From Iron Man to Wolverine: The top 10 Stan Lee characters immortalised as live-action heroes
This wasn't easy to compile.
Stan Lee AKA Stan the Man, the comic world’s Shakespeare passed away today.
Over the years Lee had co-created a host of great characters, flawed beings - angsty teenagers to reworked gods who form part of Marvel’s magnifico fresco.
A decade or two ago, it was laughable to think that superhero movies would entice thespians, but the world has changed and everyone wants in.
Many of them have been immortalised on the big and small screen, some of the actors becoming synonymous with their characters and ensuring that Disney will make more money over the years to rival the wealth of Wakanda. Here are the top 10 characters – created by Stan Lee – in celluloid form.
(PS - Captain America doesn't make the cut because he wasn't created by Stan Lee)
10) Samuel L Jackson/Nick Fury
The last scene of Infinity Wars ends with Nick Fury mouthing his trademark phrase ‘Moth********’. Despite his lack of superpowers, Fury forms an integral part of the MCU and it’s hard to imagine anyone else now doing justice to the character.
Best Moment: When Nick Fury comes up to Tony Stark in the very first post-credits scene of the MCU in Iron Man and tells Stark: “I am here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.” It was the line that launched a billion-dollar franchise.
9) Mark Ruffalo/Hulk
We’d been through three Bruce Banners but none of them, with apologies to Eric Bana and Ed Norton, is as endearing as Mark Ruffalo. One half of the Science Bros when he’s sane – and one of the smartest people on the planet – his transformation into a rage monster is Kafkasque. Playing the Jekyll-Hyde character to perfection, he has given us some of the most memorable scenes in the MCU including the bout in Thor: Ragnarok. His riffs with Tony Stark is just amazing and their bond feels stronger than the one shared by Tony and Pepper Potts.
Best Moment: When Banner tells Captain: "I am always angry."
8) Charlie Cox/ Daredevil
The only Defender (technically still part of the MCU) to make that list, Charlie Cox has revived a character which had been sullied by Ben Affleck’s horrible portrayal in one of the worst superhero films ever made. It took years of therapy to erase the memories of Colin Farrell’s Bulls Eye.
Thankfully, the Netflix shows erased all that and gave us one of the most complex characters in the MCU who is always fighting the Devil within, hoping to reconcile his actions with his Catholicism.
Best Moment: The first hallway fight sequence in Season 1 Episode 2, which set the tone for the show.
7) Tom Hiddleston/Loki
Another thespian whose presence elevates the series, Hiddleston acts like he was born to play the God of Mischief. The perfect brainy foil to Chris Hemsworth’s brawn, Loki made evil look sexier than ever before. No matter how heinous his actions, one impish smile was enough to launch a thousand meme pages and forgive all his onscreen treachery.
Best Moment: His leap of sheer joy when Hulk smashes Thor in Ragnarok shouting: “That’s how it feels.”
6) Patrick Stewart/James McAvoy as Professor X and Michael Fassbender/Ian McKellen and Magneto
This was a tough one, given the convoluted timeline of the X-Men Universe but Professor X and Magneto become almost two sides of the same coin. Both were portrayed by different actors in the original and prequel shows, and their bromance defined the X-Men saga, Xavier's ability to forgive Magneto for murdering thousands, the only point that still remains steadfast in a bloated timeline.
The Charles VS Eric dynamic was the movie’s Malcolm X vs Martin Luther King Jr debate and it was obviously elevated by the real-life camaraderie shared by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, and their younger counterparts.
Best Moment: Charles and Magneto playing chess in a plastic prison.
5) Chris Hemsworth/Thor
Chris Hemsworth’s Thor probably wouldn’t have made the list if it hadn’t been Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok which perfectly captured the ethos of a Norse god created in the acid-tripping 60s. A pale shadow in the first few movies in the MCU, Ragnarok leap-frogged Thor to the front of the Marvel universe and cemented his place as one of its strongest characters, one that knew his own vulnerabilities and was willing to laugh at them.
Best Scene: Thor arriving in Wakanda with his new weapon Strombreaker and demanding Thanos’ head.
4) Benedict Cumberbatch/Dr Strange
There was some controversy over Cumberbatch’s casting, with many demanding an Asian actor to play one with such oriental roots but Cumberbatch really bought his acting chops to the role. Marvel actually pushed the shooting by a year to get Cumberbatch on board and it was worth the wait. Another character born from probably too much acid, Strange looks likely to be the centrepiece of the MCU after Stark finally calls it a day.
Best Scene: Facial hair bros Strange and Stark exchanging snarky remarks.
3) Tobey Maguire/Spiderman
This was a hard choice, given the trio of actors who’ve played the character. Tom Holland feels like the most comic-worthy Spiderman, a kid in an adult’s world with superpowers, full of glee and really not considering the consequences of his actions. Andrew Garfield on the other hand feels too cocky but it’s Tobey Maguire who feels perfect as Peter Parker, the webslinger who has to worry about everything – from paying rent to losing his girl.
Maguire’s Parker was the one envisioned by Stan Lee when creating Spiderman and he’s still one that makes the cut.
Best Moment: That upside kissing scene which has become part of folklore.
2) Hugh Jackman/Wolverine
No actor, other than the next one in the list, has portrayed a superhero more times in a franchise. Despite being part of some real duds – looking at you The Wolverine – Logan became one of the most enduring characters of the X-Men franchise and the glue that held it together. Logan became the quintessential anti-hero in the bargain, a lost animal searching for meaning.
Best Moment: His cameo in X-Men: First Class when he asks Eric and Xavier to go 'f*** themselves' when they try to recruit him for their new mutant team.
1) Robert Downey Jr/ Iron Man
The MCU started with Back in Black blasting on a speaker in Afghanistan as Tony Stark celebrated selling expensive equipment to the US Army . A die-hard capitalist and weapons designer created in the era of counter-cultural anti-Vietnam War protests, Tony Stark made science cool and also sculpted goatees.
The perfect match between role and actor, RDJ’s portrayal has made Iron Man the centrepiece of not just the Marvel Cinematic Universe but also the blueprint of how every superhero movie would be made, one that Marvel turned into a formula for printing money.
Best Moment: Hard to pick given Tony Stark always lights up the skin but probably the best moment is when Stark takes over Shield’s PA system to blast AC/DC’s Shoot to Thrill and asks Agent Romanov if he missed him.