Without Stan Lee, Hollywood as we know it might not exist
NEXT time you go to the movies and see a post- credits scene teasing a sequel that is still years away, or a winking reference to some obscure bit of franchise lore, or a cameo appearance by the star of another superhero franchise, think of Stan Lee.
Lee, who died on Monday at age 95, was the driving force behind Marvel Comics. A singular popculture visionary, he helped create many of Marvel’s most popular characters, including Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man, Black Panther and the Fantastic Four.Just as important, however, was how he changed the way these stories were told. As Marvel’s self-promoting maestro, he popularised the serialised, shared-world superhero storytelling that has all but consumed the movie business over the past decade. Without Lee, Hollywood as we know it might not exist.
Early superhero movies tended to follow a single hero, or team of heroes, who lived in their own siloed worlds. This was, in part, because rights issues made guest appearances impractical and, partly, it was because movie producers believed that crossovers would dilute a successful franchise.
That changed in 2008, with “Iron Man,” when the titular hero encountered a shadowy figure in a post- credits scene: “You think you’re the only superhero in the world?” the figure said. “You’ve become part of a bigger universe. You just don’t know it yet.” Four years later, in “The Avengers,” Iron Man would team with Thor, Hulk and Captain America — all of whom were also featured in their own films. The silos were gone.
This was possible because Marvel set up an in-house movie studio that owned the rights to all of these characters, which were initially considered B-list properties. But it was also possible because decades before, Lee, as editor in chief of Marvel Comics, had shown the way.
During the 1960s, Lee wrote or co-wrote the majority of Marvel’s comics himself, relying on a collaborative system: First, he’d describe a plot or idea to an artist, who would return with pages of finished art. Only then would Lee fill in the dialogue. This process became known as “the Marvel method,” and it allowed Lee to oversee Marvel’s entire line of comics all at once. Because Lee was writing — or at least thinking — about all of these characters himself, they were all sharing space in his head. Soon, they all began to coexist on the page as well.
So Spider-Man tried to join the Fantastic Four, and Thor’s doctor alter- ego ended up caring for Doctor Strange, and, sometimes, there would be consequences from these crossovers that would spread across multiple titles. As Sean Howe writes in “Marvel Comics: The Untold Story,”what made Marvel Comics unique was “the idea that these characters shared a world, that the actions of each had repercussions on the others, and that each comic was merely a thread of one Marvelwide mega-story.”
The result was an immersive narrative sprawl, a sense of depth and breadth that elevated Lee’s often adolescent pulp material and turned it into a grand spandex soap opera. It was also a remarkably effective marketing gimmick, pulling readers from one comic into another by teasing characters and plot arcs from another. It was storytelling — but it was also story-selling.
That idea has turned Marvel Studios, now owned by Disney, into one of the most successful movie houses in the world. It has also led to legions of Hollywood imitators. Few have succeeded, partly because they have tended to ignore Lee’s other innovation: He made his superheroes human.
Though superheroes existed long before Lee got into the business, they tended to be godlike and aloof (think Batman and Superman). Lee’s creations, in contrast, were always vulnerable and relatable, beset by family squabbles, money troubles and complicated love lives. Yes, they had abilities and resources far beyond mere mortals (or readers). But they were also ordinary people, struggling to make their way in a difficult world and not always succeeding — a description that fit Lee as well.
Lee lived to see his vision play out on a larger scale than almost anyone could ever have imagined, but in his later years, he was distanced from the business he created, his legacy mired in fights about finances and creative credit.
The same method that had allowed him to “write” so many comics simultaneously led to extended disputes with artists, who legitimately considered themselves co-authors and cocreators of some of pop culture’s most widely known- and lucrative- stories and characters. Comic fans began to question whether Lee was really a creator or just a savvy self-promoter who took credit for the work of others.
The answer, of course, is both. But whatever your view, it is difficult to imagine our world without Lee and the storytelling he made possible. When any person dies, we lose a universe. The universe of Stan Lee lives on as something all of us can share. — WPBloomberg
Because Lee was writing — or at least thinking — about all of these characters himself, they were all sharing space in his head. Soon, they all began to co-exist on the page as well.