A cigar-smoking duck from another world is pulled to Cleveland against his will and has to stop something much worse from following him through.
It is a comedy, it is very strange, and it was executive produced by George Lucas. Howard is an ill-tempered anthropomorphic duck yanked across dimensions into Ohio, where he acquires a band, a job at a hot tub emporium, and a demonic problem.
It matters to this catalogue for a reason that has nothing to do with quality. It was the first theatrical Marvel film since the Captain America serial of 1944, and its commercial failure is a large part of why the next serious attempt took more than a decade.
Show detailsIt was supposed to be animated
The screenplay was written for animation. The film became live action because of a contractual obligation, which is how a talking duck ended up being played by a person in a suit rather than drawn.
It was released in the United Kingdom under a different title, Howard… A New Breed of Hero, which is a sentence that tells you a great deal about how the marketing was going.
Sources
Facts last checked on Sep 7, 2026
Released: August 1, 1986