The greatest creator of superheroes, in my opinion, is Stan Lee. That is actually a lot of people's opinion. Mainly, Stan Lee's strength is his writing. If you compare Superman's early stories to The Hulk or Spider-Man, you will find them to be less interesting and less dense. Superman is a great character with great value, but Stan Lee really understood what would set apart Marvel superheroes.Most of Lee's creations have a similar pattern. A misunderstood genius who, because of an accident, is given amazing powers. Instead of being embraced by society, like Superman, the public or government they are feared and sometimes hunted. It's a brilliant angle. Most kids idolize Superman, but what would it really be like to be him? Would it go perfectly? Or would you be unable to ever have human contact again? Would you answer the call to save the very people who fear and ridicule you?
This is perfectly illustrated in many of Stan Lee's stories, but the best to me is his run of Silver Surfer stories. The first issue he wrote in 1968 stands as one of my favorite comic books of all time. Silver Surfer, bound to Earth, separated from his love who is on his homeworld light years away. He has the power to do anything he wants, except escape the vicinity of Earth. The inhabitants of Earth, because of his appearance don't understand him and fear him. Mainly, the 17 issue run was a study of human behavior and serves as an example of Stan Lee's best writing.
It's no secret to anyone that the Marvel movies have been big hits and big misses. The first two Spider-Man and X-Men movies, are the best examples, and failures like Daredevil, The Fantastic Four, and X-Men 3 show the worst that can be possible. Success hinges on taking the lessons Stan Lee taught us about how to connect the audience to a superhero.
The filmmakers who created Iron Man (a bunch of writers with director John Favreau) completely understood what it takes to make that connection. Stan Lee already created a great story with a great character, and they obviously paid close attention to what made the first Spider-Man movie work so well. Iron Man is not just a guy in a suit, flying around, and blowing stuff up. Inside is a flawed man with a mortal wound. Not only do they stay true to the character and make the geeks happy, the movie is so well made that even non-comic book fan can enjoy it.
Great action, great acting, and a great story. I am very inspired by the first movie to kick-off the summer blockbuster season. A summer that will give us The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight, Speed Racer, X-Files: I Want to Believe, and more. This is going to be an expensive summer.
