C-list villains face A-tier problems in exclusive trailer for Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum's Minor Threats

Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum have been working together in the world of discount supervillains for a while at this point. As the showrunners of Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. on Hulu, the duo explored the lives of some of Marvel’s least-impressive (but funniest) villains, not least of which being Oswalt’s own take on A.I.M.’s most dysfunctional boss/creation.

Now, we’ve got an exclusive new trailer for another dip by the pair into the world of costumed criminal mediocrity, in the form of their Dark Horse comic series Minor Threats. Narrated by Oswalt, the trailer lays out the premise of the book: A crew of minor supervillains find themselves trapped between murderous heroes and psychotic top-tier villains after a sidekick gets killed in the line of duty. As Twilight City erupts into violence, C-list villains like Playtime and Pigeon Pete realize that they only way to get out of the crossfire is to take down the much badder bad guys themselves.

Originally release last year, and now collected in its first trade paperback edition, Minor Threats was written by Oswalt and Blum, with art from Scott Hepburn, colors from Ian Hering, and lettering by Nate Piekos.

When asked why he’s been drawn back, time and again, to the world of also-ran villains, Oswalt responded by noting that, “Comic villains are a fun way to amplify a lot of the precarious emotions and motivations that move us through a day, or a life. What would your envy look like if you also had a death-stare? How would your rage manifest if you had super-strength? And how would you carve out a normal, day-to-day life—or would you even want one? (Adds Blum: “What sort of tragic life would lead someone to put on a snake costume and rob jewelry stores as their only option?”)

As to why they gravitate to the sillier side of the supervillain equation, here’s Oswalt again; “It probably isn’t silly to them if their ability to create puzzles or punch through walls is the only way to pay their rent and put food on the table. And out of that need—in the face of being seen as silly — comes real humanity.” Blum: They’re “People with big hopes and dreams that never quite worked out—so it’s a life of freeze gun robberies and vigilante beat downs until the bitter end.”

Minor Threats Volume 1: A Quick End To A Long Beginning hits stores on June 20.