivation, but just saying — any weaknesses, any cracks in the facade of your master work can be hidden or sanded down by some good funnies. Laughter puts readers on your side, willing to swallow whatever important details are significant to your worldbuilding and whatever mechanics of supernatural abilities, magic or intrinsic powers will be essential to the points in your plot.

Here’s a couple ways to use humor in your speculative fiction writing:

  1. Channel your audience’s skepticism

If the audience can be expected to experience some frustration with the exposition, channeling their own objections can vent the aggravation. Put their objections into the mouth of a wise ass character who can simultaneously release that frustration and build rapport with the keenest, most skeptical viewers. The audience may be feeling a bit testy when you launch into an info-dump monologue; that’s fair, no one likes bad exposition. If you can anticipate any skeptical response to your magic system, the limitations on your hero’s superpower, the checks and balances in your world’s political system, or the science behind a nice new piece of weaponry, and you can voice it in a joke that’s undoubtedly clever, you may be able to win over even the most hard-hearted overly analytical turbo dweebs. To master this tactic, study the greats: Marvel’s The Avengers, Marvel’s Iron Man, Marvel’s Doctor Strange, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly — essentially all works geeky and silly. These great pieces of cinematic and small screen wonder use hilarity to mask exposition. For books, obviously get fluent in the Douglass Adamsesque voice in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and check out Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl books and The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Also, don’t look past Harry Potter! J.K. Rowling’s sense of humor is the real magic. Children’s and Young Adult can be great fiction to learn the tools of the chuckle trade.

2. The Trojan Horse of Hilarity

As you pour your first draft onto the keyboard, reminding yourself to constantly steer back to the central plot and ensure every word, sentence, paragraph, scene and chapter contribute to the main story line, it can start to feel like every word tells the plot straight up, as if you’re just working through your plot point checklist. Characters discuss what’s happened and by the end of the scene they do something (or something happens to them) that moves the plot forward, with as few digressions as possible — but it begins to feel bland and possibly one-dimensional. Sneak in some jokes with the storytelling to add a second layer. Here’s a few lines from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to demonstrate:

Willow: So, we’re looking for a beastie.

Giles: That, uh, eats humans whole. Except for the skin.

Buffy: This doesn’t make any sense.

Xander: Yeah, the skin’s the best part!

Buffy: Any demons with high cholesterol? [Giles looks at her] You’re going to think about that later, mister, and you’re going to laugh.

Pretty much the entire secret to the success of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was cloaking the workings in silly remarks and the rare perspectives of the ridiculous scoobies. It’s not just about comic relief, it’s about adding interest to the ingredients that need to go in there but don’t taste particularly good unless disguised by something more palatable. Think of jokes as the skin — the best part!

Sony Pictures Entertainment

3. The Aforementioned Wise-Ass Character

I’m going to argue, not for the first time, that anyone who watches Star Wars will love Han Solo way, way more than Luke Skywalker. The funny sidekick is a classic archetype inspiring of great belovedness. Wash on Firefly. Topher on Dollhouse. Willow on Buffy. Yes, I’m a Whedon nerd, but if you’re writing sci-fi and/or fantasy, it can’t hurt to check out what inspires the utter devotion of sci-fi/fantasy audiences. Ron Weasley kills, Marvin the Paranoid Android slays, Donna Noble’s a serial killer. Just kidding. Unlocking the power of the wise ass may be the key to an unrivaled loyal fandom. You never know.

Spider-Man: Homecoming was a straight up joy. The laughs never stopped, and the humor is definitely the secret sauce and the real people pleaser. This simple flick is getting seriously great reviews from critics and super hero snobs alike. Peter Parker’s sidekick Ned, played by Jacob Batalon, is possibly more instantly beloved and commanding of loyalty than The Spider Man himself. Never underestimate the timing of a perfectly timed sealed delivered punchline.

Originally posted at Writing in the Stars.

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