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Muppets Take The Marvel Universe (2026) #1

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TONIGHT'S VERY SPECIAL GUEST STARS - THE MARI/EL UNIVERSE! To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of THE MUPPET SHOW...we bring you a crossover no one saw coming! Join EISNER-winning writer and one of the world"s greatest Muppet fans CHIP ZDARSKY along with a cadre of Marvelously talented creators as they unleash The Muppets' trademark chaos on the MARVEL UNIVERSE. ROWLF THE DOG kidnapped by MOJO? KERMIT THE FROG, MISS PIGGY, FOZZIE BEAR, SPIDER-MAN, BLACK PANTHER and EMMA FROST to the rescue? DR. BUNSEN HONEYDEW and BEAKER experimenting with GAMMA RAYS and PYM PARTICLES? What could go wrong? Find out in this epic tale told in the MIGHTY MARVEL MUPPET MANNER!

Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2026

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About the author

Chip Zdarsky

951 books907 followers
Chip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.

Source: Wikipedia.

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5 stars
89 (63%)
4 stars
38 (27%)
3 stars
10 (7%)
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2 (1%)
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Profile Image for Chad.
11.2k reviews1,113 followers
September 24, 2026
This was so much better than I expected. Chip Zdarsky got the assignment and delivered. The main story has so many little moments that work so well, like Fozzie and Spider-Man bonding over jokes or Deadpool and Gonzo comparing the crazy stunts they've tried. The premise is that Mojo kidnaps Rowlf for his new subscription service, Mojo+. The Muppets travel the multiverse to find heroes to help them get Rowlf back. Of course, they have to all put on a show. The back up stories are short. Some deliver while others are just OK. Zdarsky's lead story though makes it all worth a read.

Full disclosure. I'm a huge muppets fan. I even own one that I made at the Muppets Whatnot Workshop.
Profile Image for Scoobyfan93.
44 reviews1 follower
September 24, 2026
50th Anniversary of The Muppet Show, this was such a surprising treat. It shouldn't work, but it does. It's not as hilarious as I would expect, but there are a few moments I laughed out loud, and its accompanied by some really well done artwork. There's respect for everything involved and the crafters of these anthologies really understood the assignment. 10/10
Profile Image for Cybernex007.
3,212 reviews18 followers
October 1, 2026
The heart and passion that went into this book is so prevalent and leaves me loving this so much. Every creative team here truly put there all into it but above all else it’s clear that Chip is meant to be writing muppets content. Everything is so on point but I will say it’s a little unsettling to continually see the muppets lower half throughout these stories. While I loved all of this, it’s truly the first story that comes in and knocks it out of the park from the start. And hey the funny thing is Woods can’t give sharp jaw lines to puppets, lol. We jump on to find a standard chaotic session of the muppet show as Rowlf has to swoop in to woo the crowd to win them back with his playing…but this crowd has a special guest on the form of a talent scout sent by Mojo for the new Mojo+ streaming service and Rowlf isn’t getting a choice. A note was left behind to let them known Rowlf was chosen for their multiversal content which also means a classic road trip is not in order to get him back…thankfully Bunsen and Beaker have something that may help as one of Bunsen’s multiversal counterparts has reached out to give him a portal and introduce him to the interdimensional council of bunsens. Hilariously it was the human Bunsen who I am fairly certain I’ve seen in the pages of the 80s mister miracle series before, lol, who have even the portal and points them in the direction of a portal to a world with much more popular champions to help them bonnet time of need.

The muppets split up as they search the marvel universe for people to help, an ad leading them to the doorstep of Howard the duck first and foremost to get their journey started on familiar footing. Miss Piggy attempts to use the lighting to give a noir mood to convince him to help them, but Kermit turns on the lights and finds that plainly asking for super hero help is more than enough. Easy job for Howard, all he has to do is text some heroes and leave. The first he hooks them up with his spider-man. Fozzie immediately makes a joke about spiders being notoriously squish-able and how they have to hole Mojo doesn’t have a giant rolled up newspaper…spider-man likes Fozzie’s attitude. Howard also sent a few of the muppets ahead to speak with the x-men, Wolverine got freaked out by gonzo and held him at knife point the entire time while kiss piggy talked them into helping. Emma Frost looked into Piggy’s mind to see if they are telling the truth, only to find that Piggy’s mind is filled with admiration for herself…causing my favorite moment where Emma becomes willing to die for Miss Piggy, lol. A lot more heroes have gathered now, Gonzo and Deadpool are hitting it off and Fozzie actually says “you’re from Wocka Wockanda” to black panther which is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. So many elements on these stories show this perfect blending of world.

Iron man gets the portal ready and Howard stays behind as everyone goes through to get Rowlf back. They find him playing a space piano and hooked into a machine pretty quickly, only for the lights to come on to reveal this is all a trap from Mojo arranged with the human Bunsen to lure a group of heroes and muppets to fill out his new streaming service…they are surrounded and if they ever want to leave with Rowlf then they will do exactly as Mojo says and put on their own variety show! MWHAHAHAHA! A lot of the heroes have their powers blocked and they can’t make a move without being noticed, so they have no other choice than to put on a good show…but all spider-man is concerned with is if Fozzie likes his crowd work videos. I love that spidey is constantly trying to get approval after knowing Fozzie for such a short amount of time. As the show is chaotically colliding together, Tony and Sue work on a plan off to the side with a few other heroes. But the show must go on, Kermit gives the introduction, Swedish chef Mae’s shish ka-bub’s on wolverine’s claws, Fozzie and spider-man riff off each other, we get a whole pig segment of them being force pirates, Captain America performs a public domain tanker doodle song, and gonzo and Deadpool blow themselves up…only to not come back as this is all part of the plan. As smoke filled the stage Sue used her powers to then them invisible so they can sneak off and free Rowlf. All while the electric mayhem hit the stage with Tony to blow the roof off the place with their tunes.

And they would have gotten away with the plan scott free if Deadpool could keep his mouth shut. But one of Mojo’s guards heard him and punched in the general vicinity to break the illusion, luckily Deadpool was close enough to slice Rowlf free as gonzo attacked the human Bunsen. It’s time for curtain call as all of the heroes and muppets run forward to find Mojo and their men, with Piggy delivering the final super kick to knock Mojo on their back…and with that creature’s size that is no easy feat. Mojo is arrested by his own police to turn his “total” into an event on his streaming service. The human Bunsen admits that he did it all as he was promised his own science show, which the mullet Bunsen totally understands. And as the story comes to an end Tony sits with Rowlf off to the side to ask why someone with as pure a talent as him stays with such a chaotic group.

Rowlf: “That group just traveled across universes to save me. It ain’t about the show. It’s never been about the show. It’s about doing a thing together, with friends who always have your back. Based on what I’ve seen, I think you know exactly what I mean.”

This moment legit made me tear up a bit, the perfect muppets story has you laughing and tearing up in moments. Cap is about ready to leave as Sam the eagle starts going into his opinions about prohibition never being repealed but before the leave everyone starts to think about all the employees on Mojoworld now out of a job…which means it’s time for a benefit concert! This issue ends with everyone signing their hearts out together as Statler and Waldorf riff their heads off with some great one liners. Just to name a few to bring us in lot the next story:

“Is invisible woman still here? ‘Cause I’d sure love her to help us disappear!”

“These guys really stick to their “no killing rule,” ‘cause they sure aren’t killin’ it on stage!”

The next story brings acclaimed scientists Hank Pym and Bruce Banner to Bunsen and Beaker’s science show. Tony asked them here to help spread science to the youth but Banner isn’t impressed by what he has seen which is Bunsen torturing his lab partner. Pym tried to defend them to get this over with, but then Bunsen has Beaker being lit a container of gamma radiated Pym particles…possibly the most dangerous thing ever. They express their concern and Bunsen tells them not to worry…he says this as he knocks the container out of Beaker’s hand, as it crashed on the ground it breaks open and covers beaker, causing him to transform into a giant hulked out Beaker. It’s glorious and our conclusion today is that gamma Pym particles are dangerous. Join is next time to explore the reactivity of terrigen mists, lmao.

The next story brings us to the adventures of PIGS IN SPAAAAACE!! There is a lot of bickering on board the ship beteeen Captain Link and First Mate Miss Piggy while Doctor Strangepork is kinda just there for the ride, lol. They find themselves in the “aftermath of an absolutely avoidable incident” where they now play the blame game…only to be interrupted as an alarm warning them of unidentified life forms boarding the ship! They huddle up and prepare to defend themselves, only for Rocket and griot to step on board. They aren’t where to hit anyone, they just see the ship cruising with the damage and thought to come aboard to help. Miss piggy takes a liking to the tall, bark, and handsome groot. But it doesn’t take long for Link to get offended he, as the captain, isn’t getting all the attention. Rocket doesn’t like the way Link is treating his first mate, and invites her to come along with them instead…even giving her the keys to their ship so they can all fly away together as pigs of the galaxy! Hahahaha!

PKJ comes in as the writer on the next completely dialogue free story where Wolverine finds himself broken down on the side of the road with nothing left worth saving but a bag of chips…only for the electric mayhem to roll up in their van to offer him a ride on their way to Vegas. Logan isn’t too big a fan of the tunes but he keeps his chip bag close to his chest to keep it away form animal’s hungry mouth until they finally get to a road stop he can puke at. But as the band goes inside, Logan finds someone trying to steal their ride. He runs up and digs his claws into the back, but rush the would be robber doesn’t realize is that animal stayed in the van to munch on Logan’s chips. Did I say this was dialogue free, well that was a lie as Animal yells out “BAD. MAN.” And attacks the thrived. Crashing the van as Logan drives back to pickup the others to continue their road trip!

In the next story Clea has come down with a terrible cold on the Sanctum Santorum and no soup Doctor strange makes would be as good as her mouth recipe…there is only one chef on earth capable of making it and when Steve promises her he will get the chef’s help she reveals the chef’s name is the Swedish chef. Stephen is not impressed with the chef’s abilities in the kitchen, he has no clue what he is doing and pretty quickly summons a portal on the pot by accident forcing Stephen to help clean it up. If this Swedish chef is incompetent there is a chance another on a different earth can make the soup he needs. But as Doctor strange explores the multiverse all he finds are different versions of the same crazy inept chef. Stephen heads back ready to make the soup himself, only to find the chef is done and is giving the soup to Clea now…and it’s perfect! Exactly what she needed! Stephen slips off to clean up the kitchen before he has to try it, lol.

We started on a high note and end on one as well, as the avengers find they are facing too many threats and down too many members…it’s time for a recruitment drive and fast for their next avengers. Lew Zealand and his boomerang fish is an immediate no as his fish lands on thor’s head. Pepe and his “suave nature” gets a kick out the door from black widow. Fozzie comes in hot with a knock knock joke:

Fozzie: “Knock knock”

Black widow: “who’s there?”

Fozzie: “Doctor!”

Black widow: “Doctor Who?”

Fozzie: “Take a number, time lord! This crossover is already crowded enough! Wocka Wock—“

BWAHAHAHA! Bunsen comes on with a machine meant to transform anyone into a superhero, he shows them this by dosing Beaker with “gamma rays, followed by a catastrophic cocktail of beta, zeta, and theta rays…next, we bombard him with concentrated cosmic rays…and a barrage of very angsty sting rays…followed by x-rays and heat rays…which we counteract with freeze rays…and then clobber him with blu-rays. That leaves just 89 rays to go!” BWHAHAHA! The issue ends as we see the line of muppets outside all sharing for their chance to become an avenger as Statler and Waldorf watch from Modoc’s chair and root for doctor doom to win, dohohohoho!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Declan O'Keeffe.
418 reviews4 followers
Review of advance copy
September 23, 2026
This is an absolute must read for Muppet and Marvel fans everywhere. This was so much fun!!!!!! Probably the most fun I've had reading a Marvel comic in a while.

I didn't even think these 2 casts of characters would crossover so well, and be so funny together. Chip Zdarsky wrote an incredibly fun and heartfelt main story arc bringing the muppets into the marvel multiverse. And The short stories were so much fun.

Even the silent 8 page story near the end had me howling with laughter.

If you love the Muppets and you love Marvel, please do yourself a favour and read this Wonderful homage to both franchises.
Profile Image for lily.
38 reviews7 followers
September 24, 2026
this was so incredibly amazing. doctor who reference too I’m so geeked
Profile Image for Robert Casper.
9 reviews
October 4, 2026
This turned out to be really good! I’m so glad they delivered on the heart of the Muppets. I enjoyed the pairings and the humor here. I especially liked Spidey, Fozzie, and Statler/Waldorf one-liners which were pretty clever.

I also liked the structure. Sometimes the short stories can be too brief like in the recent Marvel/DC specials. Here I liked the large story and then smaller, decent length stories focused on the Muppets who had less of a spotlight in the main story. These side stories also did a great job of mixing in the quirks from both universes which was fun to read.

The Muppets sometimes look like 3D renders which I don’t love. I guess they’re trying to make them look more like real puppets? There were some odd Marvel character choices where it felt like “throw some popular characters in here even if they just sit there” but it works. I would’ve liked a little more Sam Eagle and maybe some more Kermit but now we’re getting into nitpick territory if my main issue is that I need more!
288 reviews1 follower
October 2, 2026
I have been a fan of the Muppets for a long time and when I heard about a Muppets / Marvel crossover, I just had to take a look. This book was released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Muppet Show and it is so much fun.
Rowlf has been kidnapped and the Muppets travel the multiverse to find heroes to help them get him back. There are so many great touches in this. A fun read and definitely worth taking a look at.
Profile Image for Tanner Perusse.
116 reviews
September 24, 2026
SMH SMH…!
What a fun crossover! Seeing Spider-Man and Deadpool interact was the best part other than seeing Wolverine hold Gonzo hostage for a brief moment 😂
I wish the Beaker Hulk story was longer and seeing the Muppets full body was a bit weird lol but no harm I truly look forward to the future installments.
Profile Image for Tiago Andrade.
35 reviews17 followers
September 26, 2026
Not only this is a gorgeously-illustrated, more-fun-than-a-barrel-of-monkeys book, but it also kinda canonizes Scott Kurtz's "Rowlf is Muppet Jesus" theory.

420 reviews2 followers
September 23, 2026
This was entertaining but not especially hilarious. There a couple of laughs, imo, and the artwork was very good, for the most part. Fun enough but not essential.

3.5 stars rounded up.
Profile Image for Star.
77 reviews1 follower
September 23, 2026
This was a really good anthology. In true muppet fashion, the stories had a lot of heart and laughs. I also loved Miss Piggy getting her flowers because she truly is that girl.
Profile Image for Carlos.
106 reviews
September 26, 2026
Such a good read. So fun and pretty funny

Miss Piggy is a stand out but Rowlf has always been my favorite

Spider-man and Fozzy the Bear? Nuff Said 👌
Profile Image for Kris.
41 reviews
September 30, 2026
The Muppets vs Doom cliffhanger was a wild choice. They BETTER follow up in the movie 😡
Profile Image for Mark.
455 reviews3 followers
October 1, 2026
Celebrating 50 years of the Muppets by smashing them up with Marvel's superheroes across a collection of suitably silly stories.

Great escapism.
Profile Image for Tim.
273 reviews9 followers
October 2, 2026
An epically muppetational crossover!

I freaking loved this!!! It scratches every itch I have as a person. All the Gags are great. They work on so many levels.
Profile Image for Norrin Shearer.
773 reviews2 followers
October 9, 2026
This was perfect. I laughed out loud a couple of times. I love the Muppets and I love Marvel. This crossover felt scientifically engineered to please me specifically, and I love it for that.
Profile Image for Dominic.
Author 6 books27 followers
October 13, 2026
The main story is a bit contrived, but the short stories afterward are fun blends of the Muppets and Marvel
Profile Image for Faith.
1,306 reviews74 followers
October 17, 2026
Everything you ever wanted and more in a perfect crossover event
13 reviews
October 18, 2026
By the numbers, boring and predictable. All the tools and characters available and this is what they came up with? Lack of imagination.
Profile Image for James.
132 reviews
September 27, 2026
Better than it had to be! So weird to see the muppets with legs.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews