Sumith Prasad
In the fourth episode of HBO’s comedy series ‘The Franchise,’ Eric Bouchard awaits the arrival of “Many Man,” the cameo character slated to appear in ‘Tecto: Eye of the Storm.’ However, at the last minute, Pat pulls the beloved superhero from the movie to add him to the narrative of the tentpole project ‘Centurios 2: Continuum.’ Instead of Many Man, Eric is forced to settle with “Gurgler,” a superhero character nobody cares for. The filmmaker changes his screenplay for the movie without any other options and seeks Daniel Kumar’s help to integrate the character into Tecto’s world!
Gurgler and Many Man Only Exist in The Franchise
Gurgler and Many Man are superheroes developed by Tom George, the writer of the fourth episode of ‘The Franchise’ under the supervision of the creator, Jon Brown. However, there are existing characters who resemble them. Marvel Comics’ Multiple Man is highly similar to Many Man, not only because of their names but also because of their ability to duplicate themselves into many copies. Also known as James Arthur Madrox, the Marvel character has appeared in many projects, including the 2006 film ‘X-Men: The Last Stand.’ Eric Dane portrays the superhero who becomes part of Magneto’s Brotherhood to stop the usage of a mutant cure.
In Gurgler’s case, Zeitgeist, also known as Axel Cluney in Marvel Comics, is a similar superhero. While the former uses his mucus to battle his enemies, the latter relies on a gelatinous, energized ooze released through his mouth. This acidic vomit is highly potent and is featured in the blockbuster movie ‘Deadpool 2.’ The character is part of X-Force, while Multiple Man is a member of X-Factor. “Gurgler” is also the name of the monster pet of Denzel Dugglemonster in the Disney Junior series ‘Henry Hugglemonster.’ The similarities between the two superheroes and existing characters are not accidental.
Gurgler and Many Man Satirize the Cameo Culture in Recent Superhero Films and TV Shows
‘The Franchise’ uses Gurgler and Many Man to satirize the prevailing “cameo culture” in the superhero projects released in recent years. If we approach these cameos through a critical lens, we can observe that the characters are used to make films and TV shows more appealing to the viewers with minimal importance in the overall narrative. The appearance of Charlie Cox as Daredevil in Marvel Studios’ ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ ahead of the release of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ and Henry Cavill as Cavillrine in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ are two examples of cleverly-placed cameos to boost the associated projects’ appeal.
A more explicit example of this cameo culture is the 2023 film ‘The Flash,’ which is part of the DC Extended Universe. The movie features Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Jason Momoa as Aquaman, in addition to Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, and George Clooney as Batman. Through the absurd appearances of Gurgler and Many Man, the episode of the satirical comedy series raises questions concerning the increasing number of cameos, often without any major or essential contribution to the narrative, in superhero films/TV shows.
Read More: The Franchise: Is Maximum Studios a Real Production Company?
