Whatever you may have thought about Bohemian Rhapsody, one thing is undeniable: its massive financial success has created an entire new generation of fans for Queen and Freddie Mercury. And that is absolutely a good thing.
With a $900 million global gross for the film, Freddie is now standing neck and neck with the biggest Hollywood superheroes. So it’s only appropriate that legendary singer should get the superhero treatment himself. In a new series of prints (via The Laughing Squid), Brazilian artist Butcher Billy has reimagined the Queen frontman as various comic book heroes, with classic Queen song titles as the names of the stories showcased on the fictional covers. The series is called “ Planet Mercury Comics,” which we think Freddie would have approved of.
Freddie gets a turn at filling the tights of several major comic book characters, ranging from Superman to Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen. And in an homage to Freddie’s drag look from the infamously banned video for “ I Want to Break Free,” we see Freddie don the iconic tiara of Wonder Woman herself. The Joker, Flash, and Shazam get included too, as well as an illustration which references the Superman/Batman fight from The Dark Knight Returns. But it’s not all DC characters, as Marvel gets represented with a little bit of Freddie “Hulking out.”
And although it’s not a comic book per se, one of these illustrations has Freddie Mercury doing his best Game of Thrones “Ned Stark in season one promo pic” pose while sitting on the Iron Throne. Of course the title is now “Queen of Thrones,” which we think is only fitting. And the iconic onstage moment when Freddy sat on Darth Vader’s shoulders while on stage in a Flash Gordon t-shirt gets its due as well.
For more of Butcher Billy’s amazing tribute to Freddie Mercury, be sure to check out his online store.
Images: Butcher Billy / WatchMojo.com
