{"id":1016,"date":"2022-02-10T15:50:17","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T22:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cantinadan.com\/?page_id=1016"},"modified":"2022-02-19T13:20:54","modified_gmt":"2022-02-19T20:20:54","slug":"gimmicks-sleaze","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/cantinadan.com\/?page_id=1016","title":{"rendered":"Gimmicks & Sleaze"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S<\/mark>tan Lee\u2019s comic characterizations relied on not much more than repetitive formulas and a grab-bag approach to assigning super powers. Lee\u2019s very first comic story introduces a muscle-bound iceman named \u201cJack Frost.\u201d Abraham Riesman keenly observes: \u201cThis comics debut for Stan presaged a running motif in the vast majority of the super-characters he created after his Marvel heyday: a figure based on a weird gimmick that doesn\u2019t quite work and leaves no trace on the cultural psyche\u201d (Riesman, 2021).<\/mark> Well into the 1990s, Stan was still suggesting new characters to the folks at Marvel. One idea was to create a crimefighter based on real-life model, Jackie Tavarez, called Nightcat. Tavarez went so far as to record an album of Nightcat themed songs for the project. Despite her contribution, \u201c\u2026every aspect of the endeavor landed with a thud\u201d (Riesman, 2021).<\/mark> Another pitch was for a superpowered garbageman named Ravage. Legendary Marvel artist\/creator Steve Ditko entertained the idea of collaborating on the project, but after reaching a creative stalemate with Lee, it never got off the ground (Riesman, 2021).<\/mark> A number of large-scale projects emerged during the SLM and POW! days that introduced even more characters with stale powers and uninspiring backstories. The vast majority either flopped or never materialized, despite the hype that proceeded them. It would be easy to chalk these casualties up to a fickle entertainment industry, but an honest examination simply uncovers threadbare concepts.Of that time period, it was observed by Marvel film agent Don Kopaloff: \u201cIt was like Laurel and Hardy without Laurel.\u201d Stan was there and, yes, he was recognizable, but he was deprived of the human creative force that had powered so much of Marvel\u2019s success: Kirby\u201d (Riesman, 2021).<\/mark> I do not believe it is coincidence that so many of the Marvel characters created in the 1960s are household names, whereas even genuine comics fans would have difficulty composing even a short list of Lee-created characters from all the decades that followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fig. 11. Stan Lee. “Jack Frost.” U.S.A. Comics #1<\/em>, 1941. https:\/\/www.cbr.com\/stan-lee-first-superhero-creation\/2\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is hard to ignore recurring motifs that present Stan Lee as a man obsessed with the licentious, or, at the very least, a devoted adherent of the formula: \u201csex sells,\u201d and its ugly byproduct: the objectification and side-lining of women. Although not emanating from a Puritanical vantage point, it doesn\u2019t escape notice that many of Stan\u2019s creative pitches bordered on sleaze. I don\u2019t believe it\u2019s necessarily a fair point to weigh against inherent creativity, however, the bawdiness seems always to emanate from his own \u201cleering propensities\u201d (Romberger, 2021)<\/mark> and not as an element of a larger conceptual idea. Stripperella<\/em> may be the most high-profile example. Here is yet another \u201cgimmick\u201d character (a stripper who fights crime) that lacked any hint of thoughtful backstory. Although Pamela Anderson, upon whom the character is based, is said to have hit it off with Lee, she points out one area of disagreement: \u201cStan wanted nudity. I didn\u2019t\u201d (Riesman, 2021).<\/mark> Some argue, convincingly, that objectifying and side-lining women was not the exception but the rule in Lee\u2019s work (Romberger, 2021).<\/mark> And, despite a progressive Kirby\u2019s best efforts to introduce and develop strong and proactive female characters with agency, Lee would invariably undermine them with truly cringe-inducing dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amongst his early days newspaper strip pitches there are examples of stories such as Love of Linda<\/em> and Li\u2019l Repute<\/em> that seem to hinge on their main character being physically appealing (Riesman, 2021).<\/mark> A truly disconcerting magazine proposal that partnered Stan with Will Eisner suggested alarming topics like: \u201cPornography is no longer interesting so what\u2019s next??\u201d and \u201cShall we legalize rape?\u201d (Riesman, 2021). <\/mark>A comic pitch to Playboy, which is at least an appropriate venue, featured a character named High Priestess Clitanna and included story titles like \u201cThomas Swift and His Evasive Erection.\u201d This could have gone hand in hand with his idea for magazine called Film International which would have as its focus pornographic movies and was apparently just a vehicle to host \u201cPlayboy-esque parties where Stan could be photographed alongside celebrities\u201d (Riesman, 2021).<\/mark> Respected Marvel writer, Chris Claremont, related a story where Stan offered his two cents on a Ms. Marvel drawing he happened upon. Despite an established backstory that would have eschewed the suggestion, Stan offered up this advice: \u201cAh! Can\u2019t we make her more sexy? Can\u2019t we put her in hot pants and a tight, stylish top?\u201d (Riesman, 2021).<\/mark> Then there was a mid-nineties Lee\u2013Shultz Production idea called Decoy<\/em> that was described as \u201cA One Hour Erotic Action Series Like None Ever Seen on TV Before.\u201d The main character \u201cis an uninhibited woman\u2013who knows she\u2019s one hot, desirable \u2018babe\u2019 and isn\u2019t shy about using her voluptuous body and all her feminine wiles to get what she wants\u2026\u201d (Riesman, 2021). <\/mark>Stan had these suggestions for a kid-oriented fan club (for SLM) called SCUZZLE that needed a shot in the arm: \u201cJust like there\u2019s a \u2018Playboy\u2019s Playmate of the Week,\u2019 let\u2019s have a \u2018Scuzzle Sweetie of the Week\u2026\u201d and adding \u201c\u2026 some features like \u201cMaggie the Model,\u201d \u201cSupermodels from Hell!\u201d, \u201cMelanie\u2019s Modeling School,\u201d \u201cBikini Betty, the Peach of the Beach,\u201d \u201cStan\u2019s Bikini Babe of the Week\u201d (Riesman, 2021).<\/mark> And then there was this gem, discovered in Box 53 of the Stan Lee archives: an idea for \u201ca book or magazine entitled Fannies<\/em>, which would have \u201cPhotos of gals\u2019 (+guys\u2019) backsides (candid + posed) (in + out of clothes)\u201d (Riesman, 2021).<\/mark> Again, the ribald nature of these pitches doesn\u2019t, in itself, disqualify them from a discussion of inherent creativity but, when placed alongside a lifetime of diminishing women, we come away with an image of a man more obsessed with tearing down females than building touchstone stories and characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fig. 12. Stan Lee. “Photos of intra-office hijinks.” 1983. http:\/\/sdcc.co\/comics\/stan-lee-lays-it-all-out-centerfold-pose\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Stan Lee\u2019s comic characterizations relied on not much more than repetitive formulas and a grab-bag approach to assigning super powers. Lee\u2019s very first comic story introduces a muscle-bound…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":987,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cantinadan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1016"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cantinadan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cantinadan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cantinadan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cantinadan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1016"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/cantinadan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1113,"href":"http:\/\/cantinadan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1016\/revisions\/1113"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cantinadan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cantinadan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}