If you know what a comic book is, you know Stan Lee more or less. He was a great artist who created dozens of different characters in the Marvel Universe. We know the origin stories of some popular characters created by Lee. But do you know how the dozens of different characters we see in the comic book superhero movies, which have become increasingly popular in recent years, come out?
DC Comics, which has a universe as wide as Marvel, also has as many characters. Undoubtedly, the reason for getting to know these characters and writing this article is the adaptation films. But remember, all these characters actually first appeared in the pages of the comics. Let’s take a closer look at the extraordinary origin stories of some Marvel and DC characters.
Origin stories of superheroes:
- Venom was born thanks to a fan letter.
- Stan Lee’s wife inspired the Fantastic Four.
- Aquaman’s success lies in his punk freestyle.
- A Greek restaurant inspired the Thanos character.
- Wonder Woman character appeared thanks to the mistress of her creator.
- Did Bob Kane create Batman? You thought so.
- Rocket Racoon salutes a Beatles song.
- Without Batman: The Animated, there would be no Harley Quinn character.
Venom was born thanks to a fan letter:
In 1982, Marvel received a letter from a 22-year-old teenager named Randy Schueller. The letter contained some Spider-Man sketches drawn by Schueller. The costume our hero wore in one of these sketches was not actually a costume; It was an extraterrestrial form made up of unstable molecules. Marvel loved this job.
Randy Schueller was asked to write a screenplay and was paid $220. However, the script was not drawn because it was not very successful. Marvel writers and illustrators stepped in and created the Venom character, defined as Anti Spider-Man. Randy Schueller, who inspired this idea, says he is uncomfortable with the Venom character.
Stan Lee’s wife inspired the Fantastic Four:
Stan Lee, a young artist in the 1960s, was tired of creating classic comics. So much so that he even considered leaving the world of comics. Seeing these difficulties experienced by her husband, Joan Lee said those words that will lay the foundations of the Marvel Universe; Write what you want, you will be fired at most.
So we created the Fantastic Four, Stan Lee, who was already asked to assemble a team to rival DC Comics’ Justice League of America. Even if we cannot see their effects in the world of cinema, the Fantastic Four are a team that forms the basis of the Marvel Universe. We all know what happened next.
Aquaman’s success lies in his punk freestyle:
Aquaman; He is a blond, clean-faced person who can talk to aquatic creatures. However, it stopped selling in the 1990s. Peter David reflects on the subject and comes up with an idea that would become the character’s second father after the character’s creator, Arthur Curry; Why don’t we punk Aquaman a bit?
Our master, Aquaman, from then on turns brunette, grows hair and grows a beard. He is given a very cool spear and is included in the Justice League team. The type we are describing is exactly Jason Momoa, who brings the character to life in the movie. In other words, if the character had not changed in this way in the 1990s, maybe there would be no movie at all.
A Greek restaurant inspired the Thanos character:
The appearance of the character Thanos, created by comic book artist Jim Starlin, was a stroke of luck. Jim Starlin was passing by a Greek restaurant called Thanotos every day. However, he never went in because he said that the name Thanotos connoted a purple giant and quenched his appetite.
Jim Starlin’s first meeting with Thanotos was during his university years. Thanotos is a Greek god who personifies death. Starlin, who set out with this interesting idea, presented a concept to Marvel, but it was not liked very much. There was a gap in that issue when the Invincible Iron Man artist became ill in 1973. The one who quickly filled the void was Jim Starlin, who had been dreaming of a purple giant for years. This character, named Thanos, rose rapidly in the Marvel Universe.
The character of Wonder Woman appeared thanks to her creator’s mistress:
William Moulton, who created the character of Wonder Woman in 1942, was married at that time and had a mistress. Saying that he understood women much better while living with these two strong women, William Moulton created Wonder Woman as a woman profile to rule the world. It was his mistress, Olive, who whispered the idea of a female superhero with super-powered bracelets.
Did Bob Kane create Batman? You thought so:
If you are reading those articles that flow after the movies, you will see the name Bob Kane as the creator of the character at the end of every Batman movie. True, in the 1960s Bob Kane wanted to create a character named Bat-Man. But today we know that another artist named Bill Finger named this Bat-Man idea Bruce Wayne; He created the Batmobile, Gotham City, Robin, Catwoman, the costume, and the origin story we all adore today. Bane hardly mentioned the name Bill Finger.
Rocket Racoon salutes a Beatles song:
In 1968, the Beatles were wreaking havoc and every single song was a hit. Popular culture was also under the influence of this situation. Two illustrators Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen created the one-off character Rocket Racoon to pay homage to the Beatles’ song Rocky Raccoon.
The story of the Rocket Racoon character being included in the team of the Guardians of the Galaxy, which everyone loves with their movies today, is a bit tragic. Bill Mantlo, one of the character’s creators, is paralyzed in an accident and is admitted to a nursing home. His brother wants to take him home, but he can’t afford the maintenance costs. To improve this situation, Marvel decides to use the Rocket Racoon character more and pays Bill Mantlo a large fee to go home.
Without Batman: The Animated, the character of Harley Quinn would not exist:
One of the rare comic book characters not born in comics is Harley Quinn. During the Batman: The Animated animated series, a one-shot character named Harley Quinn is created. The character is voiced by Arleen Sorkin, a friend of series writer Paul Dini. But what a voiceover! Impressed by what they’re watching, the team work on Harley Quinn, making her one of the cutest maniacs we know.
We talked about how some DC and Marvel characters in the comic book adaptation superhero movies appeared and told their unusual stories. Of course, these are just the highlights. Surely each character has an unforgettable and unique origin story.
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