Long before Marvel icons like Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers were created, Stan Lee understood what made DC Comics’ Superman such a huge pop culture icon. DC holds the historic distinction of establishing the basis for the modern superhero with the introduction of Superman in 1938’s Action Comics #1 and Batman in 1939’s Detective Comics #27. This early creative boom quickly expanded to gift the world with Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and the Justice Society of America, all of whom created the first widely known shared superhero universe.

Marvel Comics overhauled the comic book landscape in the 1960s with the debut of dozens of flawed and deeply human characters. From the visionary minds of legends like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko, Marvel presented Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man, all packed into a fictionalized version of the real world. Throughout the decades, Marvel and DC have cemented themselves as the Big Two, each providing an expansive multiverse filled with globally known characters, as well as countless different variations of every hero and villain.

While Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman precede most of Marvel’s most popular characters by over two decades, the minds behind Marvel’s iconic heroes had already started envisioning their own comic book universe long before they put pen to paper.

Stan Lee’s Admiration Of Superman Proves Marvel Has Always Been Great At Evolving

Marvel Constantly Improved Its Approach To Superhero Mythology

Stan Lee’s great respect for Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s groundbreaking work on Superman is the perfect summary of Marvel’s adaptability. In Roy Thomas and Danny Fingeroth’s The Stan Lee Universe, Lee admits that every famous superhero trait stems directly from the original Superman concept by Siegel and Shuster. Inspired by Superman since he was a teenager, and further motivated by Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve’s masterful work on Superman: The Movie, Lee and his collaborators at Marvel Comics set out to match the same level of quality and worldwide recognition. Lee explains:

“I was a teenager when I first saw Superman on the newsstands. And when you get into comics, become part of the industry, only then do you realize how much of a debt is owed to Siegel and Shuster. Every convention in our superheroes comes out of the Superman idea. Costumes, superpowers, a secret identity… we all used those things when coming up with our characters.

You know, I remember when I first saw the Superman movie. It was a revelation. It showed everybody that superheroes are important, and incredibly imaginative and worthy of being adapted to the Silver Screen. It’s fitting that Superman, the first superhero, got the first superhero movie, but of course, it just made us at Marvel that much more envious, hoping we could soon see our characters on screen. Superman was a big influence on everything.”

Stan Lee’s aspiration to match and eventually exceed the first true superhero movie in pop culture drove Marvel to spend subsequent decades in constant optimization of their properties. Marvel famously went bankrupt in the 1990s, which led the company to sell the movie rights to several of their most popular characters. As fate would have it, New Line’s Blade, Fox’s X-Men, and Sony’s Spider-Man kickstarted the golden age of superhero movies, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe began a decade later. Fast-forward to the 2010s and 2020s, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to fulfill Stan Lee’s dreams as the most successful movie franchise in history.

Spider-Man Is The Ultimate Spin On The Superman Concept

Marvel Perfected DC’s Superman Formula With Spider-Man

Spider-Man takes the core elements of a secret identity, powers that require responsibility, and an iconic costume to fashion a different kind of modern myth. While Superman captivated readers through an idealized execution of justice, the Man of Steel’s near-infinite strength prevented him from being completely relatable. Twenty-four years after Superman made his debut in Action Comics #1, Marvel introduced a blue-and-red-clad superhero with clear human limitations. Peter Parker lacked Superman’s majestic fortress and financial stability, and he constantly dealt with a cascade of everyday worries as a regular young man. This clever combination of extraordinary gifts and human vulnerabilities provided a perfect counterweight to DC’s godlike formula.

Without a doubt, Marvel’s focus on Spider-Man’s relatability is the engine behind the wall-crawler’s status as the most universally beloved and commercially successful superhero worldwide. Besides, since Spider-Man’s costume completely covers his body from head to toe, any child from any cultural background can easily project themselves beneath the mask. Spidey’s ongoing narrative success across comic books, blockbuster live-action films, animated series and movies, and video games stems directly from his human foundations. While Marvel doesn’t have a direct Superman parallel with the same level of popularity, the same can be said for DC and Spider-Man.

Which comic book character do you consider the most influential?

Birthdate

December 28, 1922

Birthplace

New York, New York, USA

Height

5 feet 11 inches

Professions

Writer, Editor, Publisher, Producer, Actor

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