'South Park: The Fractured but Whole' Satirizes Marvel and DC Tentpoles

Only South Park could eviscerate a cultural staple like superhero movies and be smart about it. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker showed off the sequel to 2014’s South Park: The Stick of Truth with the superhero-themed South Park: The Fractured but Whole coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on December 6. Riffing on modern superhero franchises, the trailer is a gut-busting satire on the convoluted layout of tentpoles from the likes of Marvel and DC.

A follow-up to the Tolkien/fantasy spoof that was The Stick of Truth, the boys have changed up their neighborhood game and now don their superhero identities from the popular “The Coon” episodes.

But what splits them apart — and kicks off the game’s plot — is their disagreement over who gets to have what solo movie in their ambitious movie franchise. Marvel and DC aren’t spared in the slightest, especially with Marvel’s hesitance to spotlight a black superhero until its Phase Three.

And yes, with a title like The Fractured but Whole, it’s a Civil War parody.

The presentation at E3 also showed a glimpse of the game’s character creation in which players will create their superhero identity to fight with (or against) Eric Cartman’s The Coon. The demo selected a super speedster archetype, similar to Marvel’s Quicksilver or DC’s The Flash. Changes to the gameplay include a three-dimensional space during combat, as well as manipulating “Time,” or the play order players have in the game’s turn-based system.

South Park: The Fractured but Whole will release on December 6.