Zeb Wells is an American comic book writer , screenwriter, director, and voice actor. He is known for his work at Marvel Comics , as well as being a writer, director, and voice actor on the Adult Swim animated series Robot Chicken . He is also the co-creator and executive producer of SuperMansion , as well as the voice of Robobot and Groaner.
47-688: Wells grew up in Littleton, Colorado, and attended Columbine High School. Wells is an Emmy and Annie Award-winning writer and actor for the TV show Robot Chicken , including the Emmy -nominated Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II . He later directed the sixth and seventh seasons of Robot Chicken . Wells has written numerous titles like Heroes for Hire and Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways and various Spider-Man titles and in 2006 signed an exclusive contract with Marvel. He then wrote Venom : Dark Origin telling
94-683: A public address system at a McDonald's . Green provides the voice of Howard the Duck for the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Vol. 2 (2017) and the Disney+ animated series What If...? , as well as the Disney XD animated series Guardians of the Galaxy (2015–2019) and Ultimate Spider-Man (2016). Developing the character with James Gunn , Green did an impression of Danny DeVito , "being sort of
141-516: A gruff and cynical sarcastic character [who] doesn't know what the Earth species of duck even is and doesn't think of himself that way and is offended by that generalization." Green is a co-creator, co-producer, writer, director, and most frequent voice of the Emmy-winning stop-motion sketch parody comedy TV series Robot Chicken , for which he does many voices and has appeared in animated form. Green
188-572: A masked scientist, revealed to be a descendant of the Mad Scientist who first reanimated the Robot Chicken. The descendant mad scientist then proceeds to force the Robot Chicken to watch a wall of projected images with different shows. In an extended version (seen in the season 8 episode "Garbage Sushi" and the season 9 episode "3 2 1 2 333, 222, 3...66?"), the sequence begins with a destroyed Statue of Liberty buried in snow (a reference to Planet of
235-616: A short time in October 2014. Robot Chicken has partnered with various brands to produce television advertisements, including KFC in 2015, Burger King in 2017, and most recently, Kellogg's Pop-Tarts in 2023. Revolver Entertainment have released the first four seasons and all three Star Wars specials on DVD in the United Kingdom. A box set including the first 3 seasons and a box set including all three Star Wars specials have also been released. Madman Entertainment has released
282-511: A sixth season of Robot Chicken , which began airing in September 2012. The seventh season premiered on April 13, 2014. Season eight premiered on October 25, 2015. Season nine premiered on December 10, 2017. Season 10 premiered on September 29, 2019, containing the 200th episode. Season 11 premiered on September 6, 2021. Following the 2020 cancellation of The Venture Bros. , Robot Chicken became Adult Swim's longest running series, until it
329-476: Is friends with the band Fall Out Boy , making a cameo in their music video, " This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race ". He also appeared in "Weird Al" Yankovic 's " White & Nerdy " music video. He made two appearances on The Soup in 2007 and 2008, using his first appearance to lampoon Internet celebrity Chris Crocker . He voiced the character Jeff "Joker" Moreau , pilot of the Normandy -SR starship series in
376-632: The I.Sat Adult Swim block (after the Adult Swim block was canceled from Cartoon Network Latin America in 2008). Many of the show's sketches from Sweet J Presents were redone for Robot Chicken . Seth Green Seth Benjamin Green ( né Gesshel-Green ; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor. His film debut came with a role in the comedy-drama film The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), and he went on to have supporting roles in comedy films throughout
423-655: The Nickelodeon animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014–2017) and Joker in the Mass Effect video game series (2007–2012). Green created, directed, wrote, and produced the adult animated comedy series Robot Chicken and its spinoffs (2005–present), which have earned him three Primetime Emmy Awards and five Annie Awards . Seth Benjamin Gesshel-Green was born in Overbrook Park, Philadelphia , Pennsylvania,
470-434: The first season .). Some television networks and sketch shows rejected the series, including Comedy Central , MADtv , Saturday Night Live , and even Cartoon Network . However, someone at that network passed the pitch along to its nighttime programming block, Adult Swim , around the same time that Seth MacFarlane (various voices, 2005–2022) told Green and Senreich to pitch the show to the channel. On February 20, 2005,
517-552: The 1980s, including Radio Days (1987) and Big Business (1988). During the 1990s and 2000s, Green began starring in comedy films such as Idle Hands (1999), Rat Race (2001), Without a Paddle (2004) and Be Cool (2005). He also became known for his portrayal of Scott Evil, Dr. Evil 's son, in the Austin Powers film series (1997–2002). Green has also taken serious roles in films, including The Attic Expeditions (2001) and Party Monster (2003). He has provided
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#1733093467377564-506: The 1984 films Billions for Boris and The Hotel New Hampshire ; the second film cast him alongside Jodie Foster and Rob Lowe . He appeared in the 1987 film Can't Buy Me Love , playing Patrick Dempsey 's character's little brother, Chuckie Miller. He starred in Woody Allen 's Radio Days (1987) as Joe (a 1930s–1940s boy based on Allen) and appeared in Big Business (1988) and, in
611-486: The 2008–09 season. In January 2009, Green worked with David Faustino (Bud Bundy from Married... with Children ) for an episode of Faustino's show Star-ving – Faustino is often mistaken for Green. Later in the same year, he worked with one of his idols, Robin Williams , in the comedy film Old Dogs , which also starred John Travolta . On July 13, World Wrestling Entertainment 's official website announced Green as
658-518: The Apes ) when two drones are flying together until one scans the frozen Robot Chicken. In the ninth-season finale, the Nerd dies from a cliff-jump stunt in an attempt to get the show renewed. Beginning in the tenth season, a new opening sequence features the Nerd being turned into a cyborg by both the Robot Chicken and the Mad Scientist and being forced to watch the skits while they high five . The letters "TEN" in
705-407: The Mad Scientist's henchmen) in the process. Beginning in the sixth season (after the events of the show's 100th episode), the opening sequence features a role reversal. The Robot Chicken comes upon the body of the Mad Scientist, which has been decapitated. He turns him into a cyborg with a laser eye (this time blue instead of red, reflected by a title background color change). The chicken then straps
752-473: The US, featuring the voices of Star Wars notables George Lucas , Mark Hamill (from a previous episode ), Billy Dee Williams , and Ahmed Best . The Star Wars episode was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award as Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour). The series was renewed for a 20-episode third season, which ran from August 12, 2007, to October 5, 2008. After an eight-month hiatus during
799-552: The Vampire Slayer and asked to photograph them. Months later, Green asked Senreich to collaborate on an animated short for Late Night with Conan O'Brien , featuring toy versions of himself and O'Brien. This led to the 12-episode stop-motion series Sweet J Presents on the Sony website Screenblast.com in 2001. Conan O'Brien is voiced by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane in the first episode ("Conan's Big Fun"). Continuing
846-554: The Vampire Slayer . On occasion, some sources confuse the two and have credited Seth as the director. As an actor in the series, he was close to co-star Alyson Hannigan because they were lovers in the show. Green has starred on Fox's Greg the Bunny and guest-starred on The X-Files , That '70s Show , Will & Grace , MADtv , Reno 911! , Entourage , Grey's Anatomy , The Wonder Years , Heroes , The Facts of Life , The Drew Carey Show , and My Name Is Earl . On
893-611: The animated television comedy Family Guy , Green primarily voices Chris Griffin , the teenage son, who is overweight, unintelligent and, in many respects, a younger version of his father Peter Griffin . He also voices Neil Goldman, a neighbor of the Griffins. Green did an impression of Buffalo Bill from the thriller film The Silence of the Lambs during his audition. He has stated that his main inspiration for Chris' voice came from envisioning how Buffalo Bill would sound when speaking through
940-495: The concept of the web series, the show creators pitched Robot Chicken as a television series, the name being inspired by a dish on the menu at a West Hollywood Chinese restaurant, Kung Pao Bistro, where Green and Senreich had dined (other ideas for the series' name included Junk in the Trunk , The Deep End , and Toyz in the Attic ; some of these would be reworked into episode titles for
987-1157: The first 9 seasons of Robot Chicken and specials on DVD in Australia and New Zealand. Adult Swim released Robot Chicken: The Complete Series for digital purchase on iTunes and Vudu in July 2023. The series airs in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of E4 's Adult Swim block, in Canada on Adult Swim (previously Teletoon 's Teletoon at Night block from 2006 to 2019) and also in Quebec on Télétoon 's Télétoon la nuit block, in Australia on The Comedy Channel 's Adult Swim block, in Russia on 2x2 's Adult Swim block, in Germany on WarnerTV Comedy 's Adult Swim block (previously TNT Serie 's Adult Swim block from 2009 to 2017), and in Latin America on
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#17330934673771034-472: The first few seasons, the opening credits show a mad scientist reviving a roadkill chicken as a cyborg , then strapping it to a chair to watch an array of televisions. Later seasons iterate on this premise, such as having the Chicken and Scientist roles reversed. The original theme music is composed by Les Claypool . In the episode "1987", Michael Ian Black claims in the "Best Robot Chicken Ever" sketch that
1081-717: The handling of Ms. Marvel's death, which has been criticized as fridging . CBR's Andrew Cutler claimed the series "needs a course correction" and that "the creative team must make changes to improve the overall quality of the storytelling". Wells was married to Saturday Night Live cast member Heidi Gardner from 2010 to 2023. Robot Chicken Robot Chicken is an American adult stop motion-animated sketch comedy television series created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich for Cartoon Network 's nighttime programming block Adult Swim . The twelve-minute show consists of short unrelated sketches usually satirizing pop culture characters or celebrities. Toys are employed as
1128-451: The house show a baby Robot Chicken floating through space. Starting with the episode "May Cause a Whole Lotta Scabs", an extended version (set in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio) begins with a tribe of hominids watching the skits on the TVs while a hominid version of the Nerd bites a remote control to turn on the TV monitors. Suddenly, a hominid tries to take the remote, but the hominid Nerd kills it and gets
1175-444: The likeness of celebrities are used to portray them. Each episode is composed of short unrelated sketches varying from a few seconds to a few minutes long. Between each sketch is a moment of static , resembling the act of channel surfing on an analog TV . The show mocks popular culture , referencing toys, movies, television, games, popular fads, and more obscure references like anime cartoons and older television programs, much in
1222-433: The now-reformed Mad Scientist team up to rescue the presidents, after which, the Mad Scientist punishes his son by forcing him to watch the TV monitors and the Robot Chicken flies away, free. Beginning in the eighth season, a new opening sequence features the Robot Chicken frozen in a block of ice under snow, being uncovered by robots. Taken to a futuristic laboratory, the Robot Chicken is taken out of suspended animation by
1269-473: The opening sequence tells the viewers that they are the chicken, being forced to watch the skits. The frame story of the Robot Chicken and the Mad Scientist would not continue beyond the opening sequence until the 100th episode, entitled "Fight Club Paradise", when the chicken finally makes his escape and later kills the Mad Scientist when he takes his hen wife in response, fighting and killing several characters from previous skits (most of them being implied to be
1316-513: The origin of Eddie Brock and the Symbiote , as well as the Dark Reign : Elektra tie-in series. He wrote twenty of the first twenty-one issues of the third volume of New Mutants , a series he launched with artist Diogenes Neves, including the crossover with Necrosha . Being published in parallel with that series was Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Anti-Venom – New Ways To Live . Wells launched
1363-634: The players, animated via stop motion and supplemented by claymation . The voice cast changes every episode, and features many celebrity cameos . The writers, most prominently Green, also provide many of the voices. Robot Chicken has won two Annie Awards and six Emmy Awards . Robot Chicken was conceptually preceded by Twisted ToyFare Theatre , a humorous photo comic strip appearing in ToyFare . Matthew Senreich , an editor for ToyFare , got in touch with actor Seth Green when Senreich learned that Green had made action figures of castmates from Buffy
1410-640: The popular commercial. Green appeared in the horror TV series It (as Richie Tozier , age 12) and Ticks , all three Austin Powers films (as Dr. Evil's son, Scott), and Enemy of the State and The Italian Job (as a computer specialist in both). He was also in the films Can't Hardly Wait , Rat Race , Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed , Without a Paddle (alongside Matthew Lillard ), Idle Hands , Party Monster , Airborne , and Old Dogs . In 1994, he starred alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt in
1457-411: The remote back, segueing into the opening sequence. While Robot Chicken primarily features satirical versions of celebrities and existing popular characters in its sketches, it has also debuted some original characters created for the show. All Robot Chicken episodes from seasons 1-11 are available on Max . The show is streamed censored on the service until Season 5 . The show aired on TBS for
Zeb Wells - Misplaced Pages Continue
1504-665: The role. In 2019, he wrote and directed his first film named Changeland , starring Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin . The film was released on June 7, 2019. In 2021, Green reprised the role of Todo 360 in Star Wars: The Bad Batch . The following year, Green voiced Thunderbolt in the third season of Stargirl , replacing Jim Gaffigan . After getting engaged on New Year's Eve in 2009, Green married actress Clare Grant on May 1, 2010, in Northern California. They worked together on Robot Chicken , Warren
1551-625: The same vein as comedy sketch shows like Saturday Night Live . A recurring motif involves fantastical characters being placed in mundane or adult situations (such as Stretch Armstrong requiring a corn syrup transplant after losing his abilities due to age, Optimus Prime performing a prostate cancer PSA , and Godzilla experiencing sexual dysfunction ). Robot Chicken features a rotating ensemble cast of recurring performers and cameos. Its most frequent performers include Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, Breckin Meyer , Tom Root , and Dan Milano . For
1598-502: The same year, My Stepmother Is an Alien , which also starred Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Alyson Hannigan . In 1984, Green portrayed Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer in the Jell-O Gelatin Pops commercials featuring The Little Rascals . In 1991, Green rose to fame in a Rally's "Cha Ching" commercial, which earned him an appearance at a New Orleans Saints game. Green was given a key to New Orleans in honor of his role in
1645-587: The scientist to the same chair he was strapped to and forces him to watch the same TV monitors while the chicken and his wife share a kiss. In the seventh-season episode "Chipotle Miserables", the Mad Scientist's son rips out his father's remaining eye to open a door controlled by an optical biometric reader, then creates a posse of reanimated cyborg animals, as well as a cyborg homeless person . The posse then proceeds to kidnap all five then-living US presidents: Jimmy Carter , George H. W. Bush , Bill Clinton , George W. Bush , and Barack Obama . The Robot Chicken and
1692-720: The series Avenging Spider-Man with artist Joe Madureira in November 2011. He later wrote two Carnage miniseries with artist Clayton Crain : Carnage: Family Feud and Carnage: U.S.A . In 2015 Wells co-created the stop-motion animated comedy television series SuperMansion and directed the first season. In 2021, Wells was announced as one of the writers for the Amazing Spider-Man : Beyond storyline. In 2022, Wells took over as lead writer for The Amazing Spider-Man along with artist John Romita Jr. starting in April 2022. The book
1739-426: The series premiered on Adult Swim. The show was created, written, and produced by Green and Senreich and produced by ShadowMachine Films (Seasons 1–5) and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios in association with Stoop!d Monkey , Williams Street , Sony Pictures Digital (Seasons 1–5) and Sony Pictures Television (Seasons 6–10). The program aired a 30-minute episode dedicated to Star Wars that premiered June 17, 2007, in
1786-448: The short-lived series The Byrds of Paradise . The two additionally appeared in 1998's Can't Hardly Wait . Green also had a role in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . He played Daniel "Oz" Osbourne , a calm, mild-mannered member of the band Dingoes Ate My Baby who gets turned into a werewolf . The character was very popular among fans of the series. Green is not related to Bruce Seth Green , who directed some episodes of Buffy
1833-486: The son of Barbara (née Gesshel) and Herbert Green. He has one sister, Kaela. Green later legally changed his name to Seth Benjamin Green. He was raised Jewish and had a bar mitzvah ceremony. His ancestors were from Russia, Poland, and Scotland. Green started acting at the age of 7. His early comic influences included Monty Python , Blackadder , Saturday Night Live , Richard Pryor , Bill Cosby , Porky's , and Caddyshack . Green's first film roles were in
1880-556: The special guest host for the July 13 episode of WWE Raw , and on that night, Green competed in the main event , a six-man tag team match, which his team won by disqualification . He was also in attendance for WWE's biggest event of the year, WrestleMania XXVI on March 28, 2010. Green guest-starred in the third season of the acclaimed sitcom Husbands . Green became the new voice of Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles following Jason Biggs ' departure from
1927-511: The third season, the show returned on September 7, 2008, to air the remaining 5 episodes. The series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on December 7, 2008, and ended on December 6, 2009. In early 2010, the show was renewed for a fifth and sixth season (40 more episodes total). Season five premiered on December 12, 2010. The second group of episodes began broadcasting on October 23, 2011. The 100th episode aired on January 15, 2012. In May 2012, Adult Swim announced they were picking up
Zeb Wells - Misplaced Pages Continue
1974-497: The title are highlighted to mark the show reaching ten seasons. In the 200th episode, as the title is shown, David Lynch shouts "Robot Chicken!" in an off-screen voice. In the eleventh season, a new opening sequence features the Mad Scientist launching the Robot Chicken off a space station in a capsule. The capsule then crashes on the ground where the Robot Chicken meets another cyborg chicken, only in an elderly state (alluding to 2001: A Space Odyssey ). The monolith -shaped TVs in
2021-465: The video games Mass Effect , Mass Effect 2 , and Mass Effect 3 . He is a producer of The 1 Second Film and appears in the "making of" documentary that accompanies its feature-length credits. Green is also the co-creator (with Hugh Sterbakov) of the comic Freshmen , published by Top Cow Productions . Green and Robot Chicken co-producer Breckin Meyer appeared in the NBC show Heroes during
2068-461: The voice for Howard the Duck in a number of Marvel Cinematic Universe films and series, including Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) and in the animated series What If...? (2021–present). In 2019, he wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy-drama film Changeland . Green's first lead role on television
2115-520: Was on the ABC sitcom Good & Evil in 1991, for which he won a Young Artist Award . Green later gained attention for his supporting roles as Oz , a teenage guitarist and the boyfriend of Willow Rosenberg , on the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2000), and as the voice of Chris Griffin on the Fox adult animated comedy series Family Guy (1999–present). He also voiced Leonardo in
2162-528: Was relaunched with a new #1 after the Beyond storyline, making it the sixth new #1 for the title. In 2023, Wells claimed Marvel Editorial warned him not to attend any comic conventions after the release of #26 due to a surprising plot twist in the issue (later revealed to be the death of Ms. Marvel ). Wells' run has come under scrutiny, particularly for another dissolution of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson's relationship, Mary Jane's new love interest Paul Rabin, and
2209-718: Was surpassed by Aqua Teen Hunger Force after its renewal in 2023. After not having released new episodes since April of 2022, Seth Green announced in a live-streamed interview that, while a new full season of Robot Chicken would likely not be ready in time for the following year, a new half-hour Robot Chicken special is slated to release sometime in 2025. In a later interview, Green announced that Robot Chicken will be moving away from 20-episode seasons and towards doing specials. Robot Chicken employs stop-motion animation of toys, primarily action figures , as well as claymation and sometimes other objects, such as socks, paper bags, and popsicle sticks. Custom action figures made in
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