“Father of Marvel” Stan Lee Every superhero has his shadow
On December 28, 1922, in a small apartment on 98th Street and West Street in Manhattan, New York, a boy named Stanley Martin Lieber was born. No one thought that this descendant of Romanian Jewish immigrants would create the Marvel (Marvel) superhero universe on his own in the future and become an iconic figure in American pop culture-Stan Lee (Stan Lee).
On November 12, 2018, Stan Lee died in Los Angeles, a month short of the age of 96. Stan Lee, who is respectfully called “Old Man” by domestic Marvel fans, is a comic creator with humanistic feelings and an outstanding cultural businessman. Every superhero he creates has his shadow.
The Poor Boy’s Counterattack
Through Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel by American cultural historian and biographer Bob Batchelor, many people discover Stan Lee’s legendary life is almost as exciting as that of a superhero.
Stan Lee has a younger brother. When he was a child, the family of four lived very poorly. Despite this, Stan Lee’s parents have always educated their son to believe that he will have a bright future, hoping that he will become an optimist. Stan Lee has been doodling for as long as he can remember, often drawing the horizon first, then adding some stick figures to it, and making up little stories for himself. In order to please his mother, he worked hard to study, although he was always ridiculed by older children and suffered school bullying. The early encounters of some Marvel superheroes were based on Stan Lee’s own experience, which also paved the way for the superhero’s “counterattack”.
In order to make ends meet, Stan Lee tried many jobs in his teens—writing obituaries for newspapers, writing press releases for the National Tuberculosis Center, delivering sandwiches, working as a handyman in a trouser company, and working in a Broadway theater Usher, also served as “New York Herald Tribune” subscribers.
Because he likes to read adventure novels, 17-year-old Stan Lee began to work as an intern editor at Marvel’s predecessor “Timely Comics” (Timely Comics), occasionally publishing some stories he wrote.
1941 was an important year for both Marvel and Stan Lee. First, the editorial department of Marvel Comics completed the first work “Captain America”, followed by Stan Lee created the “Captain America” series of comics. The third part, this is the first time he used the name “Stan Lee”. Later, because the editor-in-chief at the time had a conflict with his boss Goodman and resigned, the 30-year-old Goodman simply appointed 19-year-old Stan Lee as the interim editor-in-chief.
After the outbreak of Pearl Harbor, the 20-year-old Stan Lee joined the army in 1942 and worked in the Signal Corps to make instructional films and other wartime information materials. His previous work experience came in handy. In his spare time, he also puts a lot of energy into comic creation.
During World War II, the “Captain America” series of comics was Marvel’s best-selling comics. After World War II, Stan Lee returned to New York and continued to serve as the editor-in-chief and art director of the original comic company. In 1957, Goodman changed the company’s name to Marvel.
Beginning in November 1961, with the assistance of cartoonist Jack Kirby, Stan Lee created “Fantastic Four”, “Spider-Man”, “Iron Man”, “Thor”, “Hulk”, “X-Men” Doctor Strange, Daredevil and other comic characters.
In 1972, Stan Lee became the publisher and chairman of Marvel, and since then he has gradually faded out of specific creations.
Change the way people see heroes
In the 1950s, comics were once viewed as misleading to children and were opposed by parents and the cultural right. The creators of comics before Stan Lee often portrayed superheroes as idealistic and perfect characters, but in the comics led by Stan Lee, superheroes began to have an ordinary side, and they have their own personality flaws And the growth trajectory with scars – “Fantastic Four” is a superhero who loves to tease each other, “Spiderman” is a high school student who can’t pay the rent, “Iron Man” is a narcissistic playboy, these funny superheroes The hero immediately catches the air and is welcomed by readers.
Stan Lee believes that it is these “imperfections” that make these superheroes and himself: “I am not perfect myself. I think people will like to read about characters who are similar to them. These characters may have talents. There are superpowers, but they also have their own personal problems. This is where they can touch people.”
In response to fans, Stan Lee began to reply to fan letters within the comic page, and set up a chat column for readers. Get the inside scoop on Marvel Comics and its staff. Over time, column interaction has become an important link, and Stan Lee has become not only the core of Marvel Comics, but also the core figure of the entire comics industry. Stan Lee seems to have become every reader’s favorite uncle for his willingness to share the company’s prevailing one-liners and insider gossip. This interaction has turned many young people into die-hard fans of Marvel.
Stan Lee launched the Marvel Universe with his prodigious business acumen.
Moreover, Stan Lee made an amazing decision with his amazing business acumen-launching the Marvel Universe. In this parallel universe, Iron Man, Captain America, and the Hulk are all members of the Avengers. They will also meet heroes from other stories such as Thor and Ant-Man, not to mention the X-Men with various mysterious characters. up.
Stan Lee left Marvel in 1998, but he remains an iconic figure in Marvel. His existence also led to the rise of Marvel, and even swept the film and television industry with major IPs, gaining an equal status with DC comics. Stan Lee’s comics have sold more than 2 million copies in 75 countries around the world, and have been adapted into more than 24 animations and film and television series.
The first release of the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” series, “Iron Man”, released in 2008, was a big success, opening a new era of Marvel. Stan Lee also appeared in Marvel movies, and even became the most anticipated “easter egg” by fans. Regarding his cameo, Stan Lee once joked: “I will tell you a secret, the reason why Marvel movies sell money is because I play a supporting role. For example, a man takes a subject to the movie, they watch the movie, and then Bend over for popcorn and miss my appearance. When the movie is over, they’re like, ‘Oh my God! We didn’t see Stan Lee!’ And they’re going to buy another ticket.”
Stan Li has had a profound influence on contemporary global culture. Even DC Comics, Marvel’s “nemesis”, issued a condolence post after his death, saying: “He changed the way we look at heroes and left an indelible mark on modern comics.”
This Week in History People
On January 1, 1863, Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern International Olympic Movement, was born.
On December 31, 1869, French painter and founder of Fauvism, Henri Matisse was born.
On December 26, 1893, Chairman Mao Zedong was born.
On December 27, 2007, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benjamin Bhutto was assassinated.
On December 29, 2020, Italian-French fashion designer Pierre Cardin passed away.
