Happy Birthday, Stan Lee

[filkertom]

On this date in 1922.

Which are your favorite characters created or co-created by Stan Lee? Mine would be The Fantastic Four and the Medicinal Three (Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, and Doctor Strange). The Hulk, Spider-Man and Daredevil would be in there as well, as well as Amora the Enchantress and Hank McCoy.

ETA: I guess it's whoever your favorite Marvel characters are, now. I did specifically say "created or co-created by Stan Lee", which would rule out Logan/Wolverine, Kitty Pride, Mystique, Rogue, and the Sub-Mariner (and, to be fair, the concept of the Human Torch, one of my picks), but that's okay. Excelsior!

Comments

[voiceofkiki.livejournal.com]

Peter Parker. No doubt. I could so relate to him. He was a true geek's geek. Hank McCoy is up there. I also have a fondness for Doom. Green Goblin, too. Heck, there's too many to name.

[nimitzbrood.livejournal.com]

I'll second Peter's nomination. He's one of the few comic book heros that actually felt...human...to me.

On the flip-side I've always had some fondness for Kitty Pride as well. Not sure why. *shrug* Maybe it's her fondness for electronics. I still have about the first 20 or so issues of the first run of Excalibur (1980's?) including the back cover of Kitty half phased through a computer with a soldering iron. (http://shorterlink.org/3637 - warning! Geocities link.)

[foenix.livejournal.com]

I really gotta go with Jean Grey. ;)

But so many of Stan's creations are keepers, at least from the early days of Marvel.

Ravage 2099? Not so much. Although I do have a soft spot for that guy too.

Ohboy

[bald-ruminant.livejournal.com]

Franklin Richards, The Thing, and Spider-Man are my favorites.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

Hmm.. gotta go with Ben Grimm, Hank McCoy and Mr. Logan.

[minerva-fan.livejournal.com]

I like The Beast and Mystique, and have a certain fondness for Rogue. I also had a very cheesy love for those old after school cartoons of Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, The Submariner, and Iron Man. Because I had no life and lived far away from any neighbor kids to play with, that's why.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Hank McCoy, Ben Grimm, and, despite all they've done to him, Dr. Strange.

Kovalic also pays tribute today.

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

Fantastic Four #51 (This Man, This Monster) will ALWAYS make me a fan of the ever-loving blue-eyed Thing. I don't care how old it is, that story is still one of the 10 Best I have ever read.

[ldwheeler.livejournal.com]

von Doom, the greatest villain ever. His sheer audacity, and the panache with which he pulls it off. While Shooter had pretty much everybody else at least partly out of character in the first Secret Wars, he nailed Doom -- hatching a plan to take on and conquer an omnipotent being who was for all intents and purposes God ... and succeeding, at least temporarily. Plus, I love the way he puts an end to a conversion: "Bah! I weary of this colloquy! Begone!" (I think that should be quoted liberally in LJ and message-board threads.)

Also: Ben Grimm and Peter Parker, the two characters with the most heart. Plus Magneto, but more for what was done with him after Stan, mostly by Chris Claremont, who gave him an arc of failed redemption.

[sdelmonte]

The Thing and Peter Parker come first. I'm tempted to split the difference and say that Ben is the greatest co-creation - there is a lot of Kirby in him as well as Lee - and that Spidey was more Stan's own baby (especially once Ditko left the series).

[admnaismith.livejournal.com]

Heroes--Spidey, The Hulk, Fantastic Four, Hawkeye, Ghost Rider

Villains--Doc Ock, Electro, Moleman, The Blob, Galactus, Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

The FF were my childhood pals. That's why the first Silver Surfer trailer caught me by the heart -- they got it right. Snapshots of Ben and Johnny in seconds.

But I felt more like a girl Peter Parker in high school. Ohhh yeah, you didn't see Superboy with problems like that.

[greenlantern-oa.livejournal.com]

It's a 3 way tie between Spider-Man, The Thing, and Dr. Doom!!

Spider-Man was always the everyman hero I could relate to (though not so much anymore what with what Marvel is doing to him right now)

The Thing was always the Man with a heart of gold hidden inside a hideous shell. BUT he was always the guy I'd pick to hang out with if I had a choice on poker night! ;)

Dr. Doom is just my favorite villain PERIOD!! The man could have been a hero if he got over his ego, and he still thinks that what he is doing is right in the long run!

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

The original peter parker, before they retconned him for the movies... [hey, does Stan lee count as a character created by Stan lee?! 'cause if yes, they he gets my vote too!]

However, I've always had a fondness for Iron man aka Tony Stark. Mostly because when you get right down to it, the guy is only human. What makes him 'super' is his genius as much as the suit he built himself, and more often then not, he out thinks his foe rather than just beats them up or pulls out a bat-whatever gizmo that he just happened to have.

I guess I like my super-heroes to be more than just the costume and the powers. [oh and lets not forget the angst!]

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

The ever-lovin' blue-eyed idol a' millions!

[druidsfire.livejournal.com]

I'm a Jean Grey fan myself, but tend to find myself liking Ben Grimm, Nick Fury, and the Scarlet Witch. Ironically, I have the same basic thoughts about Jean and Wanda... they're great when they're written about as people with flaws, rather than ZOMG high-powered female, let's make her go insane for no reason! - once they did the Dark Phoenix thing, yeah, that worked and worked /damn/ good, but after that, eh, it was all about the uber powers and not really about the character.

[j-e-richards.livejournal.com]

Jean Grey/ Marvel Girl/ Phoenix was always my favorite too. She had the same problems as Sue Storm Richards as the woosy power orignally, but she seemed to evolve into herself, where as the Invisible Girl/Woman always seemed forced. Jean was one of my heroines but I hope they leave her dead.

[sdelmonte]

If we're going to include heroes that Stan didn't have a hand in creating, then let me add Captain America.

[wormquartet.livejournal.com]

Stan Lee creations: Spidey, The Hulk, Daredevil, Doc Ock, Green Goblin.

Non Stan Lee creations: Madrox, Antibody (from D.P.7. New Universe. Yeah, I fucking went there.)

...Yeah, that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Or yours.

-=ShoEboX=-

[trumanburbank.livejournal.com]

Daredevil. The only book I've consistently collected since the day I first got into comics. My goal is to someday own a copy of each issue.

My favorite Marvel character of ALL time is Madrox. Not a Stan Lee Character though.

[wormquartet.livejournal.com]

WOOOO! Two consecutive Madrox votes! In your FACE, rest of the Marvel universe!

-=ShoEboX=-

[skalja.livejournal.com]

Oh god. They destroyed Peter Parker and Mary Jane Parker's marriage - a marriage conceived by Stan Lee between two characters created by Stan Lee - on his birthday?

Nice one, Marvel!

Anyway, my actual answer: Peter Parker. Mary Jane and JJJ are close seconds. (I'm a Spidey fanatic, I admit it! I have other Marvel faves, but not created by Stan Lee.)

As you can imagine, I am NOT a happy camper today. :(

(P.S. Sorry for double-post - I thought my first version of this comment was a reply to someone else, for some reason.)

[wormquartet.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for the spoiler. >:(

-=ShoEboX=-

[skalja.livejournal.com]

We kinda all knew it was happening, dude. :( But sorry.

[wormquartet.livejournal.com]

I was really kinda hoping it wasn't. They've been trying to split Peter and MJ for years for some reason, and it's flippin' stupid.

The first Spider-Man comic I ever bought was their wedding issue (Amazing Annual #21) and I have almost every issue of every Spidey book since then. I stuck around through the foil-cover-every-25-issues major-life-changing-event-every-month John-Byrne-rewriting-the-origin bullshit. But this...

Gah.

-=ShoEboX=-

[skalja.livejournal.com]

Joe Quesada thinks that the marriage "ruins" Spider-Man, because it prevents Peter from downloading porn it confuses the children he believes that once they're married, it's inevitable that they have to keep aging with a certain generation and then have kids and grandkids and then somethingerotherwhatsit. And I'm all, dude, they've aged less than five years in the last twenty; what exactly are you worrying about?

(Yes, he DID suggest that a single Peter would be able to have storylines about downloading porn.)

[hitchkitty.livejournal.com]

Yes, he DID suggest that a single Peter would be able to have storylines about downloading porn.

Then he's an idiot. You can't have a storyline without conflict, and there's no conflict involved in a single guy looking at porn.

Apart from the Usual Parker Wangst, that is.

[skalja.livejournal.com]

Plus, uh, between MJ and Peter, who's the most likely to download porn?

That's right, Mary Jane! Peter's a darling, but he's a bit of a stick in the mud, eh. As MJ herself points out, she calls him a tiger because he's not.

[laurel-potter.livejournal.com]

I'm more of a DC person, so I wouldn't really know which ones he created. I was going to say Kitty Pride, until I read the rest of your post, lol.

I always like the concept of being able to walk through walls, which is why I like Kitty and why my favorite member of the Legion of Super-Heroes is Phantom Girl.

(DC icon, lol)