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WW SIX PACK: LESSER KNOWN STAN LEE CREATIONS
Check out these six off-kilter and still-kicking characters created by The Man himself. The contents of this list may surprise you!
By Brett White
If you think that Stan Lee stopped creating characters after he hit the jackpot with Spider-Man, Daredevil, Iron Man and all an assortment of other A-list heavy hitters, you're wrong! During the formative decade of the 1960s, I think it's safe to say that Stan created so many characters that even he can't keep track of them all. Here are six characters that we bet you didn't know Stan Lee co-created.
FIN FANG FOOM (Strange Tales #89, October 1961)
I guess a character named Fin Fang Foom actually couldn't have been created by anyone other than Stan Lee. The real shocker is that Foom pre-dates the modern day Marvel Universe, usually marked by Fantastic Four #1, by a month. If the Fantastic Four hadn't come along, Millie the Model would have had a handful with this guy.
AWESOME ANDY (Fantastic Four #15, June 1963)
Andy got his start as the block-headed android sidekick of the Mad Thinker back in a time when one only had to think madly to be a hotshot villain. Andy was plucked from obscurity by Dan Slott, who reformed him and put him to work in She-Hulk's law firm. So if you ever wanted to know for sure if Stan Lee ever created a giant gray monster with an expressionless giant brick for a noggin, your answer is yes!
THE VANISHER (X-Men #2, November 1963)
How do you follow up Magneto, a villain so cleverly concocted and masterfully designed by his creators that he remains almost aesthetically untouched to this day? Apparently with the Vanisher, who fought the X-Men in their second appearance. The Vanisher hasn't been as productive as Magneto but he's currently kicking around in the chart-busting X-Force series.
DORMAMMU (Strange Tales #126, November 1964)
For a guy whose name is really close to being a white trash leisure garment (or 'mumu'), match-head really invokes fear in even the most courageous of do-gooders. Hard to think that the creator of such good could also create such frightening evil, but that's just the kinda range that makes Stan Lee legendary. Dormammu has recently been revealed as the power source behind the Hood, the baddie that Brian Bendis is taking to new levels of importance under "Dark Reign."
BATROC THE LEAPER (Tales of Suspense #75, March, 1966)
Laugh all you want, but this French martial arts master has gotten the drop on many an A-list hero in his day, including two Captain Americas. He even got the chance to square off against Batman in a JLA/Avengers and didn't do so badly at all. So just because he has a crazy French accent, wears purple and has a mustache usually reserved for eccentric early 20th century Spanish artists, he's still a formidable foe.
HIGH EVOLUTIONARY (The Mighty Thor #134, November 1966)
You know that purple guy made of metal who turns animals into people and usually appears in storylines only to make ominous statements? He's a bonafide Stan Lee and Jack Kirby creation! Just like our ol' pal Batroc, the High Evolutionary is actually a character of merit and quite noteworthy. After all, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch (two other great Lee/Kirby concoctions) were raised in ol' Evolutionary's village on Wundagore Mountain.
There you have it, six characters that you didn't know Stan Lee helped create. Feel like congratulating this comic icon in person? You can do just that at Wizard World Los Angeles 2009, where Stan is our Guest of Honor! Wizard World Los Angeles is this March 13-15. You can purchase your tickets now online and save up to 15%. Be sure to friend our new MySpace page and facebook page so you can get up-to-the minute updates about all our shows! You can also become a fan of Wizard Universe on facebook by clicking here.
