Stan Lee is a legend. Along with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, Lee helped populate the Marvel Comics universe with heroes like the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man.
Their most famous creation — Lee calls him "Spidey" — is everywhere in this office, as a painting, a life-size doll, and even a pinball machine. "Nobody plays pinballs anymore," Lee tells NPR's Renee Montagne. "And it's really a good thing, because it doesn't work anymore."
The man who dreamed up lots of backstories for Marvel characters has now put out his own origin story: A memoir, Amazing Fantastic Incredible, in comic book form. It begins with Lee as a boy, transported to other worlds through books by Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells and William Shakespeare. His real world was the Depression, a father mostly out of work and a dingy New York apartment with laundry hanging in the kitchen and a brick wall for a view. Lee says his mother doted on him; he remembers she'd just watch him read. "One of the best gifts I ever got — she bought me a little stand that I could keep on the table while I was eating, and I could put a book in the stand, and I could read while I was eating. I mean, I always had to be reading something," he recalls.
Interview Highlights
On comics and picking a pen name
I realized that people had no respect for comic books at all. Most parents didn't want their children to read comics. And I was a little embarrassed to be doing the work I did, and I figured someday I'll write the Great American Novel and I don't want to ruin my possibilities by having my name disliked this way. And I became Stan Lee.
The stories in the comic books then were a little bit different. My publisher was typical of all the publishers, and in the early days he would say to me, "Just give me action! I want a lot of action in every panel! That's what the kids want." So I wanted the characters to have good personalities, I wanted provocative situations — I don't think he knew what the word provocative meant. Aside from the fights, there was nothing much to recommend the books.
On creating the Fantastic Four
I was really ready to quit. I was getting sick of doing these one-character-punches-another and says, "Take that, you rat." So my wife said to me, "You want to quit. Before you do, why don't you get one story out of your system? Do one the way you want to do it. The worst that will happen, he'll fire you. But you want to quit anyway. So what have you got to lose?" So that's when I did the Fantastic Four.
On artist Jack Kirby's original vision for Spider-Man
Jack made him look very heroic and strong. But that isn't the way I wanted him. I wanted him to look like a typical, thin high school kid. And he doesn't get all the girls because of his athletic prowess. He's just kind of a shy high school kid who's a science major. It was no big deal. I said, "Jack, forget it. I'll give it to someone else." And he was busy with a dozen other books. He didn't care. So I called Steve Ditko, and Steve gave him just the right look. And that's how Spidey was born.
On whether he feels his creations around him
Not really. I love those characters I've done. But I've moved on to other things. I love talking about them, I love people being interested in them. And I'm interested in them, too. But as I say, they're things that I had written. I'm glad they turned out to be successful. But today is another day.
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Transcript
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Now we have the story of the human behind some of America's legendary superheroes. Our own Renee Montagne, a superhero of sorts, paid a visit to the Beverly Hills office of comic book writer Stan Lee.
RENEE MONTAGNE, BYLINE: Stan Lee is himself a legend, along with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Lee transformed comic books. He helped populate the Marvel Comics universe, the "Fantastic Four," "The Incredible Hulk," "Iron Man." His most famous creation - he calls him Spidey - is everywhere in this office, a painting, a life-sized doll and...
STAN LEE: That is a real, amazing "Spiderman" pinball machine. Nobody plays pinballs anymore. And it's really a good thing because it doesn't work anymore (laughter).
MONTAGNE: Stan Lee most assuredly does work. The 92-year-old was at his desk when we walked in and called out sweetly, you're late. This man dreamed up lots of back stories for Marvel characters. He's now out with his own origin story, a memoir written as a Technicolor comic book. It begins when he was a boy transported to other world through books, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells, Shakespeare. His reality was the Depression, a dingy New York apartment with laundry hanging in the kitchen and a brick wall for a view, his father mostly out of work, his mother doting on young Stanley so much, he remembers her just watching him read.
LEE: One of the best gifts I ever got, she bought me a little stand that I could keep on the table while I was eating. And I could put a book in the stand, and I could read while I was eating. I mean, I always had to be reading something.
MONTAGNE: And now about that name, Stan Lee. Before Peter Parker became Spiderman or Tony Stark, Iron Man, Stanley Martin Lieber became Stan Lee. It was in the early 1940s. Our hero was fetching coffee at Timely Comics when he got a chance to write a story for "Captain America" and decided to use a pen name.
LEE: I realized that people had no respect for comic books at all. Most parents didn't want their children to read comics. And I was a little embarrassed to be doing the work I did. And I figured, someday I'll write the great American novel, and I don't want to ruin my possibilities by having my name disliked this way. And I became Stan Lee.
MONTAGNE: Well, you know, of course, that between blockbuster movies and just the fact that so many people read comics and see it as a form of art, people would be saying, why would you have been embarrassed?
LEE: Actually, the stories in the comic books then were a little bit different. My publisher was typical of all the publishers. And in the early days, he would say to me, just give me action. I want a lot of action in every panel. That's what the kids want. So I wanted the characters to have good personalities. I wanted provocative situations. I don't think he knew what the word provocative meant. Aside from the fights, there was nothing much to recommend the books.
MONTAGNE: And by 1961, after more than 20 successful years in the comics world, Stan Lee had had enough.
LEE: I was really ready to quit. I was getting sick of doing these, one character punches another and says, take that, you rat. So my wife said to me, you want to quit. Before you do, why don't you get one story out of your system? Do one the way you want to do it. The worst that'll happen, he'll fire you. But you want to quit anyway, so what have you got to lose? So that's when I did the "Fantastic Four."
MONTAGNE: And what were their - in a thumbnail - what were their stories?
LEE: Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic as he modestly called himself, had created a spaceship. And he was going to go up in space for some reason, to explore something. And while they were up there, the ship was struck by cosmic rays. And the cosmic rays affected each one of the characters. Johnny Storm became the Human Torch. The heroine, Sue Storm - Johnny's sister - she had the power of invisibility. And the character I liked the most, and the fans did, was called The Thing. And the cosmic ray made him incredibly ugly. His body looked like it was made out of chips of mental or something. They were always insulting Reed Richards, the leader, Mr. Fantastic, because he was like me. He talked too much. He like to use big words. The Thing was always saying, can't you talk English? And I had fun with them. And the readers seemed to enjoy it.
MONTAGNE: Getting superpowers, that's the beginning. So you've got gamma rays or gamma bombs...
LEE: Cosmic rays, gamma - and I'm a guy who knows nothing - I wouldn't know a gamma ray if it walked in here and hit me. I don't know what a cosmic ray is. But they sound good, and that's the important thing.
MONTAGNE: You have the story of how you had the idea for "Spiderman," a teenaged, awkward hero. But when you went in to have your artist draw it, in this case the great Jack Kirby, the first drawing that he came up with - and we see it in the memoir - was this big, muscle-y guy with a square jaw. And anyone who knows "Spiderman" will know it didn't turn into that.
LEE: Jack made him look very heroic and strong. But that isn't the way I wanted him. I wanted him to look like a typical, thin, high school kid. He doesn't get all the girls because of his athletic prowess. He's just kind of a shy, high school kid who's a science major. And it was no big deal. I said, Jack, forget it; I'll give it to someone else. And he was busy with a dozen other books. He didn't care. So I called Steve Ditko. And Steve gave him just the right look. And that's how Spidey was born.
MONTAGNE: The very last page of your book shows an older man with gray hair, his hand on the arm of a young boy. They're walking towards a beautiful city with all these Marvel superheroes hovering over their heads, walking into what might be the Stan Lee sunset, I guess (laughter).
LEE: I like that.
MONTAGNE: Do you actually feel the sense of those characters around you?
LEE: Not really. I love those characters I've done. But I've moved on to other things. I love talking about them. I love people being interested in them. And I'm interested in them too. But as I say, they're things that I had written. I'm glad they turned out to be successful. But today is another day.
MONTAGNE: That's because you are this 92-year-old who feels like you're 65 (laughter).
LEE: You should have known me when I was a spry 91 (laughter).
MONTAGNE: (Laughter).
No wonder, then, that Stan Lee titled his new memoir, "Amazing Fantastic Incredible."
INSKEEP: Pow. Stan Lee was talking with our colleague, Renee Montagne. That was in 2002. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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