Was ‘The Munsters’ inspired by Marvel Comics? 13 surprising parallels
The uncanny similarities between one of the most influential comic book legacies and one of the most monstrous (but beloved) television sitcoms!
When Marvel Comics published the first issue of the Fantastic Four in 1961, that comic book was the launching pad for one of the most iconic media companies ever. In the space of only a couple of years, Marvel introduced some of the most famous characters of all time—eventually leading to one of the most successful movie brands in Hollywood history.
When the television show The Munsters hit the air in 1964, it may have only lasted a couple of seasons—but it was one of the first of a big number of crazy, out-of-this-world sitcoms in that era. And even though this show was cancelled relatively quickly, The Munsters has survived for decades in syndication—and also led to a big number of remakes, revisits, and reboots.
Over recent months, I’ve been reading classic Marvel Comics from the beginning—as well as re-watching episodes of The Munsters original series. And recently I’ve started to notice some similarities between the two worlds. And it struck me that these two series were both created within a very short period of time.
Watch our episode about their surprising connections!
Two key points that reinforce the idea of a connection between the Fantastic Four and The Munsters…
Here are two reasons that especially make me consider the timing to be important in this discussion…
1) The crew of The Munsters were working late 1963 or early 1964 on their upcoming TV show. At that time, comic books were primarily distributed on spinner racks at drugstores. As such, the makers of The Munsters would be passing by examples of those groundbreaking Marvel Comics every time they were at the drug store buying toothpaste or cold medicine or whatever.
2) While many critics tend to claim that comic books are exclusively for children (which, technically—for an entire art form—was never a true statement), one of the refreshing outcomes of Marvel Comics’ new direction in the early 1960s is that they were attracting a broader audience than traditional comics. Unlike most other comics companies, Marvel was getting notices from college journalists applauding the stimulating worldview being presented by Marvel.
Were The Munsters influenced by the breakthroughs that had originated at Marvel Comics? Below, I’ll talk over the points that made me wonder…
What we’ll be covering in this article…
Now, we know that the makers of The Munsters were highly tied to the Universal Monsters. (More on that in a bit.)
But as I’ve been reading classic issues of Marvel Comics and re-watching classic episodes of The Munsters—and the deeper I wade into both worlds—I’ve begun to wonder whether The Munsters show was also influenced by Marvel Comics.
Are these a coincidences? Or were the creatives behind The Munsters following Marvel Comics as they were first being published?
Do you think that I’m crazy? I’m going to outline some of the connections between the two worlds. And I defy you to tell me there aren’t any parallels.
Here’s what we’ll be covering…
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Part 1
The launch of Marvel Comics in 1961-1963
Perhaps I should explain how inventive Marvel Comics was when they broke through. Looking back all these years later, we’re so used to them—whether you’re talking about the comics or the TV shows or the movies. It’s only when you flip back and study their origins in context that you can appreciate how much they broke ground.
Further reading:
Comic books is an American art form that was created in the 1930s. The medium was used to tell stories from all kinds of genres, including monsters, romance, mysteries, educational, crime, fantasy, humor—and superheroes.
The characters appearing from the superhero genre represented a kind of modern mythology. They ranged from the big names at National Periodical Publications (including Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman), and Timely (including Captain America, the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner), to other publishers’ more bizarre examples.
While other categories continued to sell through, the superhero category fell out of favor in the mid-1940s. Most of those titles were either changed or cancelled altogether.
Then in the late 1950s, National Periodical (later known as DC Comics) re-launched several of their superheroes in more sci-fi versions. When the owner of Atlas (formerly Timely) learned that Justice League of America was selling great, he told his employee that they needed to copy the JLA and start their own super team comic.
That employee—Stan Lee—had been working in comics for 20 years. And he was tired of it. He was going to quit.
However, Lee’s wife convinced him to at least try his own take on this project. If it got him fired, at least it was worth trying.
So writer Lee teamed with co-plotter and artist Jack Kirby. Among so many things listed on Kirby’s resume, he was the co-creator of Captain America; he was the co-creator of the category of romance comics; he worked on a lot of comics with monsters; and he was also the co-creator of DC’s series Challengers of the Unknown.
For the brand that would soon be renamed Marvel Comics, Lee and Kirby created the first superhero book for the line. Launched in 1961, Marvel’s response to DC’s comic book Justice League of America was the Fantastic Four.
But rather than simply copying the JLA, Fantastic Four #1 showed a lot more inventiveness. Instead of a plot-driven book following interchangeable spandex characters solving a puzzle, Fantastic Four #1 was a character-driven story that also mixed with other genres.
As I talk about at length here, Fantastic Four followed a group that was less a “superhero team” and more a bickering family who were public figures (no secret identities), dragged through ongoing soap opera adventures that involved monsters, relationships, romance, cosmic threats, and even humor.
Buy classic issues of Fantastic Four from Amazon
In the decades since, their influence has reverberated throughout similar fiction in other media. Today it seems to be normal.
But at the time it jumped out. The Fantastic Four were four monsters who tried to live like normal people.
And FF #1 was merely the beginning for Marvel. Over the years 1961-1963, Lee, Kirby and co-plotter/artist Steve Ditko created some of the biggest Marvel Comics characters, including The Incredible Hulk, The Mighty Thor, The X-Men, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Invincible Iron Man, The Astonishing Ant-Man and the Wasp and The Avengers (plus lots more).
Further reading: To give you more context about the impact of Marvel Comics on pop culture, there are in particular three books that work great in tandem offering three different angles on the company’s history.
All of the Marvels: A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told—Douglas Wolk read LOTS AND LOTS of Marvel comics to share his views of the final products. The author also offers a helpful outlook of how Marvel tells a (more or less) single story that’s spread across something like 27,000 comic books.
Slugfest: Inside the Epic 50-Year Battle Between Marvel and DC—Reed Tucker offers a behind-the-scenes look at the creative rivalry between the two big comic book companies. He shares the ups and downs of that relationship, and how that rivalry sometimes sparked some great comics from the two companies.
Marvel Comics: The Untold Story—Sean Howe talked with lots of insiders about the business behind Marvel Comics. He offers some interior views of office politics—and some of the extraordinary personalities who were part of Marvel’s history.
Part 2
The introduction of The Munsters in 1964
“What does matter is the size of your heart and the strength of your character.”—Herman Munster
In the history of TV sitcom families, there are few (if any) as memorable as The Munsters. Airing on the CBS network across two seasons (1964-1966), the show featured Herman and Lily Munster (portrayed by Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo), Grandpa (Al Lewis), Eddie Munster (Butch Patrick), and Marilyn Munster (played first by Beverley Owen, then Pat Priest).
The classic show featured a family of monsters, including a dad who was a version of Frankenstein’s Monster, a grandpa who was the retired Count Dracula, a mom who was the daughter of Dracula, a son who was a werewolf, and a niece that was normal. (Granted, the family thought she was the weird one.)
Buy The Munsters episodes from Amazon
Despite airing only two seasons, the show has continued over the decades to engage viewers through reruns and a series of reunions, revisits, and reboots. And throughout, the show has also offered even more references to the Universal Monsters, with members of the extended family including the Wolf Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera and more.
Going back to the beginning, the original pitch for The Munsters was stolen. (We talk about that at length here.)
That said, one of the results was that the studio—Universal—had The Munsters borrow heavily from the classic monsters from their films of the 1930s and 1940s. The studio had been running their old classic horror movies on television since the 1950s, and had found there was still an impressive audience for these decades-old monster movies.
By the time of its TV debut, The Munsters featured a Transylvanian-American family living at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in Mockingbird Heights. They were a standard 1960s sitcom family—that is, with the Frankenstein’s monster as the father, Dracula as the father-in-law, and a werewolf for the son. Their house pets included a house cat that roars like a lion, a fire-breathing dragon that lives under the stairs, a talking raven that lives in their cuckoo clock, and Grandpa’s lab companion Igor the bat.
Airing during the Civil Rights Era, The Munsters reflected changes in social attitudes. As an example, check out what Herman told his son in the episode “Eddie’s Nickname”:
“The lesson I want you to learn is that it doesn’t matter what you look like. Whether you are tall or short; or fat or thin; or ugly or handsome—like your father—or you can be black, or yellow, or white. It doesn't matter. What matters is the size of your heart and the strength of your character.”
Further reading:
So, what all inspired The Munsters?
Now, of course there are several connections you can see between The Munsters and the Universal Monsters. (I talk about those connections here.)
There are also similarities between The Munsters and some other sitcoms of the era. In the 1960s, there were several shows that blended supernatural or fantasy elements in situation comedies. These programs included Mister Ed (1961-66), My Favorite Martian (1963-66), My Living Doll (1964-65), Bewitched (1964-1972), The Addams Family (1964-66), I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970), My Mother the Car (1965-66), It’s About Time (1966-67) and The Flying Nun (1967-70).
If we expand the field a little further, we can also take note of the similar escapist comedy tone of shows like the playful castaway adventure Gilligan’s Island (1964-67), the haphazard military western F-Troop (1965-67), and the satirical spy-fi series Get Smart (1965-70). Even the campy superhero series Batman (1966-68) is part of the trend. If we’re including silly shows, we should also mention the Hooterville triumvirate of The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-71), Petticoat Junction (1963-70) and Green Acres (1965-71).
That said, The Munsters predates most of those shows. (So there’s a chance that it influenced them, but not vice versa.)
Which brings us back to the point of this article…
Part 3
The Munsters vs Marvel Comics: 13 Surprising Connections
#01 The Munsters and some Marvel superheroes are monsters.
When the Fantastic Four kicked off the Marvel Age, one of the shocking characteristics that set them apart from other superhero series in 1961 was the idea that they were monsters. All four of them. (We talk more about that here.)
Of course, as the Marvel Comics world expanded, there have been lots of heroic characters who are monsters. Marvel’s dual legacies of monsters and superheroes include the Hulk, Werewolf by Night, Frankenstein’s monster, Blade, She-Hulk, Godzilla, Morbius the Living Vampire, Venom, and more. (We talk more about that HERE.)
As these comics were first coming out, there were creative people working on the upcoming show The Munsters. Which—of course—also featured main characters who were “monsters.” There were also several occasional guest monsters. (We talk about that HERE.)
In both series, you have monsters who are just trying to live normal lives. And who sometimes struggle with how normal people perceive them.
Further reading:
#02 The Munsters and the Fantastic Four are families.
Another characteristic that connects the Fantastic Four and The Munsters—but sets them apart from other series of the time—is that they are both families. Both series talk about workplace and cultural stuff, but the primary focus of each series is the family unit.
In the case of the Fantastic Four, most teams of superheroes are just a club or a business. But the Fantastic Four are first and foremost a family. Yes, the members of the FF bicker. Sure, over the decades, the group has splintered now and then. Sometimes the regular members have gone this way or that, and been replaced by temps. But time and again, we’ve seen that the series bring us back to the main cast. Because the Fantastic Four is a family.
In the case of The Munsters, one of the series strengths is that they are taking classic monsters like Frankenstein’s Monster and Count Dracula and giving them a normal suburban family life. And, granted, that formula could have been as simple as mixing the concept of a family sitcom with Universal Monsters.
But in 1964, there was also the chance that somebody on staff was reading the Fantastic Four comic book and said, “Hey, look at what they’re doing here…”
Related link: 14 Monster Families from Fantastic Four, Charmed, Hotel Transylvania, The Munsters, more
#03 The Munsters and Marvel Comics are set in the “real” world.
In the history of comic books, most superheroes have been hanging out in cities that probably had made-up names. Metropolis. Gotham City. Star City. Etc.
But very early on, the characters in the Marvel Comics universe were living in the real world. In fact, many of them were based in the same place—New York City. (Which, of course, is where the Marvel Comics offices are located. There was even that time Lee and Kirby were working on the FF comic when Doctor Doom showed up in their office.)
By the way, an early example of the “shared world” of Marvel Comics showed up in a Thor story in 1965’s Journey Into Mystery #116. During an emergency, someone tries reaching one of the city’s many superheroes—but the Avengers are busy (because of what’s going on in that month’s Avengers comic), Daredevil is busy (because of what’s going on in his own comic that month), and the Fantastic Four are out of town (because of the story in their own comic).
Looking back at classic Universal Monsters movies, many of them were set in imaginary locations. The movies would visit towns created in the Universal backlot, set up to look like old European towns with a castle and an old watchtower and a windmill. The towns look ancient yet have telephones and cars.
One of the fun characteristics of The Munsters series is that the family lives in a normal-looking neighborhood set in the present day. Over the course of the series, we see them heading into town for business and to get supplies and stuff like that. We’ve seen some of The Munsters go the bank, we’ve seen them go to restaurants, we’ve seen them go to school, we’ve seen them go to the museum, and other normal-looking places.
#04 The Munsters and the Fantastic Four are public figures.
For decades, one of the key factors in a superhero comic book had to do with keeping a secret identity and then changing clothes to do your superhero stuff. Wonder Woman was sometimes Diana Prince. Superman was sometimes Clark Kent. Batman was sometimes Bruce Wayne. Etc.
But from the beginning, the members of the Fantastic Four have been pretty open about their real names. They are, in fact, celebrities.
Similar to traditional superheroes, it’s normal for classic monsters to try and hide. But The Munsters are very open with the public. They go to the bank, they go to jobs, they go to the store, they go to all kinds of places. It never even occurs to them that they should live separately from “normal” people. They deserve to be normal members of society—and that’s what they are.
#05 The Munsters and some Marvel superheroes are monsters who are morally good (but still destructive).
Some key characters from Marvel Comics and the members of the family on The Munsters are—plain and simple—monsters. Creatures that terrify members of the public.
From Marvel, the earliest examples are the Fantastic Four and the Hulk. From The Munsters, the show kicked off with versions of Frankenstein’s Monster, Count Dracula, and a kid werewolf.
In stories from other authors and creators, these kinds of monsters are dangerous. They’re a major threat.
But in the case of Marvel Comics and The Munsters, these monsters are morally good characters that (mostly) want to do what’s best for everyone. Yes, their strengths sometimes make them stumble or break things. Sometimes there were conflicts with the authorities or neighbors or whatever. But for both the Marvel heroes and The Munsters, their hearts are generally in the right place.
#06 Herman is superhuman like Ben Grimm AKA “The Thing” and The Hulk.
One of the key characteristics of Marvel characters like The Thing and The Hulk is their super-strength. When you look at The Munsters, Herman is also strong—super strong. In fact, this was the point that first made me wonder whether Marvel actually influenced The Munsters.
Here’s the thing: Yes, Herman Munster is a version of Frankenstein’s Monster. But while it’s generally assumed that Frankenstein’s Monster is strong—it’s logical to believe that he would only be as strong as, well, a human. Because, you know, he’s made from human parts.
But Herman Munster is really strong. Take a look at these examples from the original series. Pounding his fist on the living room floor, Herman shakes the house. He picks up a mugger and hangs him from a tree limb. He playfully swings a wrecking ball. More than once, we see Herman pick up a car.
Sure, the Frankenstein’s Monster is strong. But what made the producers of The Munsters portray Herman as that strong?
Yes, it may have been as simple as exaggerating what they had. But is it possible that somebody in their office was reading all these new Marvel Comics and said, “Hey, what if we did this, too?”
#07 Grandpa Dracula was a scientist working in the lab like Reed Richards AKA “Mr. Fantastic.”
On The Munsters, one of the family members living at the house was Grandpa—who, we soon discover, is actually Dracula. You know, the vampire we first met in the 1897 classic horror novel by Bram Stoker.
An immortal with extensive skills in magic and science, and wearing the somewhat formulaic Dracula suit, Grandpa was a pop culture icon as the sarcastic father of Lily and father-in-law of Herman. Given his long life, Grandpa often talked about knowing historical figures like Nero, King Arthur, and Jack the Ripper.
That said, one of the significant traits of Grandpa is that he had a lab in the family’s basement. He was an inventor who was often headed “down to the lab.”
Over the course of the series, several episodes are driven in some way by one of his experiments. Most of his inventions are failures—but he never stops working on something new. Grandpa was always doing experiments and making stuff.
I don’t remember us ever seeing that as a trait for his character in the Dracula novel or in any other adaptations of the character.
Granted, this trait on The Munsters may have been inspired by the idea that Grandpa was friends with Dr. Frankenstein. There were various moments on the show where Grandpa talked about his relationship with Herman’s maker.
That said, one of the similar character traits in the Fantastic Four comic book is that they were scientists and explorers. And, like Grandpa, FF leader Reed Richards was also an inventor. Reed was always doing experiments and making stuff.
Just like Grandpa.
Except Reed was doing it first…
#08 Lily Munster and Susan Storm were surprisingly strong female characters for the era.
In the 1960s, there were some changes coming to pop culture—including a healthier respect for women. Of course, the stories were still primarily being written by men—who were White, from a certain culture, and from a certain generation. And the stories we’re talking about were still happening before feminism officially began to make changes to the culture.
In the early 1960s, Fantastic Four’s Susan Storm and The Munsters’ Lily Munster lived in that changing world. And, yes, there were times that the writers put them in situations that were old school opinions of women’s roles. Sue and Lily were often written as housewives and/or stay-at-home mothers.
But—sometimes—the men writing these stories did occasionally make efforts to demonstrate that Sue and Lily are stronger characters. They were shown to be thoughtful. They were shown to be intelligent. They were shown to be strong. They were shown to (sometimes) work jobs. In some ways, Sue Storm and Lily Munster demonstrated empowerment for women everywhere.
In the Fantastic Four comic book series, Sue—as “Invisible Girl”—was a character whose powers grew over time. At first, she was merely invisible, and there were earl scenes where she struggled with whether that was a helpful superpower. But over time she developed the ability to create energy bolts and force fields. (And even, eventually, was renamed “Invisible Woman.”)
Fantastic Four issue #11 even had a scene where they received a fan letter complaining about Sue—and Reed and Ben defend her. (It’s not a great defense. But at least they tried.)
On The Munsters show, Lily often performed the activities that were at that time considered “normal” for women in a sitcom. But as a unique character that stood out among regular humans, Lily did sometimes impact the stories with her intellgence and her strength.
And in more than one episode, Lily took on work. In various episodes, Lily served as a welder in a shipyard; as a fashion model; as a palm reader in a tea room; and even opened a beauty parlor.
Granted, it is possible that both examples—the strengths of Sue and Lily—were more about the era. These stories may have been inspired by the power of feminism beginning to bubble up for future generations.
But given the timetable, is it possible that The Munsters writers were exploring ideas with Lily based on how they saw Sue being characterized in the Fantastic Four series?
#09 The Munsters and the Marvel Comics characters save people from danger.
As Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko kicked off the Marvel Comics world, one of the unique angles is that their stories were (mostly) character-driven. That is, they weren’t all crime fighters solving mysteries. Many of the Marvel series focused on left-of-center characters dealing with their oddities.
Which sometimes ran them into conflicts and they stopped bad guys or saved people. But they were almost never actually called upon or hired to fight crime.
To put it more plainly: The Fantastic Four weren’t crime fighters. They were scientific explorers. Who kept running into despots and cosmic threats and the like—but they weren’t looking for them.
In a similar way, the Munsters also would run into conflicts. And also ended up stopping bad guys or saving people. They were just trying to live a normal life, and kept running into bank robbers, con artists, and smugglers. And this did seem to happen a lot for a family sitcom…
Further reading: The Munsters: 10 Crime Stories)
#10 The Munsters and some key Marvel characters are older than “normal” people.
Granted, this shared trait would be more of a coincidence than anything deliberate. That said, it’s interesting that The Munsters and Marvel Comics both have characters who’ve been around longer than normal folks. And, for that matter, this trait looks more obvious now than it would have seemed in 1964.
In the case of Marvel Comics, they have characters who started their stories in the 1940s—and today, that’s still the case. What I mean is that for many characters set in the present day who were introduced decades ago, as the years pass you generally assume that their origins have moved forward with us.
For example, in early stories for the Fantastic Four, members Reed Richards and Ben Grimm had both served in the military during World War 2. But as time passed—and Marvel wanted them to stay at a certain age when it’s “today”—the flashbacks changed to them serving in different military operations. That way, they would still be the correct ages today.
However, there are Marvel characters who served during WW2—like Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and the original Nick Fury. And there are reasons in their stories that you can’t change that. So now these characters today are older than their current peers—and their stories explain how they could have that history and still seem so much younger.
In the same way, the family members of The Munsters also have long histories. And part of that is because of the literary beginnings of Frankenstein’s Monster (1818) and Count Dracula (1897).
Over the series they’d occasionally discuss their advanced ages. But since they didn’t think anything unusual about it, they talked about these circumstances pretty plainly.
For example, Grandpa would often talk of his relationships with specific historical figures or share photos or home movies of historical events. He would also talk about outliving more than 150 wives that he’d married over the decades. In “Munster Masquerade”(episode 1.1), Grandpa mentions he’s been married 167 times. (And—although his wives are all dead—he says that he still keeps in touch with them.) In “Yes, Galen, There Is a Herman” (episode 1.38), Grandpa showed the family some home movies, like that time he was at the volcanic explosion in Pompeii in 79 A.D.
As for Herman, he was created in the 1800s by Dr. Victor Frankenstein. We find out in “Happy 100th Anniversary” (episode 2.6) that Herman and Lily were married in 1865.
By the way, we also find out in “Low-Cal Munster” (episode 1.6) that Herman also served during WW2. So, if Marvel Comics and The Munsters ever decided to make a crossover...
Further reading: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: 13 Facts About One Of the Most Influential Books in Literature
#11 The Munsters and the Fantastic Four had crazy cars.
Another parallel between the Fantastic Four and The Munsters was that both families had over-the-top vehicles to take them on family trips.
In the case of the FF, many of their travels required them to take the The Fantasticar. Making its debut in Fantastic Four #3 (1962), it was an oval flying car that splits into multiple sections that can be piloted by individual members of the Fantastic Four. Over the years, the FF have traveled on many adventures in various models of the Fantasticar.
Meanwhile, the main family car for The Munsters was custom made by a local car dealer in the episode “Rock-A-Bye Munster” (episode 1.4). Lily asked them to make it for Herman’s birthday, requesting the garage to combine a sports car with a hearse.
The Munster Koach appeared in more than 20 episodes of the original series. It was also used in the 1966 theatrical movie Munster, Go Home!
#12 The Munsters and Marvel Comics are character driven.
Let’s talk a moment about the history of comic books. If you go back and read what came before the launch of the Marvel Universe—in particular, what came from other companies—most of those stories were plot-driven. They were puzzles solved by interchangeable characters who all talked the same and thought the same.
So, while I have enjoyed the historical study as I read some of those old comic books, I didn’t always enjoy them.
But one of the charcteristics that Lee and Kirby brought to Fantastic Four—and that kicked off the Marvel Universe as something GREAT—was that the series was character-driven. There was snappy dialogue, there was humor, there were personality conflicts, there was bickering, there were doubts, there were arguments about morality and ethics and risking your own life to help other people (or even save the world).
And the Fantastic Four approach led to later Marvel Comics also being character-driven. Most of the stories are impacted by who they are and how they think and what they feel about what’s going on.
In the same way, The Munsters episodes are driven by the characters. These plots go in odd directions because of how they think and how they bicker and how they embrace members of their family.
#13 The Marvel characters and The Munsters deal with prejudice.
Another similarity between Marvel Comics and The Munsters—which made them stand out from their relative competitors—was that both dealt with prejudice from their beginnings. Starting in the early 1960s, both demonstrated the importance of accepting people who look and think differently from you.
When Stan Lee passed away, Christian Science Monitor wrote how he and his co-creators used their platform to influence generations of readers.
“Marvel Comics introduced a generation of comic book readers to an African prince who rules a mythical and technologically advanced kingdom, a black ex-con whose brown skin repels bullets, and the X-Men, a group of heroes whose superpowers are as different as their cultural backgrounds. The works and ideas of Lee and the artists behind T’Challa, the Black Panther; Luke Cage, Hero for Hire; and Professor Xavier’s band of merry mutants— groundbreaking during the 1960s and ’70s—have become a cultural force breaking down barriers to inclusion.”
In fact, the strength of the X-Men brand at Marvel Comics has attracted fans who come from all kinds of groups. Many of their readers can relate to being treated as an “outsider” and enjoy the stories that show how outsiders can make an impact and be important.
As for The Munsters, their entire lifestle reflects the problems of prejudice. They are “different” from their neighbors—but clearly deserve to be listened to and respected and loved.
Granted, this was a comedy starring white people with lots of makeup. But many viewers have recognized the themes running through the series and appreciated what they represent in the bigger picture.
And, of course, Herman made an impact with his speech in “Eddie’s Nickname” (episode 1.19):
“The lesson I want you to learn is it doesn’t matter what you look like. You can be tall or short, or fat or thin, ugly or handsome like your father, or you can be black or yellow or white, it doesn't matter. What does matter is the size of your heart and the strength of your character.”
Further reading: 45 Important Black Comic Book Superheroes
Bonus: The Munsters and Marvel Comics both have werewolves and vampires
Of course, Marvel Comics and The Munsters both continued beyond their early 1960s origins. While we’re talking about their similarities, this is a chance to celebrate the many monsters that showed up in the two worlds in the years since.
For Marvel, more monsters that showed up include Dracula and Blade, Frankenstein’s Monster, Man-Thing, Venom, Morbius the Living Vampire, Ghost Rider, and more. In fact, you can find a whole list here: 25 Monsters Who Are Marvel Superheroes
For The Munsters, there have been several monsters that have showed up in episodes or in one of the revivals, remakes, or reboots. That list includes Creature From the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera, and Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. You can find more info here: The Munsters: 7 Classic Monsters in the Family
How Marvel Comics and The Munsters impacted future storytellers…
Looking at the historical origins of both Marvel Comics and The Munsters sitcom series, we find two very rare early examples that showed monsters being the good guys. They were the ones making our lives better.
In the decades since, there have been several examples that were likely inspired by one or both worlds. These monster heroes have included Hellboy and the BPRD, The Goon, Vampire Hunter D, Gargoyles, the Toxic Avenger, Harry Dresden, Swamp Thing, Monster Squad (the show, not the movie), plus characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
How have Marvel Comics or The Munsters impacted you?
Let us know what you love about them in the comments below!
More stuff about Marvel
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: 13 Facts Behind the Disney+ Series
Why ‘She-Hulk’ paid tribute to 1970s Hulk series starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno
Watch the new The Marvels trailer—three superhero ladies in theaters this November
26 Swamp Monsters from Myths, Comics, X-Files, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more
Other cool stuff from Monster Complex
![[Flashback] Dracula by Bram Stoker—“the events really took place…”](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e613d28fefad366b93ece35/1672758367957-L2T5WIIZLPIF6YE0P4GS/Stoker-Dracula-books-editions.jpg)
Further reading online
How Marvel Comics Helped Reduce Racism in the World (Psychology Today)
Monstrous Outsiders: Inequality and Prejudice in “The Munsters” (Medium)
Marvel fans reflect on Stan Lee’s legacy of fighting prejudice (Christian Science Monitor)
Munsters episode review: Two normal people a taste of the prejudice typically directed at the Munsters (Midnite Reviews)
How Marvel Reaches Fans of All Ages (Publishers Weekly)
Why The Munsters Are So Beloved (Slash Film)
Sue Storm: The fantastic feminist icon (sportskeeda)
How The Munsters Became An Unlikely Civil Rights Icon (Screen Rant)
5 Reasons Why Fantastic Four Is Marvel’s Most Important Film Since Endgame (ScreenRant)
28 Facts You Might Not Know about The Munsters (Neatorama)
The Effect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Modern Pop Cuture and Society (GAA Roars)
The Munsters: A guide to every version of the spooky family (Syfy)
The Colossal Impact of Marvel Entertainment on Pop Culture (ManipalBlog)
Butch Patrick from ‘The Munsters’: The legacy of this monstrous TV classic (WGN Radio 720)
How the Marvel Cinematic Universe Swallowed Hollywood (New Yorker)
The BEST episodes of The Munsters (Episode Ninja)
Marvel’s Impact on Pop Culture (Studocu)
How to stop racism and discrimination - Herman Munster’s Wise Advice (Dare to embrace your differences)
Horror and comedy both make us jump—which is why these elements work together so well together. Looking at books from authors like Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Tanya Huff, Kelley Armstrong, John Scalzi, Diana Rowland, and Kevin J. Anderson, plus many authors you should meet.