Stan Lee: Resting on his laurels?
Lately, I've lost a modicum of respect for Stan Lee.
I've never been much of a comic book aficionado, but I was an avid reader of the comics in the newspaper, and my favorite strip was Spider-Man. I loved the character, not so much for his exploits against arch-criminals, but for the very human Peter Parker, who was wracked with guilt over his Uncle Ben's death. And the infinitely patient MJ also always struck me as a heroic character -- if maybe a little self-absorbed.
I think it's the flaws in those protagonists that drew me to the strip on a daily basis. Spider-Man was a demonstration of Stan's brilliance as a storyteller.
But lately, Stan the Man has let me down.
First off, he is the reputed creator of the animated series "Stan Lee's Stripperella". The name says it all. This piece of tripe didn't even last a full season. I don't think any more comment is even required. Gack!
Then there was the 2004 G-Phoria incident: Stan Lee was brought in to present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Hideo Kojima. To my mind, this should have been an honor to both of them -- two very creative men meeting on stage.
Before the show, Stan was asked about his participation in the event. Loosely paraphasing him, he admitted that he had no idea who this "HID-ee-oh KO-jim-ah" guy was, but he was sure he must have done some good work.
My goodness, man! You could have at least done some research. And have a little respect: "HID-ee-oh KO-jim-ah"? It's "hee-DAY-oh koh-JEE-mah".
Adding insult to injury, when Stan presented the award, he once again mangled Kojima-san's name (you'd think someone would have coached him) and made the entire presentation with the overblown affect of a man who knows he's faking it, but tries to pull it off anyway.
He almost came off as arrogant -- as if he was the highlight of the ceremony and he couldn't be bothered to consider the man he was supposed to be honoring.
Since then, I've seen Stan in several recent interviews. And while he still comes across as a sweet man, his early grandeur has been sublimated. Is this really the creator of those characters who seemed so complex and real in my youth?
And his cameo in the Fantastic Four movie -- oh my gosh, how embarrassing was that? I mean, it's a sentimental tradition to have Stan cameo, and it's something I normally enjoy. But -- it's as if the cameo was an after-thought. "Hey, we forgot to put Stan's cameo in the script." "Well, we're shooting the lobby scene today, let's add ten seconds of footage and and get it over with."
I mean, for an otherwise well-written script, that one scene felt forced and could have been easily left on the editor's desk -- except that it was Mr. Lee's cameo.
Note to Hollywood: cameos should be incidental to the story. They should flow seamlessly with the on-screen action. Dropping them in like a slide from last year's vacation roll accidentally mixed in with this year's Christmas photos is just sloppy.
Stan Lee, I still think the world of you, man. But like the apocryphal emperor, your royal raimants have failed to accompany you of late.
So, am I officially a pariah now?
I've never been much of a comic book aficionado, but I was an avid reader of the comics in the newspaper, and my favorite strip was Spider-Man. I loved the character, not so much for his exploits against arch-criminals, but for the very human Peter Parker, who was wracked with guilt over his Uncle Ben's death. And the infinitely patient MJ also always struck me as a heroic character -- if maybe a little self-absorbed.
I think it's the flaws in those protagonists that drew me to the strip on a daily basis. Spider-Man was a demonstration of Stan's brilliance as a storyteller.
But lately, Stan the Man has let me down.
First off, he is the reputed creator of the animated series "Stan Lee's Stripperella". The name says it all. This piece of tripe didn't even last a full season. I don't think any more comment is even required. Gack!
Then there was the 2004 G-Phoria incident: Stan Lee was brought in to present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Hideo Kojima. To my mind, this should have been an honor to both of them -- two very creative men meeting on stage.
Before the show, Stan was asked about his participation in the event. Loosely paraphasing him, he admitted that he had no idea who this "HID-ee-oh KO-jim-ah" guy was, but he was sure he must have done some good work.
My goodness, man! You could have at least done some research. And have a little respect: "HID-ee-oh KO-jim-ah"? It's "hee-DAY-oh koh-JEE-mah".
Adding insult to injury, when Stan presented the award, he once again mangled Kojima-san's name (you'd think someone would have coached him) and made the entire presentation with the overblown affect of a man who knows he's faking it, but tries to pull it off anyway.
He almost came off as arrogant -- as if he was the highlight of the ceremony and he couldn't be bothered to consider the man he was supposed to be honoring.
Since then, I've seen Stan in several recent interviews. And while he still comes across as a sweet man, his early grandeur has been sublimated. Is this really the creator of those characters who seemed so complex and real in my youth?
And his cameo in the Fantastic Four movie -- oh my gosh, how embarrassing was that? I mean, it's a sentimental tradition to have Stan cameo, and it's something I normally enjoy. But -- it's as if the cameo was an after-thought. "Hey, we forgot to put Stan's cameo in the script." "Well, we're shooting the lobby scene today, let's add ten seconds of footage and and get it over with."
I mean, for an otherwise well-written script, that one scene felt forced and could have been easily left on the editor's desk -- except that it was Mr. Lee's cameo.
Note to Hollywood: cameos should be incidental to the story. They should flow seamlessly with the on-screen action. Dropping them in like a slide from last year's vacation roll accidentally mixed in with this year's Christmas photos is just sloppy.
Stan Lee, I still think the world of you, man. But like the apocryphal emperor, your royal raimants have failed to accompany you of late.
So, am I officially a pariah now?
posted by Cold Justice at
5:37 PM
3 Comments:
Can you say "brain fart"? Thanks for the correction, Slick.
By
Cold Justice, at Fri Jul 22, 12:29:00 AM CDT
I really did not like the FF film with the only bright spot being Stan's cameo as Willy Lumpkin. It was the best cameo yet by the man as an actual character in the comic.
By
k o w, at Fri Jul 22, 09:10:00 AM CDT
Stan has always been this way, as far as I can remember. It's just when someone is producing something worthwhile, people are more forgiving. The many battles over creator's credits are legendary, especially in the early days with Kirby and Ditko. But when Stan is on his game, you can't help but love the guy.
Stan has tried numerous projects since leaving Marvel, and outside of some guest starring roles in movies, very few of them have been successful. His 'DC as told by Stan Lee' series should have been a home run both in the story and the marketing. But it hit with a thud.
But honestly, when you buy an appearance by Stan Lee, you're looking for the charisma and the pure geek culture. And he knows he doesn't have to do a dang thing but show up to get paid.
I sometimes feel sorry for the guy, because he hit his peak early on and has been trying to reclaim it ever since.
By
Anonymous, at Fri Jul 22, 11:15:00 AM CDT
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