Nov '18
The dude invented Marvel Comics, and these characters are ingrained onto the minds of every youth in America. Probably even the world. Back in the 60s, he drew a pictures, wrote a few storylines, and a major empire became of it. Granted, it didn't take off as quickly as all that, because comics were still considered child's play for many years, until it started to invade motion pictures and the world of television.
They made a few pieces of shit back in the 70s to 90s, and nobody could take them seriously. At least 3 Captain America movies (one starring Christopher Lee), Punisher '89 with Dolph, some version of Fantastic Four, and even Doctor Strange. I've seen at least one or two of these movies, but they're god awful.
Of course, I need to throw a shout out to a great Marvel tv show during this era: The Incredible Hulk (1978-1982). What an era, huh? Everyone loves the 70s and its bleedover into the 80s. Things were nigh perfect back then, and so was this show. David Banner (not Bruce Banner) was a nice regular scientist who turned into a green Lou Ferrigno and helped out various folk in distress. I've seen a season or two, and it was a solid show. In fact, I don't know why I quit watching, but I always liked it. It was some fun, old school tv heroism.
I remain rather oblivious to the resulting storyline as I drifted away from it, but I know they made a few tv movies, and they went for it. They had their own sense of a Marvel TV Universe before the MCU thought of it, and that was a big deal. They had DareDevil and Thor on that show, and it wasn't half bad from the clips I've seen. Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno were onto something, but for many years later, no one would take the hint.
It wasn't until '98 that people began to see some promise in the Marvel world on film with the first good movie based on a Marvel character. And no, I'm not talking about David Hasselhoff's portrayal of "Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", which -- fun fact -- was written by David Goyer, who would go on to do many other good comic movies, like Blade, The Crow 2, and the Dark Knight Trilogy.
So Stan "the man" Lee had to wait a few decades for his shit to get cinematic recognition, but it happened, and now, it's taking over the world. The R-rated blade kicked it off, but that kid-friendly audience demanded nicer movies, so we got Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy instead. Of course, they were still unsure of the best format at the time, so they also made Tom Jane's Punisher, which was fucking great, IMO. Then, they went back and forth between family-friendly and serious movies, until we got the cinematic universe. Hell, it's still a struggle, since the friendly FOX went into a darker direction with R-rated glories like Deadpool and Logan, but the MCU also spit out some fantastic tv shows like DareDevil and Punisher.
So basically, everyone knows that superhero movies are taking over the world. This has been happening ever since Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy won a few oscars, and gave some well-needed respect to our superhero icons. Personally, I'm a bit burned out on superhero movies at this point, due to an oversaturation in the market, but every now and then, one of these fuckers has the right idea. Put me in camp Netflix any day of the week. I'm fucking loving DareDevil season 3. Vincent D'Onofrio is awesome as the Kingpin, and the fight scenes are cool as shit.
So there you have a brief and underwhelming history of Marvel movies and shows. Again, it took decades for it to get the momentum it has now, but it ain't stopping. Even if the quality fades, Hollywood will reboot it with different tones to appeal to different audiences, and it'll outlast us all. One man is responsible for this, and by the time this shit became pop culture, all he had to do was ride the wave.
What bothers me most about his death is, like many other bad-asses, he didn't make it to 100. How cool would that be? Ernest Borgnine didn't make it, James Karen didn't make, but hell. At least Spartacus made it. Kirk Douglas is (currently alive at 101 years of age. Go him!
Back in the mid 90s (no, I haven't seen the movie "Mid90s" yet, but I want to), I was less than 10 years old. I was into comics back then, because I had this gnarly comic store within walking distance. I'd scrape up any change I could find to buy the Spider-Man fleer-ultra set, which was 25 cents per card. It was a great time to be a kid. That's when I'd learn about the Marvel universe more than anything. I collected a bunch of those cards until the damn place had to move to another location, and I was fucked. I collected a bunch of comics, but my dumb ass sold my entire stack for $5 one time, because I needed to make room for other shit. I've been kicking myself ever since, because I should have sold them later, and on eBay, where I would have made some real money!
The 90s was the best time for Marvel, I think. That's when Mallrats came out, and Stan Lee was a rather prominent part of that movie, by presence and influence. Ever since them, he'd been cameo'ing in most Marvel movies, and he's always seemed like he was in good spirits. Even in that whole scandal where his manager was using the shit out of him, Stan Lee didn't care. He was just happy to be alive, and probably still rich as fuck either way.
Funny story... a few years ago, @der and my sister were at a baseball game and surprise... Stan Lee was there. He even got to throw the first pitch. Of course, his old ass fucked it up with a wimpy toss and apologized, but it's still cool as hell either way.
Rest in Peace, Stan. You've had an impact on this whole fucking planet.
They made a few pieces of shit back in the 70s to 90s, and nobody could take them seriously. At least 3 Captain America movies (one starring Christopher Lee), Punisher '89 with Dolph, some version of Fantastic Four, and even Doctor Strange. I've seen at least one or two of these movies, but they're god awful.
Of course, I need to throw a shout out to a great Marvel tv show during this era: The Incredible Hulk (1978-1982). What an era, huh? Everyone loves the 70s and its bleedover into the 80s. Things were nigh perfect back then, and so was this show. David Banner (not Bruce Banner) was a nice regular scientist who turned into a green Lou Ferrigno and helped out various folk in distress. I've seen a season or two, and it was a solid show. In fact, I don't know why I quit watching, but I always liked it. It was some fun, old school tv heroism.
I remain rather oblivious to the resulting storyline as I drifted away from it, but I know they made a few tv movies, and they went for it. They had their own sense of a Marvel TV Universe before the MCU thought of it, and that was a big deal. They had DareDevil and Thor on that show, and it wasn't half bad from the clips I've seen. Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno were onto something, but for many years later, no one would take the hint.
It wasn't until '98 that people began to see some promise in the Marvel world on film with the first good movie based on a Marvel character. And no, I'm not talking about David Hasselhoff's portrayal of "Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", which -- fun fact -- was written by David Goyer, who would go on to do many other good comic movies, like Blade, The Crow 2, and the Dark Knight Trilogy.
So Stan "the man" Lee had to wait a few decades for his shit to get cinematic recognition, but it happened, and now, it's taking over the world. The R-rated blade kicked it off, but that kid-friendly audience demanded nicer movies, so we got Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy instead. Of course, they were still unsure of the best format at the time, so they also made Tom Jane's Punisher, which was fucking great, IMO. Then, they went back and forth between family-friendly and serious movies, until we got the cinematic universe. Hell, it's still a struggle, since the friendly FOX went into a darker direction with R-rated glories like Deadpool and Logan, but the MCU also spit out some fantastic tv shows like DareDevil and Punisher.
So basically, everyone knows that superhero movies are taking over the world. This has been happening ever since Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy won a few oscars, and gave some well-needed respect to our superhero icons. Personally, I'm a bit burned out on superhero movies at this point, due to an oversaturation in the market, but every now and then, one of these fuckers has the right idea. Put me in camp Netflix any day of the week. I'm fucking loving DareDevil season 3. Vincent D'Onofrio is awesome as the Kingpin, and the fight scenes are cool as shit.
So there you have a brief and underwhelming history of Marvel movies and shows. Again, it took decades for it to get the momentum it has now, but it ain't stopping. Even if the quality fades, Hollywood will reboot it with different tones to appeal to different audiences, and it'll outlast us all. One man is responsible for this, and by the time this shit became pop culture, all he had to do was ride the wave.
What bothers me most about his death is, like many other bad-asses, he didn't make it to 100. How cool would that be? Ernest Borgnine didn't make it, James Karen didn't make, but hell. At least Spartacus made it. Kirk Douglas is (currently alive at 101 years of age. Go him!
Back in the mid 90s (no, I haven't seen the movie "Mid90s" yet, but I want to), I was less than 10 years old. I was into comics back then, because I had this gnarly comic store within walking distance. I'd scrape up any change I could find to buy the Spider-Man fleer-ultra set, which was 25 cents per card. It was a great time to be a kid. That's when I'd learn about the Marvel universe more than anything. I collected a bunch of those cards until the damn place had to move to another location, and I was fucked. I collected a bunch of comics, but my dumb ass sold my entire stack for $5 one time, because I needed to make room for other shit. I've been kicking myself ever since, because I should have sold them later, and on eBay, where I would have made some real money!
The 90s was the best time for Marvel, I think. That's when Mallrats came out, and Stan Lee was a rather prominent part of that movie, by presence and influence. Ever since them, he'd been cameo'ing in most Marvel movies, and he's always seemed like he was in good spirits. Even in that whole scandal where his manager was using the shit out of him, Stan Lee didn't care. He was just happy to be alive, and probably still rich as fuck either way.
Funny story... a few years ago, @der and my sister were at a baseball game and surprise... Stan Lee was there. He even got to throw the first pitch. Of course, his old ass fucked it up with a wimpy toss and apologized, but it's still cool as hell either way.
Rest in Peace, Stan. You've had an impact on this whole fucking planet.
I've dabbled with comics off and on for years and Stan Lee's finger print was ever present. I mean, how couldn't it be. Not only did he revitalize Marvel comics with the Fantastic Four, a notable acomplishment all on its own, but he then went on to create Spider-Man, The Silver Surfer, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The X-Men, Daredevil, Dr. Strange and many more I'm sure I'm forgetting and others that I'm just unaware of his input on. He also developed 'The Marvel Method', the way he collaborated the illustrators to create comics.
Lee lived a long and illustrious life that anyone would be proud of and that I'm glad I got to witness some of the fruits of. It's weird that people you've never met can still have an impact on your life. I was bummed to hear that he'd shuffled along to the great comic shop in the sky...but he made the most of his time here and seemed to have enjoyed the ride.
Excelsior!