The trials and tribulations of Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron
Man, Thor, the X-Men, and other Marvel Comics superheroes are familiar around
the world thanks to comic books and films. Somewhat less known are the
successes and struggles of the writer, publisher and showman Stan Lee, who was
pivotal — along with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko — in bringing so many
of Marvel’s characters to life.
اضافة اعلان
The documentary “Stan Lee” by director David Gelb that
debuts June 10 at the Tribeca Festival in New York City seeks to change that.
The film uses previously unreleased audio recordings and film footage and new
and archival interviews to tell Lee’s story. The film, which will be available
on Disney+ June 16, is a new way of seeing Lee, who was a constant presence in
the lives of fans thanks to his writing, voice work, television appearances and
Marvel movie cameos. Here are some notable ones.
Cameo appearances
When “Iron Man” was released in 2008, it was the beginning
of what is now known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also started a streak
of appearances by Lee in the films. In “Iron Man,” he is at a party and is
spotted by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), who confuses him for Hugh Hefner.
Not all his appearances were tongue-in-cheek. One of the
most sincere can be found in the opening of 2019’s “Captain Marvel,” which came
after Lee’s death in 2018. As the “Marvel Studios” logo comes into focus,
flashes of comic book images and dialogue give way to clips of Lee as swelling
music plays. When the logo fades, only the words “Thank You Stan” remain. Later
in the film he appeared in a more traditional cameo, shot before his death,
when Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) meets him on a train reading a “Mallrats”
script.
Voices carry
Lee’s voice and his catchphrase “Excelsior!” were comforting
to fans in many places. In addition to narrating several Spider-Man video
games, players could use “EEL NATS” (his name spelled backward) to unlock
levels.
In 1975, he narrated a “Fantastic Four” radio series. The
Human Torch was voiced by Bill Murray, who told Jimmy Kimmel last year that he
only remembered saying the character’s battle cry, “Flame On!”
In the final episode of “Spider-Man: The Animated Series”
(1994-98), Spider-Man, during an adventure through the multiverse, visits our
world. He meets Lee and swings him on spider-webs through the city. When the
mysterious Madame Web arrives to take the hero home, Lee asks, “Who is that
exotic lady?” Her voice was a clue: she was played by Joan Lee, his wife, who
died in 2017.
Distinguished competition
Stan Lee and Marvel are irrevocably linked, but he was no
stranger to working with superhero industry rivals DC Comics. From 2001–02, DC
released a “Just Imagine” series of stories written by Lee in which he
reinterpreted Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and other heroes. The company
revisited them last year with all new stories in honor of his 100th birthday.
A cartoon version of Lee also appeared in DC’s 2018 animated
film “Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.” In one scene, he dances, strikes action
poses and declares, “Hey everybody, look at me, doing my subtle cameo,” while
music plays and “Stan Lee” logos appear on the screen. He returns later and
says, “I don’t care if it’s a DC movie — I love cameos!” It was a sign of how
self-effacing he could be: poking fun at himself in a rival’s movie.
Letters from the editorLee wrote a multitude of stories, but readers heard from him
directly in the form of editorials on the back pages of many Marvel Comics.
“Stan’s Soapbox” columns, written between 1967 and 1980, allowed him to
ruminate on everything from the creative process to social issues.
Author Brad Meltzer wrote in Lee’s obituary for
Entertainment Weekly, “He gave an entire generation creeds to live by.
Principles to emulate.” One of Lee’s editorials, from 1968, started with this:
“Let’s lay it right on the line. Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest
social ills plaguing the world today.”
A collection of his editorials is available from the Hero
Initiative, a charity that helps comic book creators in need.
Birthday suit
The Marvel Fumetti Book, published in 1983, is a comic book
anthology using black and white photographs by Eliot R. Brown to tell its
stories. Readers were treated to behind-the-scenes looks at Marvel’s editorial
staff, who were sometimes shown acting out plot details.
In one story, Lee playfully admonishes the team for recent
developments, including “Alcoholic Iron Men!” and the mohawk haircut for the
X-Men’s Storm. “I’m not sure I like what I see!” he says. “Knock it off
already!”
He is also pictured in the comic’s centerfold lying on a
couch with a Hulk costume superimposed over him. But the original, unused photo
was bolder: It was a nude picture of him with a strategically placed comic
book.
Non-Marvel comics
In 2020, TidalWave Productions released “Tribute: Stan Lee,”
a 30-page biographical comic. It chronicles Lee’s career before and after
Marvel, the publisher’s initial forays into animation and television and some
of the creative gestalt that gave birth to the Fantastic Four and other
superheroes. The comic also notes the conflict between him and Kirby, the
artist who created many of the characters with Lee, who felt he was not given
enough credit or compensation for his hand in bringing those heroes to life.
One of Lee’s final projects was the serialized Webtoon comic
Backchannel, co-written by Tom Akel and drawn by Andie Tong, about a hacktivist
group. A collected edition will be released Aug. 15. Watch out for a cameo
appearance by Lee in Chapter 9. He is shown working at a movie theater, which is
based on one of his first jobs as an usher.
Read more Entertainment
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
