Now That She’s a Marvel Star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus Is Fielding Questions About ‘Seinfeld’s Dumbest Comic Book Debate
It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been kind of a mess for a while now. But while although may be frustrated by the franchise’s unresolved plot lines, disappointing streaming series and janky visual effects that resemble half-remembered nightmares…
…at least they have American treasure Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the payroll. Back in 2021, the Veep star began popping up in various Marvel shows and movies playing a shadowy government operative named Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who’s basically a slightly scarier Selina Meyer.
Louis-Dreyfus’ character will finally get some substantial screen time in Marvel’s latest offering Thunderbolts*, which is all about yet another ragtag group of conspicuously good-looking misfits who form a superhero team.
Just because Louis-Dreyfus has won 11 Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe and received the 2018 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, doesn’t mean that she won’t have to field goofy questions about her sitcom past/Tony Stark’s junk while promoting the movie.
In a new interview with Extra, Louis-Dreyfus was asked about Seinfeld, specifically the show’s many comic book connections. “I remember a lot of Superman talk and, of course, we did the ‘Bizarro Jerry’ episode,” the actress replied. “Dave Mandel was one of the writer-producers on Seinfeld — huge Marvel fanatic. Huge comic book expert. And he actually wrote the ‘Bizarro Jerry’ episode. So there (were) a lot of those references throughout the run of the show.”
While most of Seinfeld’s superhero references involved DC characters, there was one memorable moment in which Jerry and George have an “intense debate” about Iron Man, specifically whether or not he wears underwear “between his skin and his iron suit.” In the episode “The Voice,” which, incidentally, was co-written by Mandel, George insists that Tony Stark is totally naked underneath his armor. “Oh that makes a lot of sense,” Jerry sarcastically adds.
Even though Elaine wasn’t actually present for this scene, and Louis-Dreyfus likely doesn’t give a shit about the personal hygiene of a character who died two years before she joined the Marvel franchise, she was a good sport and weighed in on the fictional debate. “One hundred percent he’s got underwear on,” she responded. “Who are we kidding? How could he not?”
Of course, whether or not Robert Downey Jr. was wearing underwear beneath the Iron Man suit during filming is remains a question mark.
