Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment

Marvel's First "Bollocks" In A Non-Mature Superhero Comic?

Tomorrow's International Iron Man #6 by Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev, I am reliably informed, passed another social milestone. A Marvel non-mature readers superhero comic that uses the word "bollocks".

DC Comics has done it before now. With Constantine introduced in Brightest Day, thus.

 It was quite a jump for a comic without a mature readers label on the front. Well, five years later, it appears that Marvel Comics wants to join in.

It's partially that the American public don't see it as a swear word, more an attempt for Anglophiles to feel part of a special clique as they, invariably, misuse it. So what does it mean and where does it come from?

One of the first appearances of the word is in the John Wycliffe Bible of 1382, Leviticus chapter 22, verse 24 translated as "Al beeste, that … kitt and taken a wey the ballokes is, ye shulen not offre to the Lord…". Cut off the animal's testicles and you can't offer it as a sacrifice to God.

Another word for testicles or "balls", it' mostly used to describe that something is awful, pathetic, a disappointment, not fit for use. "It's a load of bollocks" is a common example. It is also an exclamation to express displeasure and disdain, as seen above.

Making the word a definitive article however, reverses that. If something is "the bollocks" or "the dog's bollocks" then it's very good indeed. Don't ask me why.

Oh and if you are giving someone a dressing down then you are "giving them a bollocking".

Its use in the Sex Pistols album title, Never Mind The Bollocks led to a court trial in which it was defended by members of the clergy. And while Marvel is now happy to join DC in having the word appear in a non-mature readers comic, the only regular British comic you'll see it commonly used in, is the over-18s only Viz Comic, specifically the character Roger Mellie, where it became a catchphrase. A Ron Burgandy style TV presenter, it would always be used inappropriately on live television.

Could we see a little bollock spread across the rest of Marvel as a result?

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!