Superheroes

Upchuck as a superhero, an alter-ego shot from the Daria's Inferno PC game

The only canonical superheroes: "Coolman and Dr Weird" from Beavis and Butthead issue 8

Superheroes were used as occasional fodder for Alter Ego images in the Daria show. In-universe, Kevin Thompson is a fan of the fictional superhero Ratboy, Daria once saw Beavis and Butt-head running around thinking they were superheroes (and getting a beating). Marvel superhero The Thing was seen at Burger World once with his chronicler, Stan Lee.

The Thing (right), a superhero, enjoys his downtime

In Daria fanfic, superhero fics are a subset of alternate-universe storytelling, in which one or more characters of the show have fantastic powers beyond the norm and use their abilities to fight evil (or commit it). This form of story has become increasing popular in recent times. Crossovers with either the DC Universe or the Marvel Universe are frequent.

Examples are many and varied, ranging from farcical comedies to world-destroying melodramas. Among other stories offering Daria characters with startling powers and abilities are these.

• Doggieboy and many other contributors: Tales of the Ringbearers

• The Angst Guy: "The Amazing Adventures of D-Day and the Mighty Jane," "Deus Jane" (Jane), "A Hard Days' Night" (many characters), "Illusions" (the Angel character; story written with CharlieGirl and Angelinhel), "Jane Unchained" (Jane), "A Knight to Remember" (the Batmobile), "Like Angels' Visits, Short and Bright" (Amy Barksdale), "Making the Breast of It" (Brittany), "The Morgendorffer Code" (Quinn), "No One Lives Forever" (Brittany), "Nuthouse" (Jake), "Outcasts from Beyond," "The Original Underground Government-Suppressed Version of Brother Grimace’s Classic Daria Fanfic, 'The Sun Will Come Out, Tomorrow'," "Scarlett" (many characters), "The Thirteenth Man" (Mack), "Three Ways of Looking at a Tiffany Blum-Deckler" (Tiffany), "Uranium in the Drinking Water" (Daria).

• Brother Grimace: Although not technically considered as superheroes, several characters with powers appear in "Lunch Hour In Lawndale," "It's All About Respect," "Tapped Potentials," and "Behind Enemy Lines." Daria also appears as the 'Dark Defender' (a Supergirl-styled heroine) in 'Back in Fifteen Minutes'.

• Ranger Thorne: Daria's Web series (Daria/Spider-Man)

• Roentgen and Brother Grimace: "Legion of Lawndale Heroes," an ongoing series based on DC's Legion of Super Heroes.

• NightGoblyn: "Lawndale's Finest: The Last Daughter of Krypton," a fusion with DC universe where Jane takes Superman's place and Daria takes Batman's.

• Richard Lobinske made Daria the daughter of Marvel's Doctor Doom in his Daria Von Doom Series. While she technically is not superpowered, numerous powered characters from the Marvel Universe appear in the stories, including Doctor Doom, The Fantastic Four, Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards, Spider-Man, Kang the Conquerer, and Mephisto.

Essays on Daria Superheroes

• "Daria and the Marvel Universe," by DJW
• "Jane Lane: Hero in the Making?" by TAG