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Hi, I'm Stan Lee.
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Editor of the Marvel Comics Group
of superhero comic magazines.
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Comic books have been a big business
for the past 25 years,
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and they are bigger than ever today.
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With this in mind, you'll be interested
to know that the Marvel Comics Group
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is the acknowledged leader
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in monthly sales of all comic magazines
published today.
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Our superheroes are the kind of people
that you or I would be
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if we had a super power,
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which sets them apart from
all other superheroes published today
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and seems to be the reason that they're
actually far more popular than any others.
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Every one of us are a product
of all the things we've experienced,
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seen, read, and heard in our lives.
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So, when I write,
I'm remembering things that happened.
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Those things become part of the story.
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One day, I was trying to think
of a new superhero
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and I saw a fly crawling on a wall.
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And I thought, "Gee, wouldn't it be
something if a hero could stick to walls
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"and move on them like an insect."
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I decided I wanted somebody who every one
of the readers could identify with.
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If I had superhuman powers,
wouldn't I still have to worry
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about making a living
or having my dates like me?
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{\an8}What I tried to do was write the kind
of stories I would want to read,
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{\an8}and sometimes I had to buck a trend
to do that.
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I think perseverance
plays such a great part of it.
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If you think you've got it,
you just mustn't give up.
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You gotta just keep working at it,
hoping sooner or later
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somebody will recognize what you've done.
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December 28th was a very important date
for me in the year 1922.
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That's when I was born.
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On the West Side of Manhattan,
on 98th Street and West End Avenue.
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My name was Stanley Martin Lieber.
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{\an8}My parents came to New York
from Eastern Europe,
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and they used to like
to take photographs of me.
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They didn't have a camera,
but there were people in the neighborhood.
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I think you'd pay them a dime
at that time.
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They would have a little pony with them,
and they put the little kid on the pony.
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(CHUCKLES) So, I had more photos
of myself taken on ponies.
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I did have a brother
who was born nine years after me.
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His name is Larry and he's a great guy,
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but unfortunately, I was nine years older,
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so it was tough to pal around with him.
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I loved reading.
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I think I was born reading,
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I mean, I can't remember a time
when I wasn't reading.
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I loved Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan,
The Hardy Boys,
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King Arthur and his Knights, The Odyssey,
everything I could get my hands on.
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My mother said
I would read the labels on ketchup bottles
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if there was nothing else around.
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We didn't have any money.
It was during the Depression.
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The one thing I wanted was a bicycle.
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And finally,
my folks scraped up enough money
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and they bought me this two-wheeler.
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And, man, I felt as though
I could go anywhere on that bike.
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I had been freed.
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I used to go to the movies
and I'd see Errol Flynn on the screen.
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He played Robin Hood, Captain Blood.
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He was always a hero.
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I wanted to be Errol Flynn.
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And I would leave the theater
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and ride my bike
over the George Washington Bridge,
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which goes from Manhattan to New Jersey.
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And it was such a triumphant feeling
to ride across the bridge.
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And I knew
I was gonna become somebody important.
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NARRATOR: Again,
we bring you another chapter
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of Edgar Rice Burroughs' amazing history
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of Tarzan of the Apes.
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The astounding record of a superman
who became the...
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STAN: My father was a great guy,
but he had trouble getting a job.
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He had been a dress cutter,
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and there were just no jobs apparently
for dress cutters.
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And so, he was unemployed
most of the time.
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My earliest memories
are just him sitting home,
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reading the want ads in the newspaper.
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I always felt tremendous pity for him.
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It must be a terrible feeling
to just not be bringing in the money
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that's needed for your family.
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To me, it seemed as if having a good job,
a steady job,
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was the greatest success
a person could attain,
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only because my father never had one.
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That's one of the reasons
I started working at an early age.
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I got a job as an office boy,
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at the second largest
trouser manufacturer.
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They had millions of salesmen,
and whenever they wanted a glass of water,
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or they wanted someone
to sharpen a pencil,
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they would yell, "Boy!"
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and whichever one of us was closer
had to come running,
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and I resented the fact
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that they never took the trouble
to learn my name.
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Like, a week before Christmas,
they told me I have to leave
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and, oh, I was burned up.
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But if they hadn't fired me,
I might have stayed there
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and I might have made my life
working in trousers. I was lucky.
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{\an8}There was a general rush. Bank deposits...
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SPORTS ANNOUNCER: And Owens wins again...
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MAN ON TV: Oh, the humanity...
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STAN: Writing was always fun. In fact,
I remember I was a very corny guy.
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I had a little briefcase
and I loved carrying it with me
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when I walked in the streets
so people would think I was a writer.
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You know, a little thin briefcase.
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When I graduated high school,
I had an uncle
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and he worked for a publisher,
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and he told me that
they were looking for an assistant.
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And I figured, "Gee, I'm going to apply."
So I went up there,
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and I found out
they also published comic books.
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They had an outfit called Timely Comics,
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and they hired me to run errands,
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{\an8}to proof-read,
fill the inkwell, whatever had to be done.
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{\an8}I didn't really have any intention
to be working in comics,
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but it was a job.
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There were two guys,
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby,
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who were running the thing.
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Joe Simon was the boss
and he walked around puffing a big cigar
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and he talked in a very deep voice,
and he was great. I liked him.
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He had a lot of personality.
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And Jack would sit hunched over
the drawing board
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and do most of the actual artwork.
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{\an8}I asked Stan how old he was.
He says, "17."
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{\an8}So we gave him a job there.
He was the gofer, you know.
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{\an8}And he'd go out and get coffee.
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STAN: I would ask Jack, "You comfortable?
Do you want some more ink?
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"Is your brush okay?
Is the pencil all right?"
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And he would yell at me for a while.
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And that was the way we spent our days.
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{\an8}SIMON: He drove Jack Kirby crazy.
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He had a little instrument.
A piccolo?
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And he played this thing all day.
And Kirby would tell him to shut up.
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And Stan would keep playing.
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STAN: We had The Human Torch
and The Sub-Mariner and The Patriot
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and The Angel and The Destroyer.
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{\an8}But the main character we had
was Captain America.
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{\an8}From the very beginning,
we were very much affected
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{\an8}by what was going on
in the world around us.
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{\an8}Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
were doing stories of Captain America
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battling Hitler and the Nazis
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{\an8}even before America
had gotten into the war.
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{\an8}Captain America came from the need
for a patriotic character
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{\an8}because the times at that time
were in a patriotic stir.
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{\an8}The war was coming on
and the war clouds were gathering
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{\an8}and so Captain America
had to come into existence.
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STAN: I came in in 1939,
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and it was such a small place
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that Jack Kirby and Joe
couldn't keep up with all the stories.
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And they said, "Hey,
could you help us write a story or two?"
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When you're 16, what do you know.
I said, "Sure, I could do it."
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When I started doing comics,
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I figured I would just do them
for a little while and get some experience
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and I thought
one day I'll be a big time writer
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and maybe I'll write
the Great American Novel.
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I always, in the back of my mind,
liked comics,
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but I never considered that real writing.
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I said, "I'm not going to use my name
for these silly comics."
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And I thought, "I need a pen name."
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So, I just took my first name,
Stanley, and I cut it in two
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and I signed "Stan Lee."
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And the first story that I wrote
was called
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"Captain America
and the Traitor's Revenge."
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And what happened was,
everybody started to know me as Stan Lee
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{\an8}and nobody knew me anymore
as Stanley Lieber.
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{\an8}It was like my alter ego.
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(RADIO CRACKLING AND SWITCHING STATIONS)
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SPORTS ANNOUNCER:
And the champion Yankees roar!
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STAN: After a while,
Joe and Jack left Timely Comics
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and the publisher looked around
at his vast empire,
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and he saw this one skinny kid
with a broom in one hand
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and a typewriter in the other
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and he said,
"Hey, where's the rest of my staff?"
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And I said, "I'm it."
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He said, "Somebody's gotta
edit these books."
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He said, "Stan, can you hold down the job
till I get somebody else?"
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And I said, "Okay, I'll take it."
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So, he went off into the outside world
to seek another editor,
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and I was now Stan Lee,
boy editor pro tem.
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And that was it, I became the editor,
and I think he forgot to hire somebody
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because I remained the editor.
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So at 17, I was really running the place.
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And since I was my own writer
and my own editor,
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I didn't have much to change.
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So I was able to get these stories
moving very fast.
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{\an8}FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT:
Since the unprovoked
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and dastardly attack
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by Japan on Sunday,
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December 7th, 1941,
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a state of war
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has existed
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between the United States
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and the Japanese Empire.
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STAN: Like an idiot, I volunteered.
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I felt it was my duty. It was a big war.
And I wanted to be like Errol Flynn.
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I wanted to be a hero.
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But before they could send me overseas,
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they found out I had worked
for this comic book company.
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The next thing I know, I got transferred
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to Astoria, Queens, in New York,
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where they had a film unit
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where they did training films
and instructional books for the troops.
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Funny thing. I didn't know this
until after the war ended.
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I looked at my army discharge and it said
Army occupation, it said playwright.
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They were having a big problem
training finance officers quickly enough.
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The men overseas
weren't getting paid on time
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'cause there weren't enough
payroll officers to pay them.
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So I was asked,
could I rewrite the finance textbooks
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to make the training period shorter?
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I rewrote the finance textbooks
using comic strips.
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We were able to shorten
the training period for finance officers
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from six months to six weeks.
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It was then I realized
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that comic books
can have a tremendous impact.
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You can convey a story or information
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faster, more clearly, and more enjoyably,
than any other way,
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00:14:49,431 --> 00:14:51,058
short of motion pictures.
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STAN: After the Army, I went back
to the comic book company.
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Started doing
what I had been doing all the time.
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I had a cousin
and he was in the hat business.
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And one day, he said, there was a model,
a hat model,
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at this place, named Betty.
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He thought I'd really like her
and she might like me.
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So, I went up to this hat model place,
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and somebody opened the door.
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{\an8}I remember it very clearly.
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{\an8}He came to the door and he was...
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He had his raincoat
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thrown over his shoulder.
224
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Joan opened the door.
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Now, she was not the girl
that I was supposed to meet.
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But she was the head model there.
And she was...
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She opened the door and said...
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Hello!
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And he said,
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"Hello, I think
I'm going to fall in love with you."
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STAN: I couldn't believe it.
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00:16:04,881 --> 00:16:09,094
She had this beautiful English accent.
And I'm a real Anglophile.
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An English accent knocks me out.
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And she was gorgeous.
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JOAN: I thought,
236
00:16:16,143 --> 00:16:18,645
"This one I can't let get away."
237
00:16:19,354 --> 00:16:21,064
It was really love at first sight.
238
00:16:35,287 --> 00:16:37,080
(PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)
239
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,254
STAN: At the time,
we were known as Atlas Comics
240
00:16:44,254 --> 00:16:46,757
and we were just publishing
what everybody else did.
241
00:16:46,757 --> 00:16:50,093
If western books were good,
we published a thousand westerns.
242
00:16:50,093 --> 00:16:51,344
If romance books were in,
243
00:16:51,344 --> 00:16:53,889
we published a million romance books,
and so forth.
244
00:16:53,889 --> 00:16:55,515
We just followed the trends.
245
00:16:56,183 --> 00:17:00,228
We did war stories, romance stories,
humor stories,
246
00:17:00,854 --> 00:17:03,523
little funny animal
animated comic stories.
247
00:17:04,566 --> 00:17:07,444
We were grinding out magazines
like confetti,
248
00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:10,030
and we did that for years.
249
00:17:10,030 --> 00:17:14,034
At one point, we were churning out
almost a hundred magazines a month.
250
00:17:16,244 --> 00:17:19,998
As a kid, all I wanted was a steady job,
251
00:17:21,917 --> 00:17:24,002
and now I had one.
252
00:17:25,879 --> 00:17:28,632
{\an8}Writing came very easily to me.
253
00:17:28,632 --> 00:17:32,636
{\an8}And in those early days,
it was a fun way to make money.
254
00:17:33,303 --> 00:17:36,890
I was getting paid as an editor,
art director, and head writer,
255
00:17:37,474 --> 00:17:41,895
but any stories that I wrote
I got paid for on a freelance basis.
256
00:17:42,479 --> 00:17:45,023
So as the editor, I bought all my stories.
257
00:17:46,483 --> 00:17:49,277
My wife and I,
we were a little bit extravagant.
258
00:17:50,028 --> 00:17:51,905
We lived right up to whatever I made,
259
00:17:52,823 --> 00:17:56,159
and I was and am
very much in love with her.
260
00:17:56,827 --> 00:17:58,578
So whatever Joanie wanted, I'd say,
261
00:17:58,578 --> 00:18:01,873
"That's fine, honey, I'll write
another story tonight to pay for it."
262
00:18:02,415 --> 00:18:04,751
Not only her, anytime I wanted something.
263
00:18:04,751 --> 00:18:06,336
I want a new car.
264
00:18:06,336 --> 00:18:09,589
Okay. I'll write a couple of stories,
that'll take care of the down payment,
265
00:18:09,589 --> 00:18:13,009
and I'll keep writing stories
every time the payments come due.
266
00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:17,514
I was always writing the stories
to keep up with what we were doing.
267
00:18:17,514 --> 00:18:21,059
It was like having a tiger by the tail.
But we loved living that way.
268
00:18:27,941 --> 00:18:30,110
(OLDIES MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO)
269
00:18:34,781 --> 00:18:38,034
In those days,
comics weren't thought of very highly.
270
00:18:38,952 --> 00:18:42,080
I remember we'd go to parties
and somebody would walk over to me
271
00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:43,498
and say, "What do you do?"
272
00:18:43,498 --> 00:18:47,085
And I tried not to say, and I would say,
"Oh, I'm a writer,"
273
00:18:47,085 --> 00:18:49,963
and I'd walk away,
but the person would follow me,
274
00:18:49,963 --> 00:18:51,464
"Well, what do you write?"
275
00:18:51,464 --> 00:18:53,800
And I'd say,
"Oh, stories for young people."
276
00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:57,304
Walk away further.
Follow me, "What kind of stories?"
277
00:18:57,304 --> 00:18:59,806
"Magazine stories." "Well, what magazine?"
278
00:18:59,806 --> 00:19:02,976
At some point, I had to say comic books,
279
00:19:03,518 --> 00:19:07,772
and the person who had been
interrogating me would, "Oh, I see,"
280
00:19:07,772 --> 00:19:10,442
and turn around and leave me, you know.
281
00:19:14,946 --> 00:19:17,657
MAN: Reading.
What a wonderful thing this would be
282
00:19:17,657 --> 00:19:19,868
if they were reading something worthwhile.
283
00:19:19,868 --> 00:19:21,953
But they're not reading
anything constructive,
284
00:19:21,953 --> 00:19:25,624
they're reading stories
devoted to adultery, to sexual perversion,
285
00:19:25,624 --> 00:19:28,543
to horror,
to the most despicable of crimes.
286
00:19:31,296 --> 00:19:34,257
STAN: In those days,
we had to submit the comics
287
00:19:34,257 --> 00:19:37,677
to a self-censorship organization
288
00:19:37,677 --> 00:19:40,305
that had been set up by the publishers.
289
00:19:40,305 --> 00:19:43,391
It was called the Comics Code Authority.
290
00:19:43,391 --> 00:19:46,603
All the books we published
had to be presented to them
291
00:19:46,603 --> 00:19:49,356
and they would make certain
there was nothing in them
292
00:19:49,356 --> 00:19:51,858
that would ruin the youth of America.
293
00:19:58,740 --> 00:20:01,910
People thought of comics
as being just for little kids.
294
00:20:03,662 --> 00:20:07,207
{\an8}And they were written and drawn
with that in mind.
295
00:20:08,416 --> 00:20:10,543
{\an8}In those days,
you're reading a comic book,
296
00:20:10,543 --> 00:20:12,504
{\an8}and it could really be any superhero,
297
00:20:12,504 --> 00:20:14,172
and he's walking down the street
298
00:20:14,172 --> 00:20:17,175
and he's got his little colorful
long underwear suit on,
299
00:20:17,175 --> 00:20:20,095
and he sees a big, bug-eyed monster
coming toward him,
300
00:20:20,095 --> 00:20:23,932
and his dialogue would have been something
the equivalent of,
301
00:20:23,932 --> 00:20:26,726
"Oh, a creature from another planet.
302
00:20:27,143 --> 00:20:30,522
"I had better capture him
before he destroys the world."
303
00:20:33,483 --> 00:20:36,695
{\an8}My publisher, Martin Goodman,
he used to say to me,
304
00:20:36,695 --> 00:20:40,782
{\an8}"Remember, Stan, don't use words
of more than two syllables.
305
00:20:40,782 --> 00:20:43,952
"Don't have too much dialogue.
Get a lot of action.
306
00:20:43,952 --> 00:20:46,037
"Don't worry about characterization."
307
00:20:46,621 --> 00:20:49,165
After a while, I really wanted to quit.
308
00:20:52,002 --> 00:20:56,089
For the best motion picture,
The Apartment, Billy Wilder.
309
00:20:56,089 --> 00:20:57,173
(WOMEN VOCALIZING)
310
00:20:58,133 --> 00:21:01,761
Ask not what your country
can do for you...
311
00:21:04,264 --> 00:21:06,725
STAN: I always felt
I was really wasting time.
312
00:21:06,725 --> 00:21:11,104
I felt okay, so I'm making a living
with selling comics,
313
00:21:11,938 --> 00:21:16,318
but there are people building bridges
and people doing medical research
314
00:21:17,068 --> 00:21:19,654
{\an8}and people doing things that matter.
315
00:21:21,489 --> 00:21:25,201
And I'm writing
these stupid little fantasy stories.
316
00:21:27,037 --> 00:21:28,538
I always felt, you know,
317
00:21:28,538 --> 00:21:30,790
how could a grown man
be doing comic books?
318
00:21:31,708 --> 00:21:35,003
And he just felt that
he can't just go on doing this...
319
00:21:35,003 --> 00:21:36,838
What he thought was childish stuff.
320
00:21:37,922 --> 00:21:40,342
And then I said to him,
321
00:21:40,342 --> 00:21:44,346
"Well, why don't you create characters
that you like?"
322
00:21:44,346 --> 00:21:46,473
"The worst that'll happen is
you'll get fired
323
00:21:46,473 --> 00:21:47,974
"and you want to quit anyway.
324
00:21:47,974 --> 00:21:49,351
"Get it out of your system."
325
00:21:50,352 --> 00:21:55,565
At that time, Martin Goodman had found out
that our competitor, DC Comics,
326
00:21:55,565 --> 00:21:58,360
they had done a book
called The Justice League of America.
327
00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:01,196
A group of superheroes,
and it was selling very well.
328
00:22:01,780 --> 00:22:04,199
And he said to me,
"Stan, why don't you do a book
329
00:22:04,199 --> 00:22:06,493
"about a group of superheroes?"
330
00:22:06,493 --> 00:22:09,537
So I figured this is my chance
to do it my way.
331
00:22:13,124 --> 00:22:14,751
So I went home and wrote.
332
00:22:16,127 --> 00:22:19,422
It occurred to me that it might be fun
to put out the kind of stories
333
00:22:19,422 --> 00:22:21,216
that I would enjoy reading myself,
334
00:22:21,216 --> 00:22:24,219
rather than just writing for
the eight or nine-year-old.
335
00:22:24,511 --> 00:22:27,931
{\an8}By that time,
Jack Kirby had come back.
336
00:22:28,264 --> 00:22:32,352
{\an8}So I said, "Jack, wouldn't it be fun
if we have good guys
337
00:22:32,352 --> 00:22:36,147
"who occasionally fall on their faces,
who occasionally make mistakes,
338
00:22:36,147 --> 00:22:38,858
"trip at the last minute
and let the bad guy get away?
339
00:22:38,858 --> 00:22:42,404
"Wouldn't it be nice to have bad guys
that you could almost relate to
340
00:22:42,404 --> 00:22:45,865
"and feel, 'Ah, well, you know,
maybe I'd have done the same thing
341
00:22:45,865 --> 00:22:47,659
"'if I was in his position?'"
342
00:22:48,743 --> 00:22:54,249
MAN: Five, four, three, two, one, zero.
343
00:22:56,126 --> 00:22:58,753
STAN: That was really
the start of everything.
344
00:23:01,172 --> 00:23:06,428
I came up with four superheroes
I called The Fantastic Four.
345
00:23:06,428 --> 00:23:09,180
See what happened,
they all went in a rocket ship
346
00:23:10,265 --> 00:23:13,184
and they were affected by cosmic rays.
347
00:23:13,184 --> 00:23:16,938
And the cosmic rays
gave them superhuman abilities.
348
00:23:18,314 --> 00:23:21,067
And yet I tried to be realistic about it.
349
00:23:22,193 --> 00:23:25,155
The hero wasn't just a perfect guy,
350
00:23:25,155 --> 00:23:28,116
he was a fellow like me.
He talks too much.
351
00:23:28,116 --> 00:23:30,118
He was always boring the others,
352
00:23:30,118 --> 00:23:33,705
because one of the other guys
was always saying, "Will you shut up?"
353
00:23:33,705 --> 00:23:39,127
And instead of an obligatory female,
who doesn't know who the hero really is,
354
00:23:39,127 --> 00:23:41,713
she was the hero's fiancée,
355
00:23:41,713 --> 00:23:46,426
and she also had a super power
that was as good as anyone else's.
356
00:23:48,094 --> 00:23:51,598
The teenager in the group
didn't want to be a superhero.
357
00:23:52,891 --> 00:23:55,101
{\an8}Like I would have been
when I was a teenager.
358
00:23:55,101 --> 00:23:58,229
{\an8}He wanted to go out with girls
and ride his sport car.
359
00:23:58,229 --> 00:24:02,150
And the fourth guy was a monster.
Something had happened to him,
360
00:24:02,150 --> 00:24:04,986
and he became very ugly
and incredibly strong.
361
00:24:04,986 --> 00:24:08,907
And I used him for both pathos and humor.
362
00:24:08,907 --> 00:24:11,284
He was always fighting with the others,
363
00:24:11,284 --> 00:24:14,954
and he was always picking on
the Human Torch that was a teenager,
364
00:24:14,954 --> 00:24:18,416
who was always picking on him,
and I got a lot of comedy out of them.
365
00:24:18,875 --> 00:24:22,837
Instead of having them live
in a fictional place
366
00:24:22,837 --> 00:24:25,548
like Metropolis or Gotham City,
367
00:24:25,548 --> 00:24:28,051
I plunked 'em right down in New York City.
368
00:24:28,551 --> 00:24:31,721
Because I knew New York City,
I could write about New York City,
369
00:24:31,721 --> 00:24:34,140
and I figured
why not let 'em live in a real place?
370
00:24:34,807 --> 00:24:36,309
And one day it occurred to me,
371
00:24:36,309 --> 00:24:39,854
it would be fun to show
that they lost all their money.
372
00:24:39,854 --> 00:24:43,107
I don't think that had ever happened
in any other comic book,
373
00:24:43,107 --> 00:24:46,778
where a superhero group
got kicked out of their headquarters
374
00:24:46,778 --> 00:24:48,571
'cause they couldn't pay the rent.
375
00:24:49,364 --> 00:24:53,201
I tried to keep everything
as realistic as possible
376
00:24:53,201 --> 00:24:56,579
even though it was
just a superhero comic.
377
00:25:03,378 --> 00:25:06,881
For the first decade or two,
at the comic book company
378
00:25:06,881 --> 00:25:10,677
we never received fan mail, and I was sure
these books are being published
379
00:25:10,677 --> 00:25:13,221
and destroyed somewhere,
and that's the end of it.
380
00:25:13,221 --> 00:25:14,764
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
381
00:25:14,764 --> 00:25:16,808
I'm exaggerating.
382
00:25:16,808 --> 00:25:19,894
About once a year we'd get a letter,
somebody would write,
383
00:25:20,728 --> 00:25:23,523
"Hey, I bought one of your books
and there's a staple missing.
384
00:25:23,523 --> 00:25:24,816
"I want my money back."
385
00:25:25,858 --> 00:25:28,653
But all of a sudden,
with The Fantastic Four,
386
00:25:28,653 --> 00:25:31,739
{\an8}we really got mail, we really had readers
who said something.
387
00:25:33,074 --> 00:25:36,494
We were getting write-ups
in newspapers and magazines,
388
00:25:36,494 --> 00:25:39,080
and people were asking me
to do interviews.
389
00:25:39,747 --> 00:25:43,209
I began to realize
we have a whole new audience.
390
00:25:44,377 --> 00:25:47,046
At that time
we were calling the company Atlas.
391
00:25:47,505 --> 00:25:49,132
I said we gotta get a new name,
392
00:25:49,132 --> 00:25:52,343
these aren't the same things
we were doing before.
393
00:25:53,136 --> 00:25:55,972
And Martin and I
came up with the name Marvel.
394
00:25:57,724 --> 00:25:59,350
{\an8}That had been the name
395
00:25:59,350 --> 00:26:01,853
of the first comic book
he had ever done,
396
00:26:01,853 --> 00:26:04,731
and I thought it was a great word.
397
00:26:04,731 --> 00:26:07,942
There's so much you can do
with the word Marvel,
398
00:26:07,942 --> 00:26:12,780
{\an8}I used expressions like
"Remember, gang, make mine marvel,"
399
00:26:12,780 --> 00:26:16,367
{\an8}or "Welcome to
The Marvel age of comics!"
400
00:26:16,367 --> 00:26:18,328
Or "Marvel moves on."
401
00:26:18,328 --> 00:26:21,372
I mean, it's the kind of name
you can do a lot with.
402
00:26:22,415 --> 00:26:24,751
That's when everything changed for us.
403
00:26:26,628 --> 00:26:31,007
I've started realizing, to most people
the most important thing
404
00:26:31,007 --> 00:26:35,178
is being entertained,
getting pleasure out of something.
405
00:26:37,013 --> 00:26:39,182
And then, I realized
it applies to me, too.
406
00:26:41,059 --> 00:26:45,521
And I figured maybe what I'm doing
isn't really unimportant.
407
00:26:46,064 --> 00:26:50,735
Maybe entertainment
is one of the most important things,
408
00:26:50,735 --> 00:26:54,197
because there are so many bad things
in the world,
409
00:26:54,197 --> 00:26:58,284
that if you can entertain somebody
for a while, it's a good thing.
410
00:27:08,544 --> 00:27:11,923
So then, instead of quitting,
like I wanted to,
411
00:27:11,923 --> 00:27:16,928
I decided that I could make
a big difference writing superhero books.
412
00:27:17,470 --> 00:27:19,555
I thought I could have
a lot of fun with this
413
00:27:19,555 --> 00:27:21,683
and get some real writing in it.
414
00:27:21,683 --> 00:27:24,227
And I used the philosophy of
415
00:27:24,227 --> 00:27:27,146
what would I like to read
if I were reading a book.
416
00:27:29,065 --> 00:27:33,569
When I was a kid, one of the books
that I read was Jekyll and Hyde.
417
00:27:34,779 --> 00:27:37,990
So I wanted to take from Jekyll and Hyde
418
00:27:37,990 --> 00:27:42,036
where he could change
from a normal person into the monster.
419
00:27:45,164 --> 00:27:49,335
And I always liked the Frankenstein movie,
the old one with Karloff.
420
00:27:49,919 --> 00:27:52,380
I always felt the monster
is really the good guy.
421
00:27:52,380 --> 00:27:53,923
He didn't wanna hurt anybody.
422
00:27:55,049 --> 00:27:57,260
So I thought it would be fun
to get a monster
423
00:27:57,260 --> 00:28:00,263
who was really a good guy,
but nobody knew that.
424
00:28:02,140 --> 00:28:04,934
And I remember the conversation
I had with Jack Kirby,
425
00:28:04,934 --> 00:28:07,812
and I said,
"Jack, we're gonna do a monster
426
00:28:07,812 --> 00:28:11,566
"but I want you to draw me
a sympathetic monster.
427
00:28:11,566 --> 00:28:15,403
"Kind of, a good-looking monster
that a reader can take to."
428
00:28:15,403 --> 00:28:20,074
And as I said it, I realized how stupid
it sounded, but Jack never failed.
429
00:28:22,243 --> 00:28:23,536
{\an8}Hulk's in all of us.
430
00:28:24,287 --> 00:28:27,331
{\an8}I don't think monsters zero in
on anyone in particular.
431
00:28:27,331 --> 00:28:32,462
{\an8}I think that's why they are
generally pitied more than feared.
432
00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:35,923
I felt that monsters, in some way,
had problems.
433
00:28:36,591 --> 00:28:40,136
Monsters, in human or inhuman form,
are inevitably involved
434
00:28:40,136 --> 00:28:44,015
in some sort of conflict
in which anybody can get hurt.
435
00:28:46,058 --> 00:28:48,478
If you read any dramatic news story,
436
00:28:48,478 --> 00:28:52,482
you'll find that the most dramatic part
about 'em was that
437
00:28:52,940 --> 00:28:54,692
inside a human being
438
00:28:54,692 --> 00:28:58,780
there are some sort of problems
that we're constantly trying to solve.
439
00:29:00,114 --> 00:29:04,494
STAN: One of life's great lessons
that I have learned is,
440
00:29:04,494 --> 00:29:09,540
{\an8}don't try to please a certain segment
of the public, don't try to please them,
441
00:29:10,333 --> 00:29:13,044
'cause you don't really know them,
nobody knows them,
442
00:29:13,711 --> 00:29:15,254
but you know yourself.
443
00:29:15,755 --> 00:29:17,507
Try to please yourself.
444
00:29:17,507 --> 00:29:19,801
At least that's what happened to us
at Marvel.
445
00:29:19,801 --> 00:29:23,846
We started writing stories that amused us.
446
00:29:23,846 --> 00:29:25,932
We started to say,
"Hey, wouldn't it be fun
447
00:29:25,932 --> 00:29:29,227
"if we, you know, had a green-skinned
monster and we call him the Hulk"?
448
00:29:29,227 --> 00:29:32,355
Wow, you know,
and we forgot about the audience.
449
00:29:32,897 --> 00:29:34,357
We forgot about the public.
450
00:29:34,357 --> 00:29:38,194
We suddenly started having fun.
The artists and me.
451
00:29:51,916 --> 00:29:55,294
{\an8}I came to New York in '63.
452
00:29:56,337 --> 00:30:01,592
{\an8}And I went on job interviews,
and one of them was meeting Stan,
453
00:30:02,134 --> 00:30:06,556
{\an8}and he needed a gal Friday,
which meant secretary,
454
00:30:06,556 --> 00:30:09,392
{\an8}only you couldn't type
or take shorthand.
455
00:30:11,060 --> 00:30:16,315
Stan was always an upbeat person,
even maybe when sales weren't going well.
456
00:30:16,315 --> 00:30:19,610
You know, if someone was in trouble,
he always gave them a break.
457
00:30:19,610 --> 00:30:23,281
On the deadline, or they needed money.
458
00:30:23,281 --> 00:30:26,450
I never saw him angry.
459
00:30:27,869 --> 00:30:30,621
Not a whiner, not a complainer.
460
00:30:30,621 --> 00:30:33,791
If something's wrong, "Let's fix it."
461
00:30:35,918 --> 00:30:39,839
The job entailed opening the fan mail,
462
00:30:39,839 --> 00:30:43,301
and then making little cards
and sending cards to the kids.
463
00:30:44,969 --> 00:30:46,178
Then, of course,
464
00:30:46,178 --> 00:30:49,640
superheroes started getting bigger
so there was more mail.
465
00:30:51,183 --> 00:30:54,896
{\an8}You know, people were actually
spending time writing these letters.
466
00:30:56,188 --> 00:31:00,651
It sort of developed gradually,
that there was such a movement.
467
00:31:00,651 --> 00:31:02,820
{\an8}You know, the kids were so interested.
468
00:31:03,571 --> 00:31:05,406
{\an8}We were getting so many letters.
469
00:31:05,406 --> 00:31:09,076
Stan said,
"Maybe we should have a little fan club."
470
00:31:09,619 --> 00:31:13,164
We started
The Merry Marvel Marching Society.
471
00:31:13,623 --> 00:31:17,835
You got a little card, you got a button,
472
00:31:18,044 --> 00:31:21,422
probably some stickers
and a little record.
473
00:31:22,340 --> 00:31:25,593
They got a record
of The Merry Marvel Marching Society.
474
00:31:29,430 --> 00:31:33,392
Okay, out there in Marvel-land,
face front, this is Stan Lee speaking.
475
00:31:33,517 --> 00:31:36,270
You've probably never heard
a record like this before,
476
00:31:36,270 --> 00:31:38,564
because no one would be nutty enough
to make one
477
00:31:38,564 --> 00:31:40,441
with a bunch of offbeat artists,
478
00:31:40,441 --> 00:31:42,151
so anything is liable to happen.
479
00:31:42,568 --> 00:31:44,779
KIRBY: Hey, who made you
a Disc Jockey, Lee?
480
00:31:44,779 --> 00:31:48,157
STAN: Well, well, Jolly Jack Kirby.
Say a few words to the fans, Jackson.
481
00:31:48,157 --> 00:31:49,784
KIRBY: Okay, a few words.
482
00:31:50,368 --> 00:31:53,079
STAN: Look, pal, I'll take care
of the humor around here.
483
00:31:53,079 --> 00:31:56,707
KIRBY: You? You've been using
the same gags over and over for years.
484
00:31:56,958 --> 00:31:59,710
STEINBERG: Oh, Stan?
Do you have a few minutes?
485
00:31:59,710 --> 00:32:01,796
STAN: For our fabulous gal Friday?
486
00:32:01,796 --> 00:32:04,298
Sure, say hello to the fans,
Flo Steinberg.
487
00:32:04,298 --> 00:32:07,385
STEINBERG: Hello, fans,
it's very nice to meet you.
488
00:32:07,385 --> 00:32:08,469
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
489
00:32:08,469 --> 00:32:10,304
STAN: Hey.
What's all that commotion out there?
490
00:32:10,304 --> 00:32:12,014
KIRBY: Why, it's shy Steve Ditko.
491
00:32:12,014 --> 00:32:14,517
He heard you're making a record
and he's got mic fright.
492
00:32:14,517 --> 00:32:17,228
- STAN: Out the window again?
- (GLASS BREAKING)
493
00:32:17,353 --> 00:32:19,814
You know, I'm beginning to think
he is Spider-Man.
494
00:32:20,231 --> 00:32:24,318
MAN: (SINGING) You belong, you belong
You belong, you belong
495
00:32:24,318 --> 00:32:28,072
To the Merry Marvel Marching Society
496
00:32:28,072 --> 00:32:32,743
March along, march along
To the song of the Merry...
497
00:32:33,411 --> 00:32:37,289
Shall I tell you a little bit,
a very little bit, 'cause it can get dull,
498
00:32:37,289 --> 00:32:39,375
even duller than what you've been hearing,
499
00:32:39,375 --> 00:32:42,420
about the way we write
and draw these scripts?
500
00:32:43,004 --> 00:32:46,507
In the beginning,
I was writing just about all the stories,
501
00:32:46,507 --> 00:32:51,429
and as we kept adding book after book,
I couldn't keep up with all the artists,
502
00:32:51,429 --> 00:32:54,598
{\an8}so I'd be writing a script,
let's say, for Jack Kirby.
503
00:32:54,598 --> 00:32:57,101
{\an8}Suddenly, Steve Ditko
would walk in and he'd say,
504
00:32:57,101 --> 00:32:59,979
"Hey, Stan, I finished my last job,
I need another one."
505
00:32:59,979 --> 00:33:02,648
So, out of sheer desperation
I said to him,
506
00:33:02,648 --> 00:33:06,944
"Let me just give you a plot,
you go on home and draw it,
507
00:33:06,944 --> 00:33:09,196
"any way you want. Bring it in to me,
508
00:33:09,196 --> 00:33:12,283
"and I'll put in the dialogue
and the captions."
509
00:33:12,283 --> 00:33:14,368
It started as an emergency measure,
510
00:33:14,368 --> 00:33:18,748
but I began to realize,
this is a great way to do it.
511
00:33:20,916 --> 00:33:24,045
Very often in the office
when I'm describing a scene or something,
512
00:33:24,045 --> 00:33:25,838
I'd go storming around the office,
513
00:33:25,838 --> 00:33:29,008
and I would think anybody
looking in on a story conference
514
00:33:29,008 --> 00:33:33,179
at our place would think they're watching
some silent movie being filmed.
515
00:33:33,179 --> 00:33:34,722
STEINBERG: When an artist would come in
516
00:33:34,722 --> 00:33:37,099
and they would be working
on the plot together,
517
00:33:37,099 --> 00:33:39,852
they would act it out
and Stan would jump on the desk
518
00:33:39,852 --> 00:33:43,731
and run around on the desk, and you know,
act the part of the superhero.
519
00:33:43,731 --> 00:33:46,734
They would brainstorm
and there'd be all this noise.
520
00:33:46,734 --> 00:33:48,319
Sometimes if I were on the phone,
521
00:33:48,319 --> 00:33:51,947
I'd have to yell in there,
"Keep it down, keep it down."
522
00:33:52,448 --> 00:33:55,326
STAN: Jack and I have gotten to work
so well together,
523
00:33:55,326 --> 00:33:58,913
that our plotting session
will be something like,
524
00:33:58,913 --> 00:34:03,542
"Hey, in the next Fantastic Four, Jack,
let's let the villain be Doctor Doom."
525
00:34:03,542 --> 00:34:06,295
"Where did he come from?
Where did we leave off with him?"
526
00:34:06,295 --> 00:34:09,757
And I'll say, "Oh, yeah, he was fading off
into another universe.
527
00:34:09,757 --> 00:34:11,759
"Find some way
to bring him back, Jack,
528
00:34:11,759 --> 00:34:14,720
"and then we'll have him attack
the Fantastic Four, and then,
529
00:34:14,720 --> 00:34:18,307
"let's let the story end with him
running off
530
00:34:18,307 --> 00:34:20,434
"and eloping with Sue Storm or something."
531
00:34:21,310 --> 00:34:23,395
Jack will say "Fine" and he goes off,
532
00:34:23,395 --> 00:34:25,731
and by the time
he brings the artwork back,
533
00:34:25,731 --> 00:34:27,483
it might be that particular plot
534
00:34:27,483 --> 00:34:30,111
or he might have changed
fifty million things.
535
00:34:30,903 --> 00:34:33,781
So he doesn't know
exactly what I'm gonna write,
536
00:34:33,781 --> 00:34:35,658
what words I'm gonna put in their mouths.
537
00:34:35,658 --> 00:34:40,996
I don't know what he's gonna draw.
The whole thing is virtual chaos.
538
00:34:40,996 --> 00:34:44,667
But somehow when it gets together,
it seems to hold together pretty well,
539
00:34:44,667 --> 00:34:46,627
and we kinda like working this way.
540
00:34:47,503 --> 00:34:49,839
It isn't the artist,
it isn't the writer.
541
00:34:49,839 --> 00:34:51,757
It's the artist and the writer.
542
00:34:51,757 --> 00:34:53,551
It's pictures and stories,
543
00:34:53,551 --> 00:34:58,472
and when they blend together perfectly,
then you've got a great comic.
544
00:35:01,392 --> 00:35:06,230
Working that way as a team,
it became known as the Marvel Method.
545
00:35:15,823 --> 00:35:20,786
Joan and I, we got a little apartment
in New York on 94th Street.
546
00:35:21,412 --> 00:35:23,247
We stayed there for a year or two.
547
00:35:23,956 --> 00:35:25,708
And then, Joan got pregnant.
548
00:35:26,417 --> 00:35:29,503
We decided we ought to move to a house
to have the baby
549
00:35:29,503 --> 00:35:31,046
and we moved to Long Island.
550
00:35:34,049 --> 00:35:37,178
We got a little house,
and we could just barely afford it.
551
00:35:39,013 --> 00:35:41,432
{\an8}We had a daughter, Joan C. Lee.
552
00:35:42,308 --> 00:35:46,103
We're so vain!
We decided to name our daughter Joan,
553
00:35:46,103 --> 00:35:49,481
and if we had had a son,
we'd have called him Stan.
554
00:35:50,566 --> 00:35:53,986
In fact, we did have another baby,
a girl, we couldn't call her Stan,
555
00:35:53,986 --> 00:36:00,534
so called her Jan, but unfortunately,
she died a few hours after she was born,
556
00:36:01,702 --> 00:36:03,746
and Joan couldn't have any other kids,
557
00:36:05,539 --> 00:36:08,334
so we spoiled Joan rotten.
558
00:36:09,793 --> 00:36:11,962
{\an8}I think she's a mixture of both of us.
559
00:36:11,962 --> 00:36:13,297
{\an8}She's very talented.
560
00:36:14,632 --> 00:36:18,719
{\an8}Think it's difficult being a child
of two such strong parents,
561
00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:21,222
{\an8}I think that's always difficult,
and we are.
562
00:36:22,348 --> 00:36:24,350
STAN: After a while we called her J.C.
563
00:36:24,350 --> 00:36:27,228
'cause our daughter's name
was Joan C. Lee.
564
00:36:27,353 --> 00:36:30,773
The C standing for Celia,
which was my mother's name.
565
00:36:31,232 --> 00:36:33,567
And Joanie was Joan B. Lee.
566
00:36:37,821 --> 00:36:40,908
My wife and I are really so close.
567
00:36:40,908 --> 00:36:44,078
She's the greatest.
I mean, she's an incredible woman.
568
00:36:44,703 --> 00:36:49,667
My wife, I think, is incredibly beautiful,
smart, charming, fun to be with.
569
00:36:49,667 --> 00:36:53,462
When we used to dance,
I let her lead. She was so good.
570
00:36:53,462 --> 00:36:55,089
I tried to keep up with her.
571
00:36:55,089 --> 00:36:58,801
So I tried to put those qualities
in all the women I wrote about.
572
00:36:59,510 --> 00:37:06,058
Mary Jane, for example, was very peppy
and effervescent and kinda hip and cool.
573
00:37:06,767 --> 00:37:07,935
That was my wife.
574
00:37:08,894 --> 00:37:10,229
She's the perfect wife for me
575
00:37:10,229 --> 00:37:14,400
because I spend so much time writing
when I'm home,
576
00:37:15,109 --> 00:37:20,072
and Joanie, she can always keep
herself busy, which is wonderful.
577
00:37:20,072 --> 00:37:23,200
So I don't feel guilty
when I'm in my room writing.
578
00:37:25,494 --> 00:37:28,414
JOAN: He's a vanishing breed.
There are no men like Stan today.
579
00:37:28,414 --> 00:37:31,000
He's an endangered species.
One has to protect him.
580
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,294
Because he's blessed
with tremendous energy.
581
00:37:33,294 --> 00:37:35,170
He's an ever straight man.
582
00:37:35,296 --> 00:37:37,256
Doesn't take booze,
doesn't smoke cigarettes.
583
00:37:37,256 --> 00:37:38,674
And gets up every day and says,
584
00:37:38,674 --> 00:37:41,135
"Thank God this arm works,
and this leg works,
585
00:37:41,135 --> 00:37:42,386
"and life is great."
586
00:37:42,386 --> 00:37:44,555
He's been a very good husband.
587
00:37:45,514 --> 00:37:47,933
INTERVIEWER: So, what's your secret
for a successful marriage?
588
00:37:48,475 --> 00:37:51,061
JOAN: He's my best friend
and I'm his best friend...
589
00:37:51,061 --> 00:37:53,272
- liking each other.
- Okay.
590
00:37:53,522 --> 00:37:55,941
You know, it isn't that kind of
oh, love, love, love.
591
00:37:55,941 --> 00:37:58,819
Kids kinda fall in love and think
you're gonna be in bed all day.
592
00:37:58,819 --> 00:38:01,113
That's not what marriage is.
Marriage is like a farm.
593
00:38:01,113 --> 00:38:04,366
You have to get up every day
and work at it every single day.
594
00:38:04,658 --> 00:38:08,954
He's still the most amazing person
I've ever met in my life.
595
00:38:15,919 --> 00:38:18,130
(ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO)
596
00:38:18,130 --> 00:38:19,256
(RADIO STATIONS SWITCHING)
597
00:38:19,256 --> 00:38:22,468
MAN ON RADIO: The early teens are
years of upheaval and turmoil.
598
00:38:25,262 --> 00:38:26,638
REPORTER: Do you think that teenagers
599
00:38:26,638 --> 00:38:28,974
are any different today
from how they used to be?
600
00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:30,601
Yes, I do.
601
00:38:31,268 --> 00:38:34,980
Do you think teenagers today are better
or worse than they used to be?
602
00:38:34,980 --> 00:38:36,398
I think they're worse.
603
00:38:37,066 --> 00:38:42,988
Today, we've come to a time in history
when there definitely is a generation gap.
604
00:38:42,988 --> 00:38:46,825
TEEN BOY: There is a teenage world,
you know. If the adults don't like it
605
00:38:46,825 --> 00:38:48,952
{\an8}that's only because
they don't want a part of it.
606
00:38:48,952 --> 00:38:50,996
STAN: Anything that can be done
607
00:38:50,996 --> 00:38:55,501
to help present the point of view
of these young people
608
00:38:55,501 --> 00:38:58,337
without hostility, with respect,
609
00:38:58,337 --> 00:39:00,714
would be a very beneficial thing.
610
00:39:02,508 --> 00:39:04,468
When I was 17-years-old,
611
00:39:04,676 --> 00:39:07,596
I was an editor, art director,
and head writer,
612
00:39:08,555 --> 00:39:12,518
but at that time,
the teenager wasn't respected.
613
00:39:12,518 --> 00:39:15,020
So I figured, hell, I'm gonna change that.
614
00:39:15,813 --> 00:39:18,941
Why not have a teenager who's a hero?
615
00:39:18,941 --> 00:39:21,443
Why couldn't a teenager
have a super power?
616
00:39:21,443 --> 00:39:22,611
I loved that idea.
617
00:39:25,447 --> 00:39:28,742
I felt that I would like to, for once,
618
00:39:28,742 --> 00:39:34,206
do a strip about a teenager
who isn't a sidekick, but he is the hero.
619
00:39:34,915 --> 00:39:38,293
And I wanna make him like a real teenager.
620
00:39:38,293 --> 00:39:41,588
He's not a guy who can do anything
and never has a problem.
621
00:39:42,881 --> 00:39:44,675
But I had to come up with a name.
622
00:39:46,343 --> 00:39:51,807
As a kid, I had loved a pulp magazine
named The Spider.
623
00:39:52,182 --> 00:39:56,061
The most dramatic thing I could think of,
the cover of this magazine,
624
00:39:56,061 --> 00:40:00,649
it said, "The Spider: Master of Men."
625
00:40:00,649 --> 00:40:03,485
Somehow, to me, at the age of nine,
626
00:40:04,236 --> 00:40:06,530
"Master of Men, oh, I'd love to be a..."
627
00:40:06,530 --> 00:40:09,116
You know, who wouldn't want to be
a master of men?
628
00:40:09,116 --> 00:40:10,951
{\an8}And he had a ring,
629
00:40:10,951 --> 00:40:15,581
{\an8}and he'd punch a bad guy in the face
and it had a little spider on the ring,
630
00:40:15,581 --> 00:40:19,084
and it would leave a spider mark
on the guy's jaw.
631
00:40:21,086 --> 00:40:23,088
That name always stuck with me.
632
00:40:26,216 --> 00:40:28,051
Then I thought why not Spider-Man?
633
00:40:29,470 --> 00:40:31,430
(TYPEWRITER CLACKING)
634
00:40:42,649 --> 00:40:45,444
I walked in to the publisher
Martin Goodman
635
00:40:45,444 --> 00:40:48,238
and I said "I have an idea for a book
called Spider-Man
636
00:40:48,238 --> 00:40:51,241
"about a teenager
who has a lot of problems."
637
00:40:51,742 --> 00:40:54,912
This time, Martin wouldn't go along
with me, he said, "Stan,
638
00:40:55,412 --> 00:40:56,872
"I'm surprised at you.
639
00:40:56,872 --> 00:41:02,127
"And a hero can't be a teenager.
A teenager can only be a sidekick.
640
00:41:02,127 --> 00:41:05,130
"And you say you want him
to have problems?
641
00:41:05,130 --> 00:41:07,466
"Don't you know what a superhero is?"
642
00:41:09,676 --> 00:41:12,346
He was the boss
and I couldn't put Spider-Man out.
643
00:41:15,390 --> 00:41:19,353
But I just felt I had
to get it out of my system.
644
00:41:20,729 --> 00:41:23,649
Months later,
we had a book we were going to kill
645
00:41:23,649 --> 00:41:26,318
called Amazing Fantasy.
646
00:41:26,318 --> 00:41:27,903
When you drop a book,
647
00:41:27,903 --> 00:41:31,615
nobody cares what you put in
the last issue, 'cause you're killing it.
648
00:41:31,990 --> 00:41:34,576
So just to get it out of my system,
649
00:41:34,576 --> 00:41:37,162
I put Spider-Man
and I feature him on the cover.
650
00:41:38,413 --> 00:41:40,874
I'm lucky
Martin didn't fire me on the spot.
651
00:41:41,667 --> 00:41:43,001
But in that story,
652
00:41:43,377 --> 00:41:47,631
I tried to heap as many problems
as I could on poor Peter Parker.
653
00:41:47,631 --> 00:41:53,345
Because I feel most people, even people
who seem to be happy, have problems.
654
00:41:54,054 --> 00:41:57,432
Spider-Man's got
the strength of 25 men
655
00:41:57,432 --> 00:42:02,354
and can walk on walls and swing
from building to building on his own web,
656
00:42:02,729 --> 00:42:05,649
but he still can't go out
and chase a villain
657
00:42:05,649 --> 00:42:09,528
because his old Aunt May says,
"It's raining out
658
00:42:09,528 --> 00:42:12,114
"and you might catch cold.
Better stay home tonight."
659
00:42:12,906 --> 00:42:16,493
I had not read any other superheroes
660
00:42:16,493 --> 00:42:20,497
who felt they wished
they could quit being a superhero.
661
00:42:21,164 --> 00:42:24,793
I made him a guy
who is very introspective.
662
00:42:24,793 --> 00:42:28,005
He questions, "Why am I doing this?"
663
00:42:31,049 --> 00:42:32,593
The book went on sale.
664
00:42:32,593 --> 00:42:35,554
Later, when the sales figures came in,
665
00:42:35,554 --> 00:42:38,432
Martin came running into my office,
he said, "Stan!
666
00:42:38,432 --> 00:42:42,811
"Do you remember that character of yours,
Spider-Man, that we both liked so much?
667
00:42:43,562 --> 00:42:45,480
"Why don't you do a series of him?"
668
00:42:49,151 --> 00:42:52,195
After that, I felt I can do anything.
669
00:43:00,787 --> 00:43:02,789
There were always good artists around.
670
00:43:03,915 --> 00:43:06,960
Jack and Steve, both were terribly unique.
671
00:43:08,837 --> 00:43:13,592
Conceptually, Jack's artwork
is very much like a good, exciting movie.
672
00:43:13,592 --> 00:43:20,140
Jack has a way of hitting the high point,
visually, in every situation he's drawing.
673
00:43:20,140 --> 00:43:23,602
{\an8}He'll draw the extreme of that situation.
674
00:43:23,602 --> 00:43:27,397
Whatever is the most exciting element,
he will draw that.
675
00:43:27,397 --> 00:43:31,526
{\an8}And consequently his artwork
is always fascinating to watch.
676
00:43:33,612 --> 00:43:38,492
Steve Ditko, he drew characters,
in many ways, the opposite of Jack.
677
00:43:38,492 --> 00:43:42,412
Steve's artwork, I always felt,
was very low-key
678
00:43:42,412 --> 00:43:46,667
and he had a way
of telling a story realistically.
679
00:43:46,667 --> 00:43:49,419
After a while, you'd forget
you're reading a comic book
680
00:43:49,419 --> 00:43:51,630
and you'd think this was really happening.
681
00:43:52,964 --> 00:43:56,927
Jack Kirby was probably
the greatest comic book artist around,
682
00:43:56,927 --> 00:44:00,347
and I wanted Jack, originally,
to do the Spider-Man,
683
00:44:00,347 --> 00:44:02,808
but I didn't want Spider-Man
to look heroic.
684
00:44:02,808 --> 00:44:06,103
I wanted him to be just
a typical nebbishy kind of guy,
685
00:44:06,228 --> 00:44:07,896
and I mentioned that to Jack,
686
00:44:07,896 --> 00:44:12,192
but Jack was so used to drawing
Captain America and characters like that.
687
00:44:12,192 --> 00:44:15,487
When he gave me the first couple of pages,
I said, "No, that...
688
00:44:15,487 --> 00:44:17,322
"You got him looking too heroic."
689
00:44:17,322 --> 00:44:20,742
So I gave the strip to Steve.
It didn't matter to Jack.
690
00:44:20,742 --> 00:44:22,452
Nobody knew it would be a big strip
691
00:44:22,452 --> 00:44:24,788
and Jack was busy
doing all the other books.
692
00:44:24,788 --> 00:44:27,082
Steve was just perfect for it.
693
00:44:27,082 --> 00:44:30,377
He got that feeling of an average guy
694
00:44:30,377 --> 00:44:32,838
who turned into a hero
and still had problems.
695
00:44:35,841 --> 00:44:38,427
And lo, a legend was born.
696
00:44:44,349 --> 00:44:48,019
BOY: Here's our special guest, Stan Lee.
697
00:44:48,019 --> 00:44:50,021
How about Spider-Man?
Know about Spider-Man?
698
00:44:50,021 --> 00:44:51,106
KIDS: Yeah.
699
00:44:51,106 --> 00:44:53,108
- How about the Hulk? You know the Hulk?
- Yeah.
700
00:44:53,108 --> 00:44:54,943
Which one is your favorite?
701
00:44:54,943 --> 00:44:58,822
Oh, gee. You know, that's almost like
asking a parent who's his favorite child?
702
00:44:58,822 --> 00:45:00,449
I think I love them all.
703
00:45:00,449 --> 00:45:03,410
But maybe I like Spider-Man
a little bit better,
704
00:45:03,410 --> 00:45:05,495
and maybe
it's because he's just so popular.
705
00:45:05,495 --> 00:45:06,872
BOY: In comics, is it usually
706
00:45:06,872 --> 00:45:10,083
the big, strong, and ugly characters
that are most successful?
707
00:45:11,084 --> 00:45:12,461
No. You know what it is?
708
00:45:12,461 --> 00:45:15,881
It's the ones
that are the most interesting
709
00:45:15,881 --> 00:45:19,426
and the ones that the readers
of comics can most relate to.
710
00:45:19,426 --> 00:45:23,054
It doesn't matter if the character
is ugly, or is handsome,
711
00:45:23,054 --> 00:45:25,515
or is weak, or is strong.
712
00:45:25,515 --> 00:45:29,436
If there's something about the character
that makes you like the character
713
00:45:29,436 --> 00:45:31,688
and care about the character,
714
00:45:31,688 --> 00:45:35,275
the word for that is,
you have to empathize with the character.
715
00:45:36,735 --> 00:45:40,864
Why do there have to be superheroes
and what makes a good one?
716
00:45:40,864 --> 00:45:44,201
What ingredients does it take to have
like a Spider-Man or a Superman?
717
00:45:44,201 --> 00:45:45,869
The one important thing is empathy.
718
00:45:45,869 --> 00:45:48,705
It has to be a superhero
the reader cares about.
719
00:45:48,705 --> 00:45:51,416
One thing we've tried to do at Marvel,
720
00:45:51,416 --> 00:45:55,921
we have tried to have superheroes
that are more realistic,
721
00:45:55,921 --> 00:45:57,214
more flesh and blood
722
00:45:57,214 --> 00:46:01,176
and it prepares the young reader
for the fact that
723
00:46:01,176 --> 00:46:04,012
- when he gets out into the world...
- MAN: To climb walls.
724
00:46:04,012 --> 00:46:07,808
...he realizes that he doesn't expect
his heroes to be perfect.
725
00:46:10,018 --> 00:46:13,146
There was a time
when Spider-Man received a check
726
00:46:13,146 --> 00:46:16,858
as a reward for something he had done,
made out to Spider-Man
727
00:46:16,858 --> 00:46:20,320
and he went to a bank to cash it
in his Spider-Man costume
728
00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:23,406
and the teller said,
"Well, I can't cash this check,
729
00:46:23,406 --> 00:46:25,367
-"I need identification."
- (WOMAN LAUGHS)
730
00:46:25,367 --> 00:46:27,786
And he said, "Oh, I'm wearing
a Spider-Man costume."
731
00:46:27,786 --> 00:46:30,247
He said, "Anybody could wear
a Spider-Man costume."
732
00:46:32,457 --> 00:46:34,626
He was never able to cash the check.
733
00:46:37,254 --> 00:46:42,300
I wanted those books,
more than anything else, to be fun.
734
00:46:42,300 --> 00:46:46,721
And I wanted everything in them
to attract the readers' attention
735
00:46:46,721 --> 00:46:49,474
and to cause the readers to talk.
736
00:46:50,267 --> 00:46:51,810
And I wanted to do whatever I could
737
00:46:51,810 --> 00:46:55,897
to set our books aside
and apart from the rest.
738
00:46:56,648 --> 00:46:58,149
I was just having fun.
739
00:46:58,149 --> 00:47:00,277
Anything I thought of I said,
"That's a good idea.
740
00:47:00,277 --> 00:47:03,154
"I'm gonna write, 'The world's
greatest comic.' What the hell."
741
00:47:03,947 --> 00:47:08,410
INTERVIEWER: You describe what you call
the wild wondrous world of Marvel Comics.
742
00:47:08,410 --> 00:47:10,120
What kind of world is it?
743
00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:14,791
Basically, we think of Marvel Comics
as fairy tales for older people.
744
00:47:14,791 --> 00:47:19,337
Actually, I think what we do mostly
is improve on the old legends, you see.
745
00:47:19,337 --> 00:47:22,340
We take the best of them
and give it a little Marvel touch
746
00:47:22,340 --> 00:47:24,926
and we've got something
really indescribable.
747
00:47:29,222 --> 00:47:33,310
Jack and I had already done
The Hulk and The Fantastic Four.
748
00:47:33,310 --> 00:47:37,856
And I felt, what can we do
to top these other characters?
749
00:47:37,856 --> 00:47:41,276
And it occurred to me,
we hadn't done a god.
750
00:47:41,902 --> 00:47:46,114
Most people had read all about
the Greek gods and the Roman gods
751
00:47:46,114 --> 00:47:50,785
but the Norse Gods weren't as well known.
So I figured
752
00:47:50,785 --> 00:47:52,829
why not do the Norse Gods?
753
00:47:52,829 --> 00:47:55,957
And I thought Thor
was the most dramatic of all
754
00:47:55,957 --> 00:48:00,378
'cause he had that magic hammer,
and he was the most powerful one.
755
00:48:00,378 --> 00:48:03,340
And he was the God of Thunder.
756
00:48:07,761 --> 00:48:09,930
I thought it would just be another book,
757
00:48:09,930 --> 00:48:13,224
and I think that Jack has turned him
into one of the greatest
758
00:48:13,892 --> 00:48:16,645
fictional characters there are.
759
00:48:16,978 --> 00:48:19,981
{\an8}KIRBY: All through the years, certainly,
I've had a kind of affection
760
00:48:19,981 --> 00:48:22,692
{\an8}for any mythological type of character,
761
00:48:22,692 --> 00:48:25,153
and here Stan gave me
the opportunity to draw one
762
00:48:25,153 --> 00:48:28,490
and I wasn't gonna draw back
from really letting myself go.
763
00:48:28,490 --> 00:48:32,285
So I did. And the world
became a stage for me.
764
00:48:32,285 --> 00:48:34,496
I gave the Norse characters twists
765
00:48:34,496 --> 00:48:37,540
that they never had
in anybody's imagination,
766
00:48:37,999 --> 00:48:40,460
and somehow
it turned out to be a lot of fun
767
00:48:40,460 --> 00:48:42,337
and I really enjoyed doing it.
768
00:48:47,384 --> 00:48:50,845
It occurred to us that what we do
is we create our own mythology,
769
00:48:50,845 --> 00:48:52,764
and we create our own universes.
770
00:48:53,807 --> 00:48:57,894
{\an8}One thing I think that we've innovated
that has been pretty successful
771
00:48:57,894 --> 00:49:00,897
{\an8}is overlapping characters and books.
772
00:49:01,398 --> 00:49:04,943
It's like a repertory theatre,
where you've got your actors
773
00:49:04,943 --> 00:49:08,738
and you know what they can do,
and you can use them as needed.
774
00:49:09,114 --> 00:49:13,618
{\an8}Once we have our cast of characters,
whether heroes or villains,
775
00:49:13,618 --> 00:49:16,204
{\an8}it makes it easier for us to base stories,
776
00:49:16,496 --> 00:49:18,623
but we do it because it seems to me that
777
00:49:19,249 --> 00:49:21,668
you enjoy things you're familiar with,
778
00:49:21,668 --> 00:49:24,921
and the readers eventually
get to know these characters,
779
00:49:24,921 --> 00:49:28,925
and they're interested in these characters
and why just get rid of them?
780
00:49:28,925 --> 00:49:32,345
If we have a villain
who fought the Fantastic Four,
781
00:49:32,345 --> 00:49:35,473
why shouldn't he eventually meet
another one of our heroes?
782
00:49:35,473 --> 00:49:38,560
Or why shouldn't our heroes meet,
as they often do,
783
00:49:38,560 --> 00:49:40,311
and guest star in each other's book?
784
00:49:40,311 --> 00:49:44,399
Because, according to the gospel
as preached by Marvel,
785
00:49:44,399 --> 00:49:46,151
they all live in the same world.
786
00:49:52,449 --> 00:49:55,702
MAN ON RADIO: ...the US has added up to
$3 billion and 14,000 men...
787
00:49:55,702 --> 00:49:56,786
(RADIO STATIONS SWITCHING)
788
00:49:56,786 --> 00:49:58,955
America's involvement grows deeper
and more dangerous.
789
00:49:58,955 --> 00:50:01,249
STAN: We were very much affected at Marvel
790
00:50:01,249 --> 00:50:04,085
by what was going on
in the world around us,
791
00:50:04,711 --> 00:50:08,048
and in Vietnam
and what was going on at this time.
792
00:50:09,299 --> 00:50:12,761
I think it's a not only indefensible war,
I think it's a ridiculous war.
793
00:50:12,761 --> 00:50:15,805
I agree with the word you used,
I think it's an obscene war.
794
00:50:16,890 --> 00:50:20,977
{\an8}Everybody was against the war.
The kids in those days hated it.
795
00:50:20,977 --> 00:50:22,937
{\an8}(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
796
00:50:32,864 --> 00:50:35,283
We have a character called Iron Man.
797
00:50:36,451 --> 00:50:40,080
He's a guy in a big metal suit
and he's very powerful
798
00:50:40,080 --> 00:50:42,957
and he has little jets
on the bottom of the soles,
799
00:50:42,957 --> 00:50:44,667
which enable him to fly,
800
00:50:44,667 --> 00:50:48,004
and he was supplying weapons
to the United States Army
801
00:50:48,004 --> 00:50:49,923
for the Vietnamese war and so forth.
802
00:50:51,925 --> 00:50:55,303
So, how do you make somebody
really care about a guy like this?
803
00:50:57,931 --> 00:50:59,933
We made him lovable.
804
00:50:59,933 --> 00:51:03,353
He has a weak heart
and he's been injured in battle,
805
00:51:03,353 --> 00:51:05,522
and he really is a good guy.
806
00:51:06,981 --> 00:51:10,777
Our heroes have all sorts
of failings and fallacies.
807
00:51:10,777 --> 00:51:14,948
{\an8}They might lose just as often as win
if they're fighting with a villain.
808
00:51:15,532 --> 00:51:19,536
And our villains are really adorable.
They go right to your hearts.
809
00:51:20,870 --> 00:51:27,085
We learned the villains are usually
at least as popular as the heroes are.
810
00:51:27,085 --> 00:51:28,670
They have a great appeal.
811
00:51:29,337 --> 00:51:32,632
We try to give them
understandable qualities
812
00:51:32,632 --> 00:51:35,051
and reasons
why they are the way they are.
813
00:51:35,051 --> 00:51:38,012
We've even had villains who reformed
and became heroes.
814
00:51:38,012 --> 00:51:41,015
After a while, we don't know
who the heroes and who the villains are.
815
00:51:41,015 --> 00:51:42,559
There's such a fine line.
816
00:51:45,812 --> 00:51:47,355
And that's the real world.
817
00:51:48,273 --> 00:51:50,942
Things aren't just black and white.
818
00:51:58,158 --> 00:52:02,162
What's happening in comics today?
They've grabbed an older readership.
819
00:52:02,162 --> 00:52:05,623
- Yeah!
- At Marvel, we have as many college kids
820
00:52:05,623 --> 00:52:07,959
reading our books
as we have seven-year-olds.
821
00:52:07,959 --> 00:52:10,795
I rarely hold up books,
but this is an interesting book...
822
00:52:10,795 --> 00:52:12,672
- It is.
- Well, let him tell about it.
823
00:52:12,672 --> 00:52:14,424
He's a collector who is impartial.
824
00:52:14,424 --> 00:52:17,969
{\an8}I think that anybody,
and I say this,
825
00:52:17,969 --> 00:52:20,722
{\an8}anybody could get into that book
and get something out of it
826
00:52:20,722 --> 00:52:22,849
and learn something from it.
It is a novel
827
00:52:22,849 --> 00:52:24,934
or a Cecil B. DeMille movie
or anything else,
828
00:52:24,934 --> 00:52:26,769
only it's done with still pictures.
829
00:52:26,769 --> 00:52:30,106
Why do you say he has to learn?
Can't he be entertained by what he reads?
830
00:52:30,106 --> 00:52:32,358
Does he have to read it
like a school book?
831
00:52:32,358 --> 00:52:35,069
Can't you be educated and entertained
at the same time?
832
00:52:35,069 --> 00:52:38,114
{\an8}We found our readers
want to be entertained.
833
00:52:38,114 --> 00:52:41,075
{\an8}They want to lose themselves.
They don't wanna be educated.
834
00:52:41,075 --> 00:52:42,785
{\an8}They don't want anything relevant.
835
00:52:42,785 --> 00:52:46,664
I would not recommend Superman
or Batman to anyone over 12.
836
00:52:46,664 --> 00:52:47,957
They're nice for kids.
837
00:52:47,957 --> 00:52:52,170
Adults have come to believe there's
nothing of value in comics for them,
838
00:52:52,170 --> 00:52:54,088
and there is something of value.
839
00:52:54,088 --> 00:52:56,799
You cannot condemn a medium
on the basis of its format.
840
00:52:57,800 --> 00:53:02,388
STAN: The more I realized
how influential our books were,
841
00:53:02,388 --> 00:53:06,851
the more I tried
to get some moral lessons in the stories.
842
00:53:11,814 --> 00:53:15,944
I don't want to sound
like I'm the most moral guy in the world,
843
00:53:15,944 --> 00:53:20,114
but I always felt there were some issues
that ought to be addressed.
844
00:53:24,911 --> 00:53:28,539
{\an8}One of the things that is terrible
is the fact that
845
00:53:28,539 --> 00:53:31,793
{\an8}so many people dislike
846
00:53:31,793 --> 00:53:34,504
{\an8}and hate other people
847
00:53:34,504 --> 00:53:36,464
{\an8}just because they're different.
848
00:53:39,300 --> 00:53:42,470
I did one story called "The Hate Monger,"
849
00:53:43,012 --> 00:53:46,391
{\an8}and it was really a takeoff
on the Ku Klux Klan.
850
00:53:47,642 --> 00:53:51,396
{\an8}It had to do with a villain
who espoused hatred
851
00:53:51,396 --> 00:53:53,731
of one group of people for another.
852
00:53:55,275 --> 00:53:58,528
I sort of hoped
it would give our readers
853
00:53:58,528 --> 00:54:02,699
the idea that all people
should be treated the same.
854
00:54:03,866 --> 00:54:08,496
We tried to get that point across
in all of the Marvel books.
855
00:54:16,671 --> 00:54:19,340
I wanted to do another superhero group,
856
00:54:20,049 --> 00:54:24,220
and I tried an anti-bigotry theme.
857
00:54:25,096 --> 00:54:28,766
And I thought, how can I give them
some power in a different way?
858
00:54:28,766 --> 00:54:34,147
And then it occurred to me.
We know that mutations exist in life.
859
00:54:34,772 --> 00:54:38,234
There are five-legged frogs
and things like that.
860
00:54:38,359 --> 00:54:43,114
So I'll just give them whatever powers
I want and say they mutated that way.
861
00:54:43,531 --> 00:54:45,658
I called them the X-Men.
862
00:54:45,658 --> 00:54:49,746
And our heroes of the X-Men
are all different from average humans,
863
00:54:49,746 --> 00:54:55,126
and because they're that different,
the general public hates them,
864
00:54:55,126 --> 00:54:59,589
hounds them, harasses them, fears them.
865
00:55:01,883 --> 00:55:06,179
In all of our books,
we try to find some little moral
866
00:55:06,179 --> 00:55:08,181
besides running around and fighting.
867
00:55:08,890 --> 00:55:11,309
We have one character
called the Silver Surfer.
868
00:55:11,309 --> 00:55:13,770
He's a character from another planet
who comes to Earth.
869
00:55:14,312 --> 00:55:16,230
{\an8}Jack is the guy who first drew him.
870
00:55:18,649 --> 00:55:21,110
The Silver Surfer was
always philosophizing
871
00:55:21,110 --> 00:55:23,988
and saying things about humans, such as,
872
00:55:23,988 --> 00:55:28,451
"Don't they realize they live in a planet
that's a veritable garden of Eden?
873
00:55:28,451 --> 00:55:31,037
"Why do they fight
and why are they greedy?
874
00:55:31,037 --> 00:55:32,663
"And why do they have bigotry?
875
00:55:32,663 --> 00:55:34,415
"Why don't they just love each other
876
00:55:34,415 --> 00:55:37,418
"and enjoy this paradise
that they've inherited?"
877
00:55:38,336 --> 00:55:42,173
I believe that the world could be
a much better world
878
00:55:42,173 --> 00:55:43,758
if we treated each other
879
00:55:43,758 --> 00:55:46,427
with a little more consideration
and respect.
880
00:55:47,261 --> 00:55:50,598
If you really want to change things
and make 'em better,
881
00:55:50,598 --> 00:55:54,227
you've gotta plunge in.
You've gotta be a part of the process.
882
00:55:56,104 --> 00:55:58,940
"With great power
comes great responsibility."
883
00:56:04,028 --> 00:56:06,948
I created Black Panther with Jack Kirby.
884
00:56:07,949 --> 00:56:12,286
We just figured that it's about time
we had a Black superhero.
885
00:56:13,746 --> 00:56:18,251
After all, there are many,
many Black American citizens.
886
00:56:20,670 --> 00:56:26,134
I loved the idea of a Black superhero
who lives in Africa
887
00:56:27,635 --> 00:56:31,681
and is the equal
of Reed Richards intellectually.
888
00:56:34,559 --> 00:56:37,395
{\an8}FAN: The reason I called
is to compliment Marvel Comics
889
00:56:37,520 --> 00:56:41,149
{\an8}because they are the only comic books
I've ever seen that have integrated.
890
00:56:41,149 --> 00:56:44,444
{\an8}They recognize the fact that
there are more than one race.
891
00:56:44,444 --> 00:56:48,239
STAN: How can you have stories that are
supposed to take place in today's world
892
00:56:48,239 --> 00:56:51,033
and not include
all the types of people we have
893
00:56:51,033 --> 00:56:53,286
- and the types of situations?
- FAN: Yeah, that's just it.
894
00:56:53,286 --> 00:56:55,997
You have
a racially mixed background in it.
895
00:56:55,997 --> 00:56:58,624
Well, it's unusual for comics
because you haven't seen it
896
00:56:58,624 --> 00:57:00,543
until you've read Marvel Comics.
897
00:57:09,594 --> 00:57:13,222
STAN: We tried to provide stories
for older readers
898
00:57:13,222 --> 00:57:17,477
that will also be good
for younger kids to read.
899
00:57:17,477 --> 00:57:21,063
If you think about it objectively,
it's a totally impossible task,
900
00:57:21,063 --> 00:57:22,899
and I don't know how we've managed.
901
00:57:25,193 --> 00:57:29,947
I got a letter from the Office of Health,
Education, and Welfare in Washington,
902
00:57:29,947 --> 00:57:34,410
and they said, "Mr. Lee,
recognizing the influence of your comics,
903
00:57:34,410 --> 00:57:38,247
"drugs are a big problem.
If you could do an anti-drug story?"
904
00:57:38,247 --> 00:57:40,708
I did a three-issue series.
905
00:57:42,543 --> 00:57:46,339
It had to do with a friend of Spidey's
had taken too much of something
906
00:57:46,881 --> 00:57:50,843
and Spider-Man rescues him
and says, "You're a jerk for doing that."
907
00:57:50,843 --> 00:57:52,929
And it was part of a bigger story.
908
00:57:53,721 --> 00:57:58,476
So, it didn't look like we were preaching.
It was just an incident in a story.
909
00:57:58,726 --> 00:58:02,063
The Comic Code Administration
sent the book back and said,
910
00:58:02,063 --> 00:58:05,858
"You can't publish this book.
We won't put our seal of approval on."
911
00:58:06,651 --> 00:58:07,652
I said, "Why?"
912
00:58:07,944 --> 00:58:11,405
They said, "Well, according to the rules
of the Code Authority,
913
00:58:11,405 --> 00:58:13,866
"you can't mention drugs in a story."
914
00:58:14,951 --> 00:58:17,745
And I said, "Look, we're not
telling kids to take drugs.
915
00:58:17,745 --> 00:58:20,331
"This is an anti-drug theme."
916
00:58:20,331 --> 00:58:22,833
"Oh, no, it doesn't matter.
You mentioned drugs."
917
00:58:23,376 --> 00:58:26,629
I said, "But the Office of Health,
Education and Welfare,
918
00:58:26,629 --> 00:58:29,757
"a government agency, asked us to do it."
919
00:58:29,757 --> 00:58:32,385
"Doesn't matter. You can't mention drugs."
920
00:58:34,470 --> 00:58:37,765
Because we try to show things
as they really are,
921
00:58:37,765 --> 00:58:40,851
I had quite a number of arguments
with the Comics Code.
922
00:58:42,019 --> 00:58:46,148
I think that the things that people read
should prepare them
923
00:58:46,148 --> 00:58:49,527
and initiate them
for stepping into the real world.
924
00:58:49,527 --> 00:58:56,033
I feel that morally we are doing
a greater service to our younger readers
925
00:58:56,033 --> 00:59:00,997
by showing them that it's best
to do your best and to try to be good.
926
00:59:03,249 --> 00:59:06,919
I went to my publisher, Martin Goodman,
and I said,
927
00:59:06,919 --> 00:59:09,922
"Martin, this is the story.
This is why I did it.
928
00:59:10,464 --> 00:59:14,969
"I would like to publish it
without the Code seal of approval."
929
00:59:16,095 --> 00:59:19,974
Well, I was very proud of our publisher
because he said,
930
00:59:20,266 --> 00:59:22,977
"Absolutely, Stan.
You go ahead and do that."
931
00:59:25,021 --> 00:59:30,401
So, all of those three issues went on sale
without the seal of approval.
932
00:59:31,277 --> 00:59:34,280
And the world did not come to an end.
933
00:59:35,990 --> 00:59:38,326
{\an8}We got letters from church groups,
934
00:59:38,492 --> 00:59:40,870
parent-teachers...
Everybody loved it.
935
00:59:44,457 --> 00:59:47,752
(CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)
936
00:59:47,752 --> 00:59:50,254
A youngster's mind is like a sponge.
937
00:59:50,379 --> 00:59:52,757
And I really don't think there's anything
938
00:59:53,507 --> 00:59:54,550
that's too tough
939
00:59:55,426 --> 00:59:58,095
or too mature
for a youngster to comprehend.
940
00:59:58,095 --> 01:00:01,807
I think they can understand so much more
than we give them credit for,
941
01:00:01,807 --> 01:00:04,935
and they're capable of absorbing
and learning so quickly.
942
01:00:04,935 --> 01:00:08,773
Most of them don't have the opportunity.
It isn't thrown at them enough.
943
01:00:10,274 --> 01:00:12,276
You know, when we started Marvel Comics,
944
01:00:12,401 --> 01:00:15,488
I said, "Let's use
a college level vocabulary,"
945
01:00:15,488 --> 01:00:17,740
and everybody said,
"Stan, you're out of your mind."
946
01:00:17,740 --> 01:00:21,577
I said, "Really?"
I figured the kids would know...
947
01:00:21,577 --> 01:00:23,663
what the words meant
by their use in the sentence
948
01:00:23,663 --> 01:00:26,165
or if they had to go to a dictionary
and look up a word
949
01:00:26,165 --> 01:00:28,417
{\an8}it wasn't the worst thing
in the world that would happen...
950
01:00:28,417 --> 01:00:30,836
{\an8}Maybe the older readers
would appreciate it.
951
01:00:31,170 --> 01:00:35,007
So, strangely enough,
in our little idiot Marvel Comics,
952
01:00:35,007 --> 01:00:39,553
I think there is as much or more learning
for kids as you'll find anywhere else.
953
01:00:41,138 --> 01:00:45,726
I've walked pretty far for a comic
on occasions, a few miles out of the way,
954
01:00:45,851 --> 01:00:48,896
just to get it a day early,
which may seem a little silly,
955
01:00:49,605 --> 01:00:52,191
but some of us fans are weird.
956
01:00:56,779 --> 01:01:00,324
STAN: This is it. The second annual
Mighty Marvel Convention.
957
01:01:00,324 --> 01:01:03,369
This is Stan Lee talking,
and you are there.
958
01:01:03,369 --> 01:01:07,206
Now, I'll shut up and give you a chance
to see what was happening.
959
01:01:07,206 --> 01:01:11,168
We start off with me signing autographs
after making a speech. Here we go.
960
01:01:11,836 --> 01:01:14,422
Wherever I went, people would feel
they knew me
961
01:01:14,422 --> 01:01:16,465
'cause they had been reading the books.
962
01:01:16,465 --> 01:01:21,637
Everyone said, "Hi, Stan."
There was a warmth and a friendliness.
963
01:01:21,637 --> 01:01:25,141
I got a few votes in the last
presidential election at some colleges.
964
01:01:25,141 --> 01:01:28,144
It was funny, you know.
Some kids gave some write-in votes.
965
01:01:28,144 --> 01:01:29,687
I think I got 23 votes.
966
01:01:29,687 --> 01:01:32,022
It wasn't quite enough
to carry the nation.
967
01:01:32,440 --> 01:01:34,024
What's your favorite character?
968
01:01:34,650 --> 01:01:36,610
Ben Grimm. The Thing.
969
01:01:36,610 --> 01:01:38,028
- Right!
- And why is that?
970
01:01:38,779 --> 01:01:42,825
I don't know. It's just his personality
and like, you know, what happened to him.
971
01:01:42,825 --> 01:01:44,952
He was turned into a monster
and it wasn't his fault.
972
01:01:44,952 --> 01:01:46,787
The Falcon, Avengers.
973
01:01:46,787 --> 01:01:48,289
- The Falcon?
- Yeah.
974
01:01:48,289 --> 01:01:49,915
- Iron Man.
- How come?
975
01:01:49,915 --> 01:01:53,210
Because I just like what he does.
I think he's a great character.
976
01:01:53,210 --> 01:01:57,798
I like the stories that they write
about him and all the inventions.
977
01:01:57,798 --> 01:01:59,550
Who's your favorite writer?
978
01:02:00,176 --> 01:02:01,343
Uh, Stan Lee.
979
01:02:02,344 --> 01:02:06,098
{\an8}RADIO HOST: This is K100 conversations,
and I have with me a wacky person
980
01:02:06,098 --> 01:02:07,892
{\an8}by the name of Stan Lee.
981
01:02:07,892 --> 01:02:10,728
{\an8}And anybody who is into comics
knows that name,
982
01:02:10,728 --> 01:02:14,273
because you are the guy that really
created Marvel Comics, aren't you?
983
01:02:14,273 --> 01:02:16,942
STAN: Yeah, well, after a while,
when you become a living legend,
984
01:02:16,942 --> 01:02:21,989
they get to know your name.
I created Marvel Comics with the help
985
01:02:21,989 --> 01:02:24,867
of the various artists involved also,
of course.
986
01:02:28,913 --> 01:02:33,626
It's funny how every artist has one
little thing that's sort of a hang-up,
987
01:02:33,626 --> 01:02:35,920
and he has trouble fixing it.
988
01:02:35,920 --> 01:02:39,089
Jack has a way of drawing
tremendously thin ankles
989
01:02:39,089 --> 01:02:41,008
on men and women.
990
01:02:41,884 --> 01:02:43,344
I've always got to watch what I say,
991
01:02:43,344 --> 01:02:45,638
because our artists are not only
the most talented
992
01:02:45,638 --> 01:02:49,058
but certainly, the most temperamental
group in the world,
993
01:02:49,058 --> 01:02:52,853
and we'd be absolutely lost
without any single one of them.
994
01:02:52,853 --> 01:02:56,857
{\an8}But I'm sure I'm gonna catch hell
for saying anything to offend any of 'em.
995
01:02:56,857 --> 01:02:59,944
{\an8}INTERVIEWER: Could you tell us
a little more about Steve
996
01:02:59,944 --> 01:03:02,238
because I noticed
that he is one of the few people
997
01:03:02,238 --> 01:03:04,323
that you did not print a photograph of
998
01:03:04,323 --> 01:03:06,325
in your first Marvel Annual
999
01:03:06,325 --> 01:03:09,703
and he is not on the record
that you sent around.
1000
01:03:09,870 --> 01:03:11,622
- STAN: You want to know why?
- Yes.
1001
01:03:11,622 --> 01:03:14,458
STAN: Purely personal.
Steve does not want publicity.
1002
01:03:14,625 --> 01:03:16,085
I don't know what his reason is.
1003
01:03:16,085 --> 01:03:19,004
He says, "Oh, golly!
I want my work to speak for me."
1004
01:03:19,004 --> 01:03:20,339
I'm not quoting him exactly,
1005
01:03:20,339 --> 01:03:22,508
but the feeling I get
is that he doesn't feel
1006
01:03:22,508 --> 01:03:25,886
that he himself should be publicized.
He just wants the work
1007
01:03:25,886 --> 01:03:28,597
that he does to be well known,
and we respect his opinion.
1008
01:03:31,308 --> 01:03:34,186
{\an8}Steve had complained to me
a number of times,
1009
01:03:34,937 --> 01:03:38,357
{\an8}when there were articles
written about Spider-Man,
1010
01:03:38,357 --> 01:03:40,943
which called me the creator of Spider-Man,
1011
01:03:41,861 --> 01:03:45,990
and I had always thought I was,
because I'm the guy who said,
1012
01:03:45,990 --> 01:03:50,870
I have an idea for a strip
called Spider-Man and so forth.
1013
01:03:52,913 --> 01:03:56,667
Steve had said
having an idea is nothing
1014
01:03:57,209 --> 01:04:02,673
{\an8}because until it becomes
a physical thing, it's just an idea,
1015
01:04:02,798 --> 01:04:08,554
and he said it took him to draw the strip
and to give it life, so to speak,
1016
01:04:08,554 --> 01:04:10,973
or to make it something tangible.
1017
01:04:11,682 --> 01:04:14,351
Otherwise, all I had was an idea.
1018
01:04:14,476 --> 01:04:15,477
So, I said to him,
1019
01:04:15,477 --> 01:04:19,899
"Well, I think the person with the idea
is the person who creates it,"
1020
01:04:20,065 --> 01:04:22,067
And he said, "No, because I drew it."
1021
01:04:29,867 --> 01:04:33,621
In the very beginning, I would come up
with a rather detailed plot.
1022
01:04:34,163 --> 01:04:35,831
Tell Steve what it was.
1023
01:04:36,415 --> 01:04:40,044
He would draw the strip any way he wanted.
I didn't give him a complete script.
1024
01:04:40,044 --> 01:04:43,255
He'd add a lot of things
that I hadn't even thought of.
1025
01:04:43,255 --> 01:04:45,507
And then, I would get the pages
of artwork,
1026
01:04:45,507 --> 01:04:48,969
and I would put in the dialogue
trying to give everything
1027
01:04:48,969 --> 01:04:52,389
and everyone the personality
that I wanted them to have.
1028
01:04:53,766 --> 01:04:57,686
Steve is a very creative guy.
And the two of us,
1029
01:04:57,686 --> 01:05:00,230
whenever we discuss plots,
we always just argue
1030
01:05:00,230 --> 01:05:03,317
because I want to do it one way
and he wants to do it another.
1031
01:05:03,317 --> 01:05:05,569
And even though I may disagree,
1032
01:05:05,569 --> 01:05:09,114
I feel just the fact that he did it
differently will make it good
1033
01:05:09,114 --> 01:05:12,701
because it won't be the usual type of plot
coming out of our stable.
1034
01:05:12,701 --> 01:05:17,039
He'll just do them as he wants them,
which makes it twice as difficult for me.
1035
01:05:17,831 --> 01:05:20,334
I enjoy it, though.
I get a story back from him,
1036
01:05:20,334 --> 01:05:23,087
and I don't have the vaguest idea
what this is about
1037
01:05:23,087 --> 01:05:25,839
because I didn't even give him
a thumbnail idea.
1038
01:05:25,839 --> 01:05:28,384
He just went home,
and he did whatever he wanted.
1039
01:05:30,094 --> 01:05:33,180
{\an8}So, I said, "Fine, I'll tell everybody
you're the co-creator."
1040
01:05:34,390 --> 01:05:36,141
{\an8}That didn't quite satisfy him.
1041
01:05:39,770 --> 01:05:43,607
{\an8}I really think the guy who dreams
the thing up created it.
1042
01:05:43,607 --> 01:05:46,819
You dream it up, and then
you give it to anybody to draw it.
1043
01:05:52,032 --> 01:05:54,326
STAN:
We've just lost the artist Steve Ditko
1044
01:05:54,326 --> 01:05:56,578
- MAN: Horrible.
- (PEOPLE GROANING)
1045
01:05:57,121 --> 01:05:59,832
STAN: One day he just phoned
and he said, "I'm leaving."
1046
01:06:00,916 --> 01:06:02,084
So that was it.
1047
01:06:03,043 --> 01:06:04,503
He was such a popular artist.
1048
01:06:05,462 --> 01:06:09,133
I think that we've managed
to find people to replace him
1049
01:06:09,133 --> 01:06:12,720
where those boos will change
to a chorus of cheers.
1050
01:06:16,724 --> 01:06:20,060
Steve and I worked beautifully together.
1051
01:06:21,228 --> 01:06:25,399
As far as I was concerned,
he was the perfect collaborator.
1052
01:06:26,191 --> 01:06:28,152
His artwork was superb.
1053
01:06:28,652 --> 01:06:31,447
His story sense was brilliant.
1054
01:06:33,073 --> 01:06:36,744
I was heartbroken when Steve
finally stopped working with us.
1055
01:06:47,379 --> 01:06:50,340
INTERVIEWER: You've put out more comics,
I think than about anyone.
1056
01:06:50,340 --> 01:06:51,592
Yeah, we're the biggest.
1057
01:06:51,592 --> 01:06:53,469
Isn't there a problem of control?
1058
01:06:53,761 --> 01:06:56,055
STAN: It's one of our biggest problems.
You're right.
1059
01:06:56,055 --> 01:06:59,224
I would love nothing better
than to be doing one magazine,
1060
01:06:59,224 --> 01:07:01,226
which I could personally write and edit
1061
01:07:01,226 --> 01:07:05,022
and, unfortunately, we're a little bit
like a mass production outfit.
1062
01:07:05,022 --> 01:07:07,107
I think we're all frustrated.
1063
01:07:07,107 --> 01:07:10,277
We'd all like to be able
to spend a week on one story.
1064
01:07:10,277 --> 01:07:14,448
Unfortunately, because of the economics
of this business, it's totally impossible.
1065
01:07:17,701 --> 01:07:20,829
We produce about two complete
comic books a day.
1066
01:07:20,829 --> 01:07:22,414
It's like a production line.
1067
01:07:22,414 --> 01:07:26,502
If you ever saw the old Charlie Chaplin
movie Modern Times,
1068
01:07:26,502 --> 01:07:29,296
there was a scene where Charlie Chaplin
is on a production line
1069
01:07:29,296 --> 01:07:31,507
and his job
is to do this with two wrenches
1070
01:07:31,507 --> 01:07:34,718
while things come down
and he has to tighten the bolts
1071
01:07:34,718 --> 01:07:37,805
and he goes home at night
and he's still doing this, you know.
1072
01:07:37,805 --> 01:07:41,642
Well, sometimes we feel like that.
We don't even know what we're working on.
1073
01:07:41,642 --> 01:07:43,435
The pages are just coming by and...
1074
01:07:43,435 --> 01:07:45,395
"Proofread that. Change that title,
1075
01:07:45,395 --> 01:07:47,147
"get the lettering out and finish."
1076
01:07:47,147 --> 01:07:48,607
And off it goes. Two books a day.
1077
01:07:50,442 --> 01:07:53,153
In those days, everybody was just
busy doing his work.
1078
01:07:53,737 --> 01:07:56,740
There was a lot of pressure
to turn those things out in time.
1079
01:07:57,449 --> 01:08:00,661
Because of the fact that
they don't get paid very much per page
1080
01:08:00,661 --> 01:08:04,498
and that they have to do a lot of pages
a day in order to eke out a living,
1081
01:08:04,498 --> 01:08:06,667
the artists would say
that they don't have a chance
1082
01:08:06,667 --> 01:08:08,418
to really show how good they are.
1083
01:08:11,296 --> 01:08:13,423
Sometime around then, Kirby left.
1084
01:08:34,987 --> 01:08:36,989
{\an8}RADIO HOST:
We're speaking with Jack Kirby live.
1085
01:08:36,989 --> 01:08:41,368
{\an8}And now we can announce
the very special surprise guest,
1086
01:08:41,368 --> 01:08:44,079
{\an8}your colleague, Stan Lee.
1087
01:08:44,079 --> 01:08:46,081
{\an8}STAN: I wanna wish Jack a happy birthday.
1088
01:08:46,081 --> 01:08:48,834
KIRBY: Well, Stanley, I want to thank you
for calling and I hope
1089
01:08:48,834 --> 01:08:51,920
you're in good health
and I hope you stay in good health.
1090
01:08:51,920 --> 01:08:54,339
STAN: I'm doing my best
and the same to you.
1091
01:08:54,339 --> 01:08:56,049
You know, whatever we did together,
1092
01:08:56,049 --> 01:08:58,969
and no matter who did what,
and I guess that's something
1093
01:08:58,969 --> 01:09:00,804
that'll be argued forever.
1094
01:09:00,804 --> 01:09:03,891
But I think that
the product that was produced
1095
01:09:03,891 --> 01:09:07,311
was really even more
than a sum of its parts.
1096
01:09:07,311 --> 01:09:11,773
I think there was some slight magic
that came into effect,
1097
01:09:11,773 --> 01:09:13,358
when we worked together.
1098
01:09:13,358 --> 01:09:16,278
KIRBY: Well, I was never sorry
for it, Stanley.
1099
01:09:16,278 --> 01:09:18,614
It was a great experience for me.
1100
01:09:18,614 --> 01:09:22,242
If the product was good,
that was my satisfaction.
1101
01:09:22,367 --> 01:09:24,286
RADIO HOST: You know,
when it comes right down to it,
1102
01:09:24,286 --> 01:09:27,289
it doesn't matter who exactly did what.
1103
01:09:27,289 --> 01:09:28,957
STAN: Well, I'll say this.
1104
01:09:28,957 --> 01:09:31,960
Every word of dialogue
in those scripts was mine.
1105
01:09:32,961 --> 01:09:35,297
RADIO HOST: Well, I don't want...
STAN: Every story.
1106
01:09:35,297 --> 01:09:39,009
RADIO HOST: I don't want to get into
controversy about that. What I want to...
1107
01:09:39,009 --> 01:09:41,261
KIRBY: I can tell you
that I wrote a few lines myself
1108
01:09:41,261 --> 01:09:44,598
- above every panel that I...
- RADIO HOST: Yes, I've seen those.
1109
01:09:44,598 --> 01:09:47,434
STAN: They weren't printed in the book.
RADIO HOST: Look.
1110
01:09:47,434 --> 01:09:49,895
STAN: Jack, answer me truthfully.
KIRBY: I wasn't allowed to...
1111
01:09:49,895 --> 01:09:52,981
STAN: Did you ever read one of the stories
after it was finished?
1112
01:09:52,981 --> 01:09:54,358
I don't think you did.
1113
01:09:54,358 --> 01:09:56,735
I don't think you ever read
one of my stories.
1114
01:09:56,735 --> 01:09:58,987
I think you were always busy
drawing the next one.
1115
01:09:58,987 --> 01:10:00,906
You never read when it was finished.
1116
01:10:00,906 --> 01:10:04,117
KIRBY: Whatever was
written in 'em wasn't...
1117
01:10:04,117 --> 01:10:08,914
Well, look, it was the action
I was interested in.
1118
01:10:08,914 --> 01:10:11,583
I know, and I think you felt,
"Well, it doesn't matter.
1119
01:10:11,583 --> 01:10:14,628
"Anybody can put the dialogue in,
it's what I'm drawing that matters."
1120
01:10:14,628 --> 01:10:17,464
And maybe you're right.
I don't agree with it.
1121
01:10:17,464 --> 01:10:21,760
No. I'm only trying to say that one man
and his writing and drawing,
1122
01:10:21,760 --> 01:10:24,763
and doing a strip,
it should come from an individual.
1123
01:10:24,763 --> 01:10:27,140
I believe that
you should have the opportunity,
1124
01:10:27,140 --> 01:10:29,226
uh, to do the entire thing yourself.
1125
01:10:29,226 --> 01:10:32,646
RADIO HOST: The success of Marvel
had to do with...
1126
01:10:32,646 --> 01:10:36,942
To keeping a greater attention
to the characters
1127
01:10:36,942 --> 01:10:39,820
than to the egos
of the people creating them.
1128
01:10:39,820 --> 01:10:42,948
STAN: When you mention an ego problem,
the funny thing is,
1129
01:10:42,948 --> 01:10:45,909
I'm afraid those problems
are only cropping up now.
1130
01:10:45,909 --> 01:10:49,913
I think when Jack and I did the strips,
there was no ego problem.
1131
01:10:49,913 --> 01:10:52,040
We were just doing the best we could.
1132
01:10:52,040 --> 01:10:55,794
KIRBY: Listen,
you can understand now, uh,
1133
01:10:56,837 --> 01:10:58,422
how things really were.
1134
01:11:07,389 --> 01:11:10,225
(RADIO PLAYING INDISTINCTLY)
1135
01:11:23,113 --> 01:11:28,118
My guest is somebody who is not only
an old friend and associate
1136
01:11:28,118 --> 01:11:33,665
but one of the genuine talented
movers and shakers of our business.
1137
01:11:33,665 --> 01:11:37,502
Roy Thomas,
editor-emeritus of Marvel Comics,
1138
01:11:37,502 --> 01:11:41,340
and as good a writer
as we're ever going to find anywhere
1139
01:11:41,340 --> 01:11:43,800
in the comic business
and maybe in any other business.
1140
01:11:44,051 --> 01:11:47,346
It just was as though you were
the answer to a prayer. Remember, you...
1141
01:11:47,346 --> 01:11:51,141
You took over the Fantastic Four.
You took over the Avengers, the X...
1142
01:11:51,141 --> 01:11:53,310
- I guess you did almost all the stories.
- Most.
1143
01:11:53,310 --> 01:11:56,772
And as good as anybody could have wanted.
Built up your own following.
1144
01:11:56,772 --> 01:11:58,148
I began to hate you
1145
01:11:58,148 --> 01:12:00,233
- as the fans began to love you.
- (CHUCKLES)
1146
01:12:02,277 --> 01:12:05,739
When I became publisher,
I stopped most of the writing.
1147
01:12:06,365 --> 01:12:10,035
When I was writing,
I had total control of them.
1148
01:12:10,035 --> 01:12:12,204
And they matured,
if you want to use that word,
1149
01:12:12,204 --> 01:12:13,580
the way I wanted them to.
1150
01:12:13,580 --> 01:12:17,334
But I realized,
the minute you stop writing a series
1151
01:12:17,334 --> 01:12:21,838
and other writers take over,
they've got to do it their way.
1152
01:12:24,508 --> 01:12:29,179
{\an8}Comic books started out
really dealing with male heroes
1153
01:12:29,179 --> 01:12:30,847
'cause at that time, years ago,
1154
01:12:30,847 --> 01:12:33,767
{\an8}nobody even thought
to have too many women heroes.
1155
01:12:33,767 --> 01:12:35,602
{\an8}But now, as publisher,
1156
01:12:35,602 --> 01:12:39,898
I have found that
10% of our readers are females.
1157
01:12:40,524 --> 01:12:43,902
So we ourselves are trying
to increase that readership.
1158
01:12:43,902 --> 01:12:45,779
And these past few months and years,
1159
01:12:46,113 --> 01:12:49,074
we've been adding
more and more female characters.
1160
01:12:49,741 --> 01:12:53,703
We have one character
who's a barbarian called Red Sonja,
1161
01:12:53,703 --> 01:12:55,622
in the pre-historical days.
1162
01:12:55,789 --> 01:12:57,791
She wields a sword and she's great.
1163
01:12:57,791 --> 01:13:00,794
{\an8}We have a character called Medusa.
We have the Black Widow.
1164
01:13:00,794 --> 01:13:05,382
{\an8}We have a new one called Ms. Marvel.
She's gonna be a big one.
1165
01:13:06,508 --> 01:13:10,053
It was the first time in all the years
I had been working there
1166
01:13:10,554 --> 01:13:14,724
that I had given the artists
the freedom to do the books
1167
01:13:14,724 --> 01:13:16,643
the way they wanted to do them.
1168
01:13:17,769 --> 01:13:21,481
I find it's a little bit difficult now.
The one thing that I regret,
1169
01:13:21,481 --> 01:13:24,609
of course,
we're not together 24 hours a day.
1170
01:13:24,609 --> 01:13:26,486
Roy does his writing at home,
1171
01:13:26,486 --> 01:13:30,490
and we've lost a little bit of that
perfect control we had
1172
01:13:30,490 --> 01:13:32,117
over all the characters.
1173
01:13:32,534 --> 01:13:36,496
Once or twice, I may wanna use
a certain villain, and I'll say to Roy,
1174
01:13:36,496 --> 01:13:39,958
say "I'm gonna bring back Dr. Octopus
in the next issue," and Roy'll say,
1175
01:13:39,958 --> 01:13:42,627
"Oh, Stan, you can't.
I just did it in the Avengers."
1176
01:13:42,627 --> 01:13:45,380
You see?
And it makes it a little difficult.
1177
01:13:45,672 --> 01:13:48,758
There probably are times
where things don't gel
1178
01:13:48,758 --> 01:13:51,261
or dovetail quite as perfectly.
1179
01:13:51,261 --> 01:13:54,222
But that's one of the little things
we have to put up with
1180
01:13:54,222 --> 01:13:56,725
because of the fact that we've grown so.
1181
01:14:00,645 --> 01:14:06,193
I've reached the pinnacle of idleness,
1182
01:14:06,193 --> 01:14:07,861
I'm now the publisher.
1183
01:14:07,861 --> 01:14:09,571
They kicked me upstairs.
1184
01:14:09,571 --> 01:14:13,492
{\an8}And it's my job to see to it that
the other people do all the writing,
1185
01:14:13,492 --> 01:14:15,869
{\an8}but I really miss the writing.
1186
01:14:26,838 --> 01:14:30,550
When they named me the publisher
of this thing, I became a big businessman.
1187
01:14:34,554 --> 01:14:37,432
I always wanted
to become somebody important,
1188
01:14:39,017 --> 01:14:40,393
but I'm not a businessman.
1189
01:14:42,479 --> 01:14:46,358
I've really no interest in working
with figures and things like that.
1190
01:14:46,816 --> 01:14:51,029
The board of directors, they wanted me
to come up with a five-year plan.
1191
01:14:51,029 --> 01:14:54,908
Where will we be in five years
and how much budget do we need?
1192
01:14:54,908 --> 01:14:58,370
But to me, anything that
has to do with business is dull.
1193
01:15:01,373 --> 01:15:03,625
(CROWD CHEERING)
1194
01:15:05,168 --> 01:15:07,796
So I kept the title publisher,
1195
01:15:07,796 --> 01:15:10,382
but instead of just being a businessman,
1196
01:15:11,800 --> 01:15:16,304
I traveled around the country
talking up Marvel Comics.
1197
01:15:16,304 --> 01:15:18,014
Thank you, culture-lovers.
1198
01:15:19,683 --> 01:15:23,353
{\an8}I was going to colleges
and television shows
1199
01:15:23,353 --> 01:15:26,314
and radio shows pitching Marvel.
1200
01:15:26,439 --> 01:15:29,859
HOST: The superhero of
the comic book business, Stan Lee.
1201
01:15:29,859 --> 01:15:30,986
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
1202
01:15:30,986 --> 01:15:37,784
STAN: I've always felt comic books
were a more powerful cultural device
1203
01:15:37,784 --> 01:15:40,412
than they ever had a chance
to prove to be.
1204
01:15:40,412 --> 01:15:43,164
I hope to give them that chance now.
1205
01:15:43,164 --> 01:15:47,794
I want to make comic books much more
important than they've ever been.
1206
01:15:48,545 --> 01:15:52,882
Basically, it's really
a religious crusade, I like to think.
1207
01:15:52,882 --> 01:15:54,050
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
1208
01:15:54,050 --> 01:15:55,218
WOMAN: Indeed. (LAUGHS)
1209
01:16:02,225 --> 01:16:05,520
STAN: By this time,
I had been at Marvel for many years.
1210
01:16:06,354 --> 01:16:10,900
I had had a lifetime job,
and I was damn well worth it.
1211
01:16:11,401 --> 01:16:13,320
Here's what I think we ought to do.
1212
01:16:15,113 --> 01:16:16,364
I marked them all up.
1213
01:16:16,698 --> 01:16:19,242
But the company was sold.
1214
01:16:21,411 --> 01:16:23,622
One of the owners of the new company said,
1215
01:16:23,622 --> 01:16:26,750
"Stan, don't worry,
you're going to be better than ever."
1216
01:16:26,750 --> 01:16:29,336
And he was gonna give everyone
new contracts.
1217
01:16:29,461 --> 01:16:32,088
So the new contract I was offered was
1218
01:16:32,088 --> 01:16:36,051
instead of a lifetime contract,
a two-year contract,
1219
01:16:36,051 --> 01:16:38,011
which made me very unhappy.
1220
01:16:40,138 --> 01:16:43,475
I always resented the fact that
when I wrote these stories,
1221
01:16:44,225 --> 01:16:48,521
I never thought, "Gee, I ought to try
to copyright something myself and own it."
1222
01:16:48,521 --> 01:16:50,482
It always belonged to the company.
1223
01:16:50,482 --> 01:16:53,735
So from a business point of view,
that was a mistake.
1224
01:16:56,112 --> 01:16:59,574
I was heartbroken.
There wasn't much I could do about it.
1225
01:17:05,246 --> 01:17:08,792
In a series of deliberate
and deadly terrorist acts...
1226
01:17:10,293 --> 01:17:11,670
BARACK OBAMA: It is time for a change.
1227
01:17:11,795 --> 01:17:13,463
CROWD: Yes! Yes, we can!
1228
01:17:19,636 --> 01:17:21,179
KENNETH BRANAGH:
Let's put a camera up.
1229
01:17:21,179 --> 01:17:22,889
Let's not keep this young man waiting.
1230
01:17:24,933 --> 01:17:27,227
STAN: Marvel finally settled things.
1231
01:17:27,894 --> 01:17:30,647
MAN: Guys, let's clear. Everybody, please.
1232
01:17:31,147 --> 01:17:34,442
STAN: They gave me title
Chairman Emeritus,
1233
01:17:34,442 --> 01:17:36,820
which was an honorary title.
1234
01:17:37,404 --> 01:17:38,947
I was very happy about that.
1235
01:17:39,072 --> 01:17:42,826
BRANAGH: And, action! Camera! Car!
1236
01:17:44,077 --> 01:17:45,078
Stan!
1237
01:17:45,078 --> 01:17:46,287
Did it work?
1238
01:17:46,996 --> 01:17:50,375
Stan, thank you so much for being here.
It is our absolute pleasure
1239
01:17:50,375 --> 01:17:53,211
and forgive us if there's lots
of handshakes and autographs asked
1240
01:17:53,211 --> 01:17:54,838
before you get out of here,
1241
01:17:54,838 --> 01:17:57,048
but thank you so much.
We are honored to have you.
1242
01:17:57,048 --> 01:17:59,342
- Thank you! Thanks a lot!
- Thank you.
1243
01:17:59,342 --> 01:18:00,844
STAN: So many people walk up and say,
1244
01:18:00,844 --> 01:18:04,222
"I just want to thank you
for all the enjoyment you've brought."
1245
01:18:04,848 --> 01:18:07,016
And I've been doing this since the 1940s.
1246
01:18:07,726 --> 01:18:09,686
People who've read the books then
1247
01:18:09,686 --> 01:18:11,813
still remember them
and have stayed with them.
1248
01:18:11,938 --> 01:18:15,400
And now they have their own kids.
Some have their grandkids.
1249
01:18:16,568 --> 01:18:19,988
{\an8}I often look back at the early '60s
in the famous Marvel bullpen
1250
01:18:19,988 --> 01:18:23,074
{\an8}and think about the characters that
came out of the imaginations of Stan Lee,
1251
01:18:23,074 --> 01:18:26,995
{\an8}Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and all
of the co-creators. It's incredible.
1252
01:18:26,995 --> 01:18:29,122
And when we sit around
our conference room tables
1253
01:18:29,122 --> 01:18:32,208
in development sessions on these movies,
I find myself thinking,
1254
01:18:32,208 --> 01:18:35,879
"Boy, if we could just tap into 5%
of that crucible of imagination."
1255
01:18:37,172 --> 01:18:39,799
We're just trying to emulate
what the comics have been doing so well
1256
01:18:39,799 --> 01:18:41,384
for so many decades.
1257
01:18:42,886 --> 01:18:45,388
STAN: In the days
I was writing those books,
1258
01:18:45,805 --> 01:18:47,515
I was hoping they'd sell
1259
01:18:47,640 --> 01:18:51,019
so I wouldn't lose my job
and I could keep paying the rent.
1260
01:18:51,478 --> 01:18:56,024
{\an8}All of a sudden, these characters
have become world-famous.
1261
01:18:56,483 --> 01:19:00,111
They're the subject of blockbuster movies,
1262
01:19:00,111 --> 01:19:02,781
and I'm lucky enough
to get little cameos in 'em.
1263
01:19:04,532 --> 01:19:07,827
Cut. Ladies and gentlemen,
that's a camera wrap
1264
01:19:07,827 --> 01:19:11,039
on the creator of Iron Man, Mr. Stan Lee.
1265
01:19:11,039 --> 01:19:15,126
STAN: The fact that I'm working
with characters that I've created...
1266
01:19:15,126 --> 01:19:16,211
Action.
1267
01:19:16,211 --> 01:19:19,255
Superheroes in New York?
Give me a break.
1268
01:19:20,089 --> 01:19:23,718
And the fact that they are being directed
so beautifully...
1269
01:19:23,927 --> 01:19:25,345
Did it work?
1270
01:19:25,470 --> 01:19:29,641
That's Captain America?
I thought he'd be taller.
1271
01:19:29,808 --> 01:19:32,310
- To work with such professionals.
- Oh, man.
1272
01:19:32,310 --> 01:19:34,562
I am so fired.
1273
01:19:34,687 --> 01:19:37,106
And they all have
a love of the characters.
1274
01:19:37,106 --> 01:19:39,400
Are you Tony Stank?
1275
01:19:39,526 --> 01:19:42,111
I never thought it would turn
into something like this.
1276
01:19:42,111 --> 01:19:44,948
Anyway, before I was
so rudely interrupted...
1277
01:19:45,490 --> 01:19:47,534
To work with creative people,
1278
01:19:47,909 --> 01:19:50,370
especially people who make movies,
1279
01:19:51,120 --> 01:19:52,831
is such a thrill.
1280
01:19:56,209 --> 01:19:57,418
No!
1281
01:19:57,794 --> 01:19:58,837
Yes!
1282
01:19:59,420 --> 01:20:01,965
It's overwhelming when I think about it.
1283
01:20:01,965 --> 01:20:05,760
Well, the '60s were fun,
but now I'm paying for it.
1284
01:20:05,760 --> 01:20:06,845
MAN: And cut it.
1285
01:20:07,053 --> 01:20:08,680
I think I'll just take these...
1286
01:20:09,305 --> 01:20:12,809
bring them over here
and hold on for safekeeping.
1287
01:20:13,893 --> 01:20:17,188
What's the matter with you kids?
You never seen a spaceship before?
1288
01:20:17,188 --> 01:20:18,273
MAN: Action.
1289
01:20:18,982 --> 01:20:20,316
"Trust me, true believer."
1290
01:20:21,651 --> 01:20:25,405
I would have to be crazy
not to feel fulfilled.
1291
01:20:27,532 --> 01:20:30,869
{\an8}It's certainly been nice to see the world
catch up with what Stan did.
1292
01:20:30,869 --> 01:20:34,038
{\an8}Even if it took movies and TV shows
to do it.
1293
01:20:34,038 --> 01:20:35,582
{\an8}The world kinda has to admit now,
1294
01:20:35,582 --> 01:20:38,376
{\an8}you know, maybe there is something
to some of this stuff.
1295
01:20:38,376 --> 01:20:40,503
For goodness sake, how're you?
1296
01:20:40,503 --> 01:20:42,130
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
1297
01:20:43,339 --> 01:20:46,175
THOMAS: The seeds of all that stuff
are all set back in what Stan did
1298
01:20:46,175 --> 01:20:48,469
with Jack and Steve.
1299
01:20:48,469 --> 01:20:51,806
You know, you could always trace
anything that they do now.
1300
01:20:52,223 --> 01:20:55,310
In fact, it all kind of flows from
this fountain that was unleashed
1301
01:20:55,435 --> 01:20:58,229
when Stan and Jack and Ditko,
you know, got together
1302
01:20:58,229 --> 01:21:01,274
and suddenly became
this wonderful triumvirate,
1303
01:21:01,274 --> 01:21:03,234
creating a whole universe.
1304
01:21:07,906 --> 01:21:11,492
Neither of them could have, really,
you know, done it without the other.
1305
01:21:17,040 --> 01:21:20,543
{\an8}Join me in giving a big welcome
to Mr. Stan Lee.
1306
01:21:20,543 --> 01:21:22,503
{\an8}(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
1307
01:21:25,423 --> 01:21:26,424
Thank you.
1308
01:21:30,720 --> 01:21:32,472
I spent quite a lot of time
1309
01:21:33,389 --> 01:21:37,477
writing a 25-page speech
that I could give you
1310
01:21:39,020 --> 01:21:42,482
and as I looked at it, I said,
"Would I want to hear this speech?"
1311
01:21:43,900 --> 01:21:44,943
So I tore it up.
1312
01:21:46,027 --> 01:21:49,238
So I stand here now defenseless,
1313
01:21:50,073 --> 01:21:52,659
with nothing except to tell you
1314
01:21:54,035 --> 01:21:55,912
if you have an idea
1315
01:21:55,912 --> 01:21:59,165
that you genuinely think is good,
1316
01:22:00,041 --> 01:22:02,627
don't let some idiot talk you out of it.
1317
01:22:02,627 --> 01:22:08,633
That doesn't mean that every wild notion
you come up with is gonna be genius,
1318
01:22:08,633 --> 01:22:12,345
but if there is something
that you feel is good,
1319
01:22:12,679 --> 01:22:17,308
{\an8}something you want to do,
something that means something to you,
1320
01:22:17,850 --> 01:22:22,105
try to do it.
Because you can only do your best work
1321
01:22:22,689 --> 01:22:25,608
if you're doing what you want to do
1322
01:22:25,608 --> 01:22:29,654
and if you're doing it the way you think
it should be done,
1323
01:22:29,654 --> 01:22:33,032
and if you can take pride in it
after you've done it,
1324
01:22:33,032 --> 01:22:34,534
no matter what it is,
1325
01:22:34,534 --> 01:22:38,579
you can look at it and say, "I did that
and I think it's pretty damn good."
1326
01:22:38,705 --> 01:22:39,956
That's a great feeling.
1327
01:22:40,707 --> 01:22:45,169
I want to wish all of you
the best luck in the world.
1328
01:22:45,169 --> 01:22:49,257
Just do your thing. Whatever you do,
give it your best shot.
1329
01:22:49,257 --> 01:22:51,300
You'll be glad you did.
1330
01:22:51,300 --> 01:22:53,052
- Excelsior!
- (AUDIENCE CHEERING)