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| Stan Lee |
On November 12, 2018, comic book creator Stan Lee passed away at the age of 95. To some extent, he is one of the most influential people of the 21st century, even if his creators could be seen as decades old. Between his work in creating Spider-Man, X-Men, and Iron Man, he created three series that would in some ways change the course of film forever. It's why it only makes sense that I pay tribute to him through the only medium that I truly understood him in.The following is a rundown of 10 of my favorite characters that he helped to create and give life to. While this list is predominantly pulled from film, there's a few that I grew affection for with my limited exposure to comics and TV. Still, this is only a fraction of the hundreds of iconic characters he created, and these are the ones that meant the most to me.
1. The Incredible Hulk
Best Seen In: Thor Ragnarok (2017)
As far as comic book characters go, few have come to resonate with me as much as The Incredible Hulk. It's because on a deeper level, the character reflects an odd balance of anger issues and deep intellect battling for the control of a man. When the anger wins out, he becomes the iconic green hero who is almost unstoppable. While his career in film has been spotty (though I do have affection for Ang Lee's The Hulk), he has shown himself a capable sidekick in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially in Thor: Ragnarok where he is a great comedic folly to Thor and has some actual character growth in one of the most enjoyably layered MCU movies to date. Even on the page, comics like "Planet Hulk" and "World War Hulk" are exciting vision of artful reflection and anger. As much as he could get written off as a one-note character, he has always meant a lot more to me because of how his character balances the beasts inside of him. It also helps that he generally gets the best action scenes in films like Avengers: Age of Ultron or even the first The Avengers.
2. Spider-Man
Best Seen In: Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Through some stroke of luck, Spider-Man has managed to rise up the ranks of superhero characters to be just as essential to the genre as Batman and the X-Men. Not bad for a teenager who swings by a web. Still, with a catchy theme song he has managed to capture the angst of youth in candid ways that few other characters have. Over his many cinematic incarnations, he has taken the motto "With great power comes great responsibility" to heart and reflect the struggles that everyone faces, often with some of the best villains in the game. Even in the bad interpretations (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), there's something fun and offbeat about his journeys that shine through in his every man approach to fighting crime. Thankfully the most recent version, played by Tom Holland, is a lot of fun and had one of the most fulfilling moments in Avengers: Infinity War. He's a character that inspires us because at some level he is us, and manages to play into the emotional struggles we all face in our lives and desire to be something greater.
3. Loki
Best Seen In: The Avengers (2012)
As mentioned, this list is predominantly pulled from the world of film and thus is greatly inspired by the performances. Tom Hiddelston's turn as Loki is quite possibly my single favorite recurring role in the larger franchise. Sure, he should've been dead long ago, but the trickster god has managed to get by on his cunning ability to be one step ahead. He's also easily the most emotionally complex character in that he started off in Kenneth Branagh's Shakespearian Thor as a sibling rivalry before finding moments of true villainy and heroism. He may in some ways be one of the less impressive in terms of superpowers, but he's the lynchpin to why films like The Avengers and Thor: Ragnarok are among the franchise's best work. If nothing else, he's got way more personality and appeal than his brother Thor.
4. Doctor Octopus
Best Seen In: Spider-Man 2 (2004)
As it can be believed, my relationship with these characters are personal. Before the release of the Sam Raimi-directed sequel, I remember having an affection for "Doc Ock" in the cartoon series. What the film did very well was not only capture what makes a man with metallic arms so fascinating, but he captured the pathos and depth to which this man ravaged by obsession goes to. Sure, it does look a bit silly. However, there's a lot more to the character than that, and it helps that Alfred Molina turned in one of the great super villain performances as he set up obstacles for Spider-Man while being Peter Parker's inspiration. It's hard not to love a villain that gives us such iconic scenes as the bank heist moment, or when Spider-Man must save a falling woman, or one of cinema's greatest moments: Spider-Man stopping a train. He's a character with far more depth than he could possibly need, and suddenly the metallic arms make sense. It's a quest for control, and in the wrong hands, that's downright scary.
5. Fantastic 4
Best Seen In: Comics
This is one of the rare times that my logic for this Top 10 backfires on itself. I am not a big fan of the cinematic versions of these characters and feel like they keep getting mishandled. However, I have very limited exposure to their work on the page that, if nothing else, makes me believe that I would love reading more about them. They are the superhero nuclear family you can't help but love. They function like a family and their banter in the moments where they're lounging around are quite affectionate. It also helps that they have plenty of cool superpowers and The Thing is a lot more fascinating than a man made of rocks likely should be. It also helps that it embodies what Stan Lee characters could do the best: work together. While many would say that the X-Men are more essential and interesting, the precision of the Fantastic 4 always appealed to me more.
6. Ant-Man
Best Seen In: Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Among the characters that received the biggest boost from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Ant-Man. This character who can break himself down into the quantum realm is easily one of the most perplexing characters of the entire group. His ability to shrink and grow with the power of science leads to a lot of memorable moments in the various films that he has starred in, culminating in several fun action scenes in the recent Ant-Man and the Wasp. It helps that he's also a father who loves his daughter and wants to see the best for her, even if he's also a criminal with a lot of problems of achieving that. Paul Rudd definitely solidifies the character as being something greater than a gimmick, and the perspective humor of seeing him run through a shower in Ant-Man is definitely some of the funnest action that any of the MCU films have developed to date.
7. Daredevil
Best Seen In: Daredevil (2015), TV series
While his first outing on film maybe wasn't the best, his subsequent work has been a fairly impressive run at the superhero game. He is a blind lawyer who fights crime, and the fact that his story is allowed to be far more interesting is a plus. As someone who was raised Catholic, the very idea of him reflecting these views in a subtle way helps to make him an essential hero who can also do the unthinkable. As shown time and again on the series, he's quite a fighter and the Netflix series manages to capture a lot of dazzling imagery as a result. While his work in the comics is often more perplexing, what makes me love him is his general focus and desire to do what's right in spite of his handicaps. He doesn't let it stop him and instead uses it to his advantage. Now that's something to aspire to.
8. Lockjaw
Best Seen In: Comics
Say what you will about the godawful Inhumans miniseries of 2017, but it did help to spread the awareness of one great character: Lockjaw. While most of this list (and Stan Lee's creations) owe some credit to the human species, his choice to make a teleporting dog was nothing short of brilliant. He's a charming rapscallion who is a lot of fun to watch even as the show around him fell apart. He's also great as part of the Pet Avengers, which is a real thing and is as charming as it is baffling. Still, it's great to see an animal character out there who will get you where you need to go. He definitely deserves more respect as one of the bright spots of Inhumans, and you owe it to yourself to discover why that is.
9. Yondu
Best Seen In: Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (2017)
While Stan Lee isn't responsible entirely for Guardians of the Galaxy, his input on the second cinematic adaptation is clear. He not only created the villain Ego, but he also created one of the characters with the best twists in the MCU: Yondu. Where he comes across initially as an arrogant prick, he ends up being the bastard father figure you can't help but love. Sure, he kills people by whistling an arrow through the sky (which is best seen in one hilarious scene where he breaks out of prison in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2), but he also has a lot of deeper conflict that the film gets to and by the end tears out your heart with. There's power in the performance by Michael Rooker, and he quickly became one of the best characters with that last minute sacrifice. He may not be a great father, but he's up there as a daddy.
10. J. Jonah Jameson
Best Seen In: Spider-Man (2002)
While this list is full of all time great characters and performances, has there really been a more fun performance than J. Jonah Jameson in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy? Think about it. It helped to launch J.K. Simmons' career into a notable character actor and also updated the journalist archetype that had been stale since the 70's Superman movies. Jameson is a character who could just ramble on for five minutes and that would make for great entertainment. As a former journalist, there's a lot of love I have for a character who has his eyes set on making a newspaper that matters, and all with a screwball comedy pacing to his dialogue. While there's probably better heroes out there that could've filled this spot, the legacy of Jameson lives beyond film and has become one of the best journalism characters of the 21st century.
Who else do you love? I admit that this list is likely to change as more movies come out and I discover the magic that is Captain Marvel. Maybe I'll even read some comics and learn to love more institutionalized characters like Doctor Strange and Iron Man more. It all depends. But for now, these are 10 that came from the brain of one brilliant genius and it's sad to hear of his passing. Feel free to share characters that I should check out in order to further understand and love the work that he has given to the world.
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