POW! Entertainment Inc. (fka POWN)

[jacktrades]

Marvel-ous Super Hero Stan Lee Takes Flight

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Brian Deagon
For a guy who is 88 years old, Stan Lee has super powers, just like the many comic book characters he created.


Ken Rutkowski with Stan Lee at METal
In the world of comic books, Lee is a real Super Hero. At Marvel Comics he co-created Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Fantastic Four and many others. His influence over the comic book industry is enormous. His name appears on 35 million comics annually. More than 2 billion of his comic books have been published in 75 countries and in 25 languages

And, like any great superhero, Lee keeps on going. The fruits of his work are currently on display in theaters. “Thor” is the story of a powerful but arrogant warrior, sent out of Asgard to planet Earth where he soon becomes a great defender. It’s currently slaying its way to a box-office home run.

Bottom line is this. In the world of comic books, just like Thor, Lee is a God. And it’s his right as a writer.

“That’s a nice thing about being a writer. I can be God,” said Lee, speaking to an audience of about 200 men at the METal breakfast in Los Angeles on Saturday.

He created Thor in 1962, based on the Thor of Norse mythology. And, Lee explained, Thor is more real than Superman, the legendary hero of DC Comics, the main rival of Marvel.

“Superman has no real propulsion,” said Lee. He simply raises his arms, leaps and flies.

“I happen to be very scientific,” said Lee. Thor flies with the aid of a large hammer, strapped to his wrist. When he wants to fly he swings it around like a propeller and lets it go, with Thor flying with it.

“It’s science!” Lee exclaimed.


Thor cover in 1978
Brilliant though he is, Lee acknowledged a weakness.

“I have never been one for memory,” he said.

This explains why the alter ego of Spiderman was named Peter Parker, and the Hulk character Bruce Banner, or the Fantastic Four character Reed Richards. Having characters where the first and last name begin with the same letter was easier to remember.

“If I could remember the first name it gave me a clue of the other,” said Lee.

With that kind of memory it was not uncommon for Lee to flub a story line in some of his comics.

“I would get these indignant letters from readers,” pointing out flaws in continuity, said Lee.

This led to the creation of his No-Prize, which is exactly what readers would get. Lee would mail a pre-printed envelope that, on the outside cover, congratulated them for the “No-Prize which you have just won!”

The envelope was empty.

Lee, sitting cross-legged on a chair wearing his trademark large-rimmed glasses, tan-brown pants and olive green shirt, displayed enthusiasm, whit and ego while being interviewed by METal founder Ken Rutkowski.

During a Q&A session, when asked what inspired him to create Thor he replied, “Greed.”

When asked who his favorite character was he said only the one he was working on at that moment.

“I am my own biggest fan,” he said.


Spider-Man in 1962
On a recent Twitter posting Lee wrote, “Finally saw THOR! It’s even better than everyone said it is! But, forgetting about my cameo for a moment, the movie itself is great!”

Lee, known on Twitter as TheRealStanLee, tweets about four times a day and has more than 143,000 followers.

Asked by a METal member his definition of a hero Lee simply responded, “The good guy who fights a bad guy.”

Then he went a little deeper.

“It’s someone who, when he or she needs to help someone, difficult or dangerous though it may be, they do not walk away.”

In an interview about his creation of X-Men Lee once said they were able to point out the injustice and wrong-headedness of bigotry.

Asked to elaborate on that at the breakfast he said while that is the case it’s not a starting point when creating a story line. Merging in a message about the evils of bigotry, “that usually comes later. That’s not what I start with when I sit down to write.”


Stan Lee gets hugs from Bianca, Alexis and Maya at METal
With credits on several blockbuster films Lee spoke of the exquisite blessing it provides.

“The best thing about movies is you have cinematographers, actors and all kinds of creative people working their hearts out. They make beautiful movies and I get all the credit! It‘s a wonderful business.”

But if the movie bombs he can also say, “I had nothing to do with it!”

Lee’s current energy is directed on POW! Entertainment. POW! stands for Purveyors of Entertainment, where he is founder, chairman and chief creative officer. POW! creates and licenses intellectual properties for the entertainment industry.

Stan ‘the Man’ Lee is also known for his signature title of Excelsior which, translated means “even higher.”

If Lee can fly any higher than he already has, he might in fact meet God.

http://briandeagon.com/2011/05/07/marvel-ous-super-hero-stan-lee-takes-flight/