The ‘Robot Chicken’ Creators Name Their Three Favorite Superhero Parodies from the Show
From Batman beating the shit out of a birthday clown he mistakes for the Joker to Spider-Man’s Spidey Sense being set off by sour milk, Robot Chicken is at its best whenever it lampoons superheroes. Which is why we asked Robot Chicken co-creator/executive producer Matthew Senreich and executive producer John Harvatine to name their three favorite superhero parodies from their long-running Adult Swim series. Here’s what they told us…
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs Straws
Senreich: I’m a 1980s kid, so I’m a little bit before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but a bunch of our writers are 1990s kids, so they're all about the Turtles. Still, anything with the Turtles is great. One of my favorites is how plastic straws are the most dangerous things to the Ninja Turtles. Mikey Day played Shredder in it, and he always makes me laugh.
Harvatine: It’s really cool that Seth (Green) is so passionate about the toys he puts in the show. For example, with the Turtles, it’s not just, “Let’s grab a Turtle and put it in.” There are so many different years and variations of the Turtles, and Seth gets so specific about what exactly he wants. It’s not just about the aesthetics of how it looks either; it’s what will work for the joke and the story. He’ll figure out the exact year and the exact line of toys for the story.
Sexx Luthor
Senreich: Alfred Molina played Lex Luthor in our DC specials, and when we did the second one, he told us, “I don’t sing,” and we were like, “Just do your best.” There was a whole song Lex Luthor sang called “Sexx Luthor.” That always makes me smile, especially because I got to watch Alfred Molina record that.
Everything with Batman and Superman
Senreich: I thoroughly enjoy the Superman and Batman relationship we’ve built up. I like the way Seth plays Batman, and Breckin Meyer’s Superman has this cocky, arrogant, “I run the world, nothing can hurt me” kind of thing. As far as specific sketches of them go, it’s hard to name just one. Our DC specials hold a very special place in my heart. That they let us do that at all really makes me smile.
Harvatine: When we did the DC special, it was really amazing that Seth did the photography for a picture of Batman and Superman in the Batmobile under the bridge. To choose the characters and then to go and do the photography of them, that’s nerdom on a whole ‘nother level.