Fourth Wall

The Fourth Wall is the name commonly attributed to a writing convention wherein fictitious characters become aware of their own false existence.

Description
The Fourth Wall exists as the invisible barrier separating reality from imagination. In the comic book medium, such characters are cognizant of the fact that they are characters in a comic book, and often speak directly to the reader. In the Golden and Silver Age era of DC comics, such characters routinely broke the Fourth Wall, usually as a convenience for introducing a story. After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, comic storytelling took a more mature turn, and few characters demonstrated this ability.

Other examples of breaking the Fourth Wall

 * In film: Matthew Broderick's character, Ferris Bueller, from the 1986 feature film, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is probably the most famous example of a character breaking the Fourth Wall. Likewise, Christian Slater's character, George Kuffs, from the 1992 film, Kuffs, shared a similar capability. Ed Norton's nameless narrator from David Fincher's, Fight Club, spoke directly to the audience while the surrounding characters milled about in the background oblivious to his dissertations. Kim Bassinger's animated character, Holly, from the film, Cool World literally broke the Fourth Wall and was able to physically interact in physical reality.


 * In comics: In the 1989 Marvel Comics series, She-Hulk, writer John Byrne granted the title character the ability to speak directly to the readers. Further, she humorously adopted the ability to manipulate comic book dynamics, such as: Ripping a hole through page 5, in order to travel to page 27. Guest-stars who appeared throughout the title occasionally found themselves possessing a similar cognizant perception, but lost this ability upon returning to their respective continuities.


 * In cartoons: The characters from the Warner Brothers, Looney Toons, franchise routinely broke the Fourth Wall barriers. In some animated sequences, characters such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck found themselves victim to a mysterious artistic hand that would spontaneously alter their features – or erase them altogether. There are literally dozens of examples of characters from animated films and television programs that have been known to break the Fourth Wall.

DC Characters known to break the Fourth Wall

 * Abel
 * Ambush Bug
 * Animal Man
 * Cain
 * Death
 * Destiny
 * Doctor Thirteen
 * Eve
 * Kindly Ones
 * Lucien
 * Madam Xanadu
 * Marie Leeds-Thirteen
 * Phantom Stranger


 * It may be logically assumed that all of the Endless from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series possess the ability to pierce the Fourth Wall, though only Death and Destiny have been explicitly shown demonstrating this ability.

Recommended readings

 * Ghosts
 * House of Mystery
 * House of Secrets
 * Phantom Stranger
 * Plop
 * Secrets of Haunted House
 * Witching Hour