Only Fools And Horse – The First Use Of ‘Plonker’ In A Marvel Comic

A little while ago someone not entirely unconnected to Marvel Comics asked me of the nature of the word “plonker” in British slang and just wanted to check whether it could safely be used in an American comic book without, for want of a better phrase, scaring the horses. I replied that while the word is a euphemism for “penis” and used to indicate that someone is an idiot, it was relatively harmless. And that it was a swear word of choice from the character Derek Trotter, or Del Boy, played by David Jason in the long-running and family-aimed British sitcom, Only Fools And Horses, as a replacement for more offensive words. Indeed, here is a compilation.

Hopefully no one got triggered by that. So, for its first appearance in a Marvel comic book in today’s Avengers #53, it is fitting that it comes from the mouth of an actual horse. Known, simply as Horse, he is Valkyrie’s steed, from the stables of Asgard, and sporting a very strong Northern accent indeed.

Though “plonker” is far more of a London word, it’s clear that Horse has binged the box sets or streamed Ony Fools And Horses from Britbox, in the downtime when Valkyrie has been living her Jane Foster life… Avengers #53 is published by Marvel Comics today. And glad to have been of help. It did at least mean that Marvel could avoid something like the following from a few decades ago…

Mange tout, mange tout…

AVENGERS #53
MARVEL COMICS
DEC211010
(W) Jason Aaron (A/CA) Garron, Javier
ASSAULT ON AVENGERS MOUNTAIN!
The Avengers’ impenetrable headquarters is under attack, by the most supremely powerful version of Dr. Doom in existence and a wildly murderous Young Thanos, still wet with his mother’s blood. The Black Panther fights to defend the mountain alongside his surprising new teammates, King Namor of Atlantis and Jane Foster, the mighty Valkyrie. Rated T+In Shops: Feb 09, 2022 SRP: $3.99