Love the action-filled, unreasonably
humorous and witty Marvel movies that have been coming out for the past ten
years? Love seeing Tony Stark banter with Captain Steve Rogers, or Natasha
Romanov prove that women are kickass? Well, you can thank the man behind the
universe – Stan Lee.
Stan Lee is a comic book writer, editor, publisher,
actor, and former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. He is the creator of
characters such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four,
Iron Man, Daredevil, Thor, the X-Men, and many others that can be found in the
Marvel Universe. As a child he was influenced by books and movies, particularly
those with Errol Flynn playing heroic roles, and he also enjoyed writing, with
dreams of one day writing the "Great American Novel". Lee began his
comic book career at Timely Comics,
doing miniscule tasks such as refilling inkwells and proofreading for the likes
of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon who would one day help Lee achieve his dreams of
writing. Lee’s first go at the story telling was in Captain America Comics #3.
In the 1950s, Timely would undergo its transition to Marvel Comics in response to
the emerging universe the DC Comics was producing. The editor of Timely, Martin Goodman asked Lee create
a new superhero team and Lee’s wife urged him to experiment with his own stories,
advice that he ran with. Lee created characters with flaws, a change from the
ideal archetypes that were typically written of superheroes with idealistically
perfect lives and no serious, lasting problems. Lee introduced the complex,
naturalistic characters that we enjoy in the movies today. The first superhero
group Lee and artist Jack Kirby created was the Fantastic Four. The team's
immediate popularity led many other new stories including the Hulk, Thor, Iron
Man, and the X-Men and Marvel's most successful character, Spider-Man. Lee was
able to create a universe in which all these characters could exist and in
which they could team up for initiatives such as the Avengers – a universe that
has been laid out for everyone in some pretty epic movies of late. Lee is a much respected mentor in the comic book industry, and many artists and writers today can name him as their inspiration - Lee pushed boundaries of censorship, practicality and relatability to his audiences, a feat that has yet to be matched by others in the field. At 94 years old, Lee is still creating new characters and interacting with the universe he created.
Of his creative process
Lee has said:
“To explain the creative
process would just be to give me a lot more competitors, if anybody is
listening to this. So, I would have to say I really have no idea. If we need a
new character and decide we need a new project, I just go home and do some
thinking, some doodling with a pencil and paper until an idea comes to me.”
I
believe that the mechanism of mental imagery has a large influence on Lee’s
creativity – his ability to visualize each of these characters and their
stories helped him to form an entire universe in his head before applying it to
the world. Ward, Finke & Smith argue that this ability to visualize in the
mind is an inherent aspect of those involved in the visual arts. This aspect of
creativity is obvious throughout Lee’s career and within his portfolio of
achievements.
Fun
fact: Stan Lee has a cameo in every Marvel movie.
I really enjoyed this blog entry. Since Marvel movies seem to be so present in the media these days, references to these movies and Stan Lee seems to be ubiquitous. It was interesting that you mentioned that he original intent on entering the world of writing was to write the next Great American Novel and I think in a way he has because comics seem to fit our mode of society and he has kind of allowed for that. It was also great to see that he basically created the modern flawed hero as opposed to the god-like heroes of the past.
ReplyDeleteI love action films. i find it really fascinating how recently Marvel has been creating blockbuster films and beating out DC. The idea of creating Superheros with flaws connects people to the characters a lot more. While I will always love Batman and Superman, i think by giving them flaws allowed for the movie franchise to delve deeper into their characters and allow for the serious humorous mixture that Marvel has perfected. I find it incredibly interesting how all of his movies seems to connect to each other and how the new Netflix series are also connected. i really love how the Netflix series seems to take the lesser known superheros such as jessica Jones and give them their own spotlight. One of his more experimental works Deadpool fascinates me because he constantly breaks the fourth wall to talk directly to the audience. Lee is still experimenting today with his spin off comic book series. The most controversial one was when Captain America was part of Hydra. i really love how the characters' strengths and weaknesses allow for deeper connections to the audience and incredibly wacky spin offs and characters.
ReplyDeleteAs a huge superhero buff and fan of all Marvel movies, I love this topic and this blog entry. Stan Lee's characters and heroes have been a part of my life since I was a kid as action figures, toys, on TV, and now in movies. I've always been fascinated with the different powers and abilities each superhero has. The creativity behind Lee's characters is one of a kind and his imagination and mental imagery is incredible. The best part about Lee and the Marvel universe is the way he is able to tie each movie and each character together in some way so that they are all related. Each movie has an effect on another one. And it just makes it all the more entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI also love how you mention his cameo in every Marvel movie! It's one of my favorite parts!