Marvel Comics has provided some of Hollywood's biggest box-office characters ever: The Avengers, the X-Men, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man, Spider-Man, all starring in gargantuan special effects blockbusters.

And like every superhero, Marvel Comics has an origin story. It begins in New York City, in 1939.

To compete against DC Comics' new Superman character, what was then called Timely Publications began selling 10-cent magazines with the illustrated adventures of its own champs: Captain America (a superhuman soldier), the Human Torch (a test-tube-created android who would catch fire around oxygen), and the Sub-Mariner (an undersea prince who hated humans).

World War II was on, so "naturally the big enemy we would have would be Hitler," says Stan Lee, Marvel's revered writer, editor, publisher, former president and chairman. "Captain America," he says "was always beating Hitler up every chance he had."

Lee's almost 92 years old now, but he started at Marvel when he was just 17. From office boy, he quickly graduated to writing the stories. Lee was a pen name for Stanley Martin Lieber.

"I wanted to save that name for the great novel that I would never write," he muses. "In the very beginning I was embarrassed to be writing comics 'cause most people had a very low opinion of them. But it was a living." A few years later, Lee enlisted in the Army and didn't return to Timely Comics till the war ended.

At that point, the company ditched its superhero stories, says longtime Marvel writer and editor Roy Thomas, author of a colossal new book that chronicles the company's history. Thomas says the superhero stories just weren't selling well. "After you've been fighting Nazis for several years, somehow fighting a bank robber isn't as exciting," he says. "They just had run out of steam. And there were newer things that came in."

Marvel began putting out mysteries, horror comics, detective stories, fictionalized crime tales, even Bible stories. And romances, most of which Lee wrote. "They were suppose to be confession stories by girls," says Lee. "So I came up with what I thought was a clever idea. I wrote 'as told to Stan Lee.' So I was able to get my name on all the stories."

Timely Publications became Marvel comics, and Lee says the genres came in waves. "The publisher, Martin Goodman, would just look at the sales figures, and he'd say 'oh, Western books seem to be selling better this year, let's just do a lot of Westerns.' It'd work like that," says Lee. "It was funny, he had a fetish for certain names; he loved the word 'kid' for the Westerns. So we had Kid Colt, Outlaw; the Texas Kid, the Rawhide Kid, the something else Kid, I can't even remember all the names but there were a lot of Kids."

By then, Lee was working with a group of artists, including Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. In 1961, the publisher asked them to create a superhero team to rival DC Comics' new Justice League of America. Marvel's response was the Fantastic Four: The Thing, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl and new — actually human — Human Torch.

"You could tell from the beginning this just wasn't going to be like all the other superhero comics," says Thomas. "They fought and argued. They didn't wear costumes at first. And when they did wear costumes, the Thing said, 'I ain't wearing this thing' and he throws it away. They start hitting each other. They talked with slang."

Lee and Kirby also created Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, the X-Men and Daredevil: superheroes with flaws, living — and sometimes quarreling among themselves — in New York City, in a shared universe. "I kept it all local," says Lee. "They could all meet each other and guest-star in the stories and it made them more fun for me. I think more surprising and more fun for the readers."

Lee's favorite superhero was an awkward adolescent. "I went into my publisher's office," Lee recalls. "I said I want to do a hero called Spider-Man; I want him to be a teenager and I want him to have a lot of personal problems, I think that will make it interesting. Well, this is the reception I got: 'You can't call a hero Spider-Man because people hate spiders; he can't be a teenager because only a sidekick can be a teenager; and he can't have personal problems. Stan, don't you know what a superhero is? They don't have personal problems.' " But Spider-Man was a hit.

Marvel's complex heroes set them apart from DC Comics. They were popular, says Thomas, because of their human emotions. "Not just sock, bam, pow. But real problems they had," he says. "You know, Spider-Man can't get a date and his aunt is having a heart attack. The heroes fight amongst themselves. This was what teenagers could relate to."

Lee remembers the company's Manhattan office were so tiny, there was no room to store the original artwork; secretary Flo Steinberg was tasked with giving or even throwing it away, to the chagrin of later comics collectors.

Most of the artists were freelancers working from home. But in every issue, Lee published letters to and from fans. Just like his Marvel universe, Lee says he wanted to create the illusion the staff was working in a boisterous bullpen.
In 1965, they made a promotional record, where Lee and his staff joked among themselves. "Well, well, Jolly Jack Kirby," Lee says in the recording. "Say a few words to the fans."

"A few words," quips Kirby.

And there was a fan club called The Merry Marvel Marching Society, complete with its own theme song: "March along, march along, march along, march along with the Merry Marvel Marching Society," Lee sings from his office in Beverly Hills. He adds, "I wanted it to be like we're all in the same club and having a good time with it. Everything was for the fans."

Over the years, Thomas notes in the book, Marvel struggled financially; at one point the company was bailed out by rival DC, and later, by publishing Star Wars comic books before the movie franchise premiered. In the 1970s, Marvel characters began getting their own TV shows like The Incredible Hulk and Saturday-morning cartoons. And in recent years, Hollywood has begun unleashing its blockbuster hits based on Marvel superheroes.

Marvel's universe expanded, developing legions of fans of all ages. Some of them showed up recently at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, where Lee and Thomas signed autographs.

Among the admirers was Stanley West, a 58-year-old stock trader. "Stan, thank you very much," he told his idol. "I want to let you know I really appreciate what you've done, especially for black folk, when you had the first black comic book character."

"Damn right," answered Lee, who penned the Black Panther back in 1966.
Lee shows no signs of slowing down. With his company, Pow Entertainment, he's now working on Chinese, Indian and Latino superheroes for the movies. He's the subject of Roy Thomas' next book for Taschen. And he's making yet another cameo appearance in the upcoming Avengers movie.

As Marvel celebrates its 75 years, Stan Lee himself remains a comic book hero.

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Some of Hollywood's biggest box-office characters have come from comic books, like Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE AVENGERS")

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: (As Tony Stark) A super soldier, the demi-god, a couple of master assassins. And there's me.

TOM HIDDLESTON: (As Loki) I have an army.

DOWNEY JR.: (As Tony Stark) We have a hulk.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

"The Avengers," "X-Men," "Guardians Of The Galaxy," "Spiderman" - all huge special-effects blockbusters born in the pages of Marvel Comics. The company began creating its universe of superheroes 75 years ago. A colossal new book chronicles the comic book company's history, as does NPR's Mandalit Del Barco.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Every superhero has an origin story. Marvel Comics' tale begins in New York City in 1939. What was then called Timely Publications had to compete against DC Comics' new Superman character. So Timely began selling 10-cent magazines with the illustrated adventures of its own champs.

STAN LEE: Captain America, the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner.

DEL BARCO: That's Stan Lee, Marvel's revered writer, editor, publisher, former president and chairman. Lee's almost 92 years old now. He started working at the company when he was 17, just after World War II began.

LEE: Naturally, the big enemy that we would have would be Hitler. And in the "Captain America" books, Captain America was always beating Hitler up every chance he had.

DEL BARCO: Lee began as an office boy, and before too long, he was writing the stories. Stan Lee was a pen name for Stanley Martin Lieber.

LEE: I wanted to save that name for the great novel that I would never write. In the very beginning I was embarrassed to be writing comics 'cause most people had a very low opinion of them. But it was a living.

DEL BARCO: A few years later, Lee enlisted in the Army and didn't return to Timely Comics until the war ended. At that point, the company ditched its superhero stories, says longtime Marvel writer and editor Roy Thomas, who penned the new 700-page book on the company's history.

ROY THOMAS: After you've been fighting Nazis for several years, you know, somehow or other fighting a bank robber isn't as exciting. They just had run out of steam. And there were other newer things that, you know, came in.

LEE: Yeah. We had mystery books. We had horror books. We had detective stories...

DEL BARCO: ...Even Bible stories - and romances, most of which Lee wrote himself.

LEE: They were supposed to be confession stories by girls. So I came up with what I thought was a clever idea. I wrote, as told to Stan Lee. (Laughter) So I was able to get my name on all the stories.

DEL BARCO: Lee says it all came down to economics.

LEE: The publisher, Martin Goodman, would just look at the sales figures. He'd say, oh, Western books seem to be selling better this year. Let's just do a lot of westerns. It worked like that.

DEL BARCO: By then, Lee was working with a group of artists, including Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. In 1961, the publisher asked them to create a superhero team to rival DC Comics' new "Justice League of America." Marvel's response, says Roy Thomas, was "The Fantastic Four."

THOMAS: You could tell from the beginning this wasn't just going to be like all the other superhero comics. They fought and argued. They didn't wear costumes at first. And when they did wear costumes, the Thing said, I ain't wearing this thing, and he throws it away. And they start hitting each other. They talked with slang.

DEL BARCO: Then, Thomas says, Stan Lee came up with Marvel's most unlikely superhero - an awkward adolescent.

THOMAS: Spiderman can't get a date, and his aunt is having a heart attack. This was like the lives that a teenager could relate to.

DEL BARCO: And Marvel tried to bring those teenaged fans into the creative process. Stan Lee published their letters. And even though most of the artists were freelancers working from home, he created the illusion of a boisterous bullpen where the staff was working and joking around. They even made a promotional record in 1965.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

FLO STEINBERG: Oh, Stan. Do you have a few minutes?

LEE: For a fabulous Gal Friday? Sure. Say hello to the fans, Flo Steinberg.

STEINBERG: Hello, fans. It's very nice to meet you.

JACK KIRBY: Hey, who made you a disc jockey, lady?

LEE: Well, well, Jolly Jack Kirby. Say a few words to the fans, Jackson.

KIRBY: OK, a few words.

DEL BARCO: And Lee created a fan club, complete with its own theme song.

(SOUNDBITE OF THEME SONG)

LEE: (Singing) You belong, you belong, you belong to the Mary Marvel Marching Society.

(SOUNDBITE OF THEME SONG)

UNIDENTIFIED MEN: (Singing) March along, march along, march along to the song of the Merry Marvel Marching Society.

LEE: I wanted it to be like we're all in the same club and having a good time with it. Everything was for the fans.

DEL BARCO: Over the years, Marvel's characters got their own cartoons, TV shows, video games and movies, and developed legions of fans of all ages. Some of them showed up recently at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, where Lee and Thomas signed autographs. Among the admirers was Stanley West, a 58-year-old stock trader.

STANLEY WEST: Stan, thank you very much. I want you to know I really appreciate what you done...

LEE: Thank you.

WEST: ...Especially for black folk, when you had the first black comic book character...

LEE: Damn right.

WEST: Damn Skippy.

LEE: Thank you.

DEL BARCO: Lee penned "The Black Panther" back in 1961. And he shows no signs of slowing down. He's now working on Chinese, Indian and Latino superheroes for the movies. He's the subject of Roy Thomas's next book. And he's making a cameo appearance in the upcoming "Avengers" movie. As Marvel celebrates its 75 years, Stan Lee himself has become a comic book hero. Mandalit Del Barco, NPR News. [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: We incorrectly say that Stan Lee penned the Black Panther in 1961. It was actually 1966.] Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

300x250 Ad

Support quality journalism, like the story above, with your gift right now.

Donate