A key element to the enduring success of Saturday Night Live — which has boasted a great rotation of hosts for Season 48 — is its sharply witty commentary on pop culture. These days, pop culture is practically defined by all the new superhero movies that come out by the bunch each year, and the legendary comedy series has been ahead of the curve in that regard with some hilarious superhero sketches. The following are just a few of the many ways that SNL has poked fun at some of the most iconic superheroes or tropes of comic book culture in general.
Superhero Party (Season 4)
A year after the release of one of the greatest superhero movies ever — director Richard Donner's Superman — the late Margot Kidder, while hosting SNL, reprised her role as Lois Lane in a sketch that sees some of the most iconic characters from both DC and Marvel coming to her and the Man of Steel's apartment for a party. Fun fact: Garrett Morris became the first live-action Ant-Man in the sketch before making a funny cameo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's 2015 film about the microscopic hero.
Superman's Funeral (Season 18)
Another time that the Saturday Night Live cast portrayed Marvel and DC heroes was in a sketch written in response to Superman's death in the early 1990s. Even Lex Luthor (played by Al Franken) shows up to mourn and help usher — before revealing how happy he that his arch nemesis is no longer around — but a pre-Arrowverse Black Lightning (host Sinbad) fails to achieve entry because none of the other heroes recognize him.
Watch SNL's Superman's Funeral sketch on YouTube.
Black Widow Trailer (Season 40)
Before 2021, the closest thing we had to a Black Widow movie was this fake trailer that comments on the limiting gender roles of blockbuster movies by imagining the Avenger as the lead of a rom-com. Scarlett Johansson -- future wife of SNL's Colin Jost -- reprises her role as a Natasha Romanoff struggling to work her way up at a fashion magazine and maintain a romance with Ultron.
SNL Digital Short: Batman (Season 37)
Commissioner James Gordon is often annoyed by Batman's tendency to sneak up on him and flee the scene without a trace. This staple of their relationship is exaggerated to increasingly absurd degrees in this SNL Digital Short featuring Andy Samberg as the Dark Knight, host Steve Buscemi as Gordon, and short-lived cast member Paul Brittain as Aquaman, who -- in even a parody of Christopher Nolan's version of Gotham -- feels like a real "fish out of water."
Watch SNL Digital Short: Batman on YouTube.
SNL Digital Short: Hero Song (Season 33)
Before Andy Samberg played Batman in an SNL Digital Short, he portrayed his own version of a wealthy urbanite-turned-vigilante who expresses his passion to be the hero his city needs in song. However, his empowering ballad and crimefighting career are cut short when he tries to protect a woman (host Amy Adams) from a mugger (Jason Sudeikis).
Watch SNL Digital Short: Hero Song on YouTube.
Black Jeopardy With Chadwick Boseman (Season 43)
Before his untimely death in 2020, Chadwick Boseman left a profound impact on the MCU's legacy as T'Challa in 2018's Black Panther and other titles. Among his most memorable moments in the role, I would count when he appeared as Wakanda's king on SNL's Black Jeopardy, during which the royal hero gets a crash course in cultural differences between his nation and America.
The Impossible Hulk (Season 44)
Idris Elba is one of a few actors who have played both Marvel and DC characters, namely Heimdall in the Thor movies and Bloodsport in 2021's The Suicide Squad. Once, when hosting SNL, he even played a version of Bruce Banner who, instead of becoming a green behemoth when angry, transforms into "an emboldened white lady" played by Cecily Strong -- who recently parted from the cast -- in this hilarious bit that combines comic book lore with true stories of people with entitlement issues.
Watch SNL's The Impossible Hulk on YouTube.
Grouch (Season 45)
Before joining the MCU as Red Guardian and while promoting his lead role in 2019's Hellboy reboot, David Harbour poked fun at a beloved children's TV character by way of poking fun at a gritty reimagining of an iconic comic book villain. The faux trailer for "Grouch" also posits how a reboot of Sesame Street in the style of Todd Phillips' Joker might portray other characters like Big Bird or Elmo and the results are certainly funnier than the controversial DC movie, but also, in some ways, just as unsettling.
Watch SNL's Grouch on YouTube.
The Rock Obama (Season 34)
Another fun way that SNL poked fun at the transformational concept of The Incredible Hulk while incorporating their signature brand of political satire was in this sketch that sees then-president Barack Obama (Fred Armisen) in a rare case of losing his cool at GOP senators. Host Dwayne Johnson played "The Rock Obama" -- a simple pun that permits endlessly hilarity -- more than once, but I am hoping they can figure out a way to bring him back at least one more time.
Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles (Season 46)
For anyone curious what a more "grown-up" reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles might look like, this SNL bit seems to come pretty close to the real thing. "Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles" uses the same animation style as the classic series based on the irreverent comic, but instead sees the likes of Michelangelo and Donatello dealing with health concerns, marital woes, and deciding whether or not they should attend Shredder's funeral.
Watch SNL's Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles on YouTube.
He-Man And Lion-O (Season 40)
Another time SNL masterfully poked fun at iconic Saturday morning cartoon characters was in one of the best sketches starring Kyle Mooney, in which a little boy's wish to see his action figures come to life is granted. However, he comes to find out these versions of He-Man (Chris Pratt) and Thundercats' Lion-O (Taran Killam) are not accurate representations of the characters as he knows them, because their new bodies and sentience, unfortunately, did not come with any knowledge of their native worlds or any basic understanding of what it means to be human.
Watch SNL's He-Man and Lion-O on YouTube.
Family Feud Cold Open (Season 44)
One TV franchise that comes close to the MCU in popularity is the Game of Thrones universe, and both of the worlds would collide on an SNL cold open framed as Family Feud episode. While Alex Moffat makes a good Thor, Beck Bennett's Thanos cosplay is one to aspire for, and Ego Nwodim is a spot-on Okoye, the real treat is Leslie Jones' profane paraphrasing of Groot's signature quote.
As far as I am concerned, one thing we can be sure of about Saturday Night Live is that they know what they are doing when it comes bringing the world's most powerful heroes down a few levels.
