The Fourth Wall is the name commonly attributed to a writing convention wherein fictitious characters become aware of their own false existence.
Contents
History
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.
DC Characters known to break the Fourth Wall
Anybody can break the fourth wall. But most people do it more tactfully than Black Hand does.
- Abel
- Ambush Bug
- Animal Man [1]
- Batman [2]
- Black Hand [3]
- Butch Buchanan [4]
- Cain
- Death
- Destiny
- Doctor Thirteen [citation needed]
- Don Q [5]
- Etrigan [6]
- Eve
- Flash II[7]
- Inkie [8]
- Joker
- Kindly Ones
- Lobo [9]
- Lucien
- Madame Xanadu [10]
- Marie Leeds-Thirteen [citation needed]
- Merryman [11]
- Mister Mxyzptlk [12]
- Miss America [13]
- Phantom Stranger [14]
- Pinky Butler [15]
- Odd Man [16]
- Tex Thomson [17]
Recommended Reading
- Ghosts
- House of Mystery
- House of Secrets
- Phantom Stranger
- Plop
- Secrets of the Haunted House
- The Witching Hour
Notes
Trivia
Links and References
Footnotes
- ↑ Animal Man #19
- ↑ Batman #1
- ↑ Green Lantern (Volume 2) #29
- ↑ Crack Comics #21
- ↑ Crack Comics #22
- ↑ The Demon (Volume 3) #58
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 3) #38
- ↑ Crack Comics #36
- ↑ Lobo: Bounty Hunting for Fun and Profit
- ↑ Blue Devil #31
- ↑ Animal Man #25
- ↑ Superman/Batman Annual #1
- ↑ Military Comics #1
- ↑ The Phantom Stranger #1
- ↑ Wow Comics #6
- ↑ Ambush Bug: Year None #3
- ↑ Action Comics #4
