On this date in 1922 in NYC, comic book pioneer and super hero creator Stanley Martin Lieber, otherwise known to the world as Stan Lee, was born.
The famed cartoonist is a comic book writer, editer, publisher as well as the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. Along with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, Lee co-created some of the most famous(and infamous) comic book characters and superheroes known around the globe.
In honor of the living legend’s 93rd birthday, TheSource.com has compiled a list of Lee’s most celebrated characters from Marvel Comics.
Spider Man
First appearing in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962), the character of Spider Man is the alter ego of high school age orphan Peter Parker, who was granted superhuman agility and the ability to shoot webs and attach himself anywhere after being bitten by a radioactive spider. Spiderman is by farthe most commercially successfull character created by Lee.
Captain America
The patriotic character found in Steve Rogers that bears an american flag costume and indestructible shield was the first Marvel Comics character to be released with a motion picture of the same name in 1944. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 in 1941, which was during WWII, making him the most popular cartoon character of the time.
The Incredible Hulk
As the alter ego of the mild mannered Dr. Bruce Banner, the Incredible Hulk first went through his monstrous metamorphosis in May of 1962 on the pages of Marvel Comics, however, the Hulk made its way onto television screens in 1978 and silver screens 30 years later. The half-ton superhuman still lives on Marvel comic book pages, making him one of Lee’s longest running characters in Marvel’s books.
The Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four, made up of The Thing, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman and the Human Torch is the first superhero collective created by Lee in November of 1961. Ever since their original introduction, the Fantastic Four have been portrayed as a somewhat dysfunctional, yet loving, family. Ironically, the story of the origins of the Fantastic Four is very inconsistent between former Marvel artist Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.
The Uncanny X-Men
Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the characters first appeared in The X-Men #1 (September 1963). They are among the most recognizable and successful intellectual properties of Marvel Comics, appearing in numerous books, television shows, films, and video games.
