Did Stan Lee Create These 25 Marvel Characters?

444 Shares

Stan Lee is a living legend of comic books, and a household name at this point, thanks to his extensive list of cameos in most of Marvel Comics' cinematic output. Largely credited as being the overlord of the Marvel Universe, the list of popular money-spinning characters created by Lee over the years is truly extensive. Most comic book creators would be happy to have created one true icon of the industry, but Stan can lay claim to creating scores of genuinely iconic characters, which is no small feat.

At the age of 94, Stan is still working in the entertainment industry and has a hand in the creations of POW! Entertainment, the media production company he co-founded in 2001. He still regularly attends comic book conventions, and despite the sad death of his beloved wife Joan Lee, he still managed to attend the ceremony at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood in July, where casts of his hands and feet were taken in a block of concrete. He spoke about how lucky he has been in his life to have had a wonderful wife and the right friends whom he can depend on.

This quiz will test you on 25 of the most popular characters in Marvel history. While it might sometimes seem like Stan Lee created the entire universe, there are other important writers and artists that have contributed iconic characters along the way as well.

Do you know if Stan Lee created the following characters? Let's find out!

Question 1

Spider-Man

Spider-Man first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 in August 1962. In a departure from common superhero wisdom at the time, Spider-Man wasn't actually a man at all; he was a nerdy high school student named Peter Parker. Usually teenagers could only be sidekicks in comics, but Spidey's creators felt differently. The character's costume was designed by Steve Ditko, a legendary artist who would go on to become something of a recluse in later life. He drew Spidey for 38 issues and two Annual specials. But was Stan Lee the writer who collaborated with Ditko on the character?

Question 2

Thor

One of the quintessential members of The Avengers, and one of the most popular in the mainstream thanks to Chris Hemsworth's portrayal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor first appeared in 1962's Journey Into Mystery #83. Artist Jack Kirby and scripter Larry Lieber worked on the first story, and their co-creator was said to have been inspired by the idea of making a hero who was stronger than the Hulk. How do you do that? You make him a God! But was Stan the Man that co-creator?

Question 3

Wolverine

It's hard to believe that Wolverine, the most popular X-Men character ever, was not actually a part of the original team when they debuted in 1963. In fact, Wolvie didn't come along until a full 11 years later, and he didn't even first appear as a member of the X-Men! Debuting in the final panel of The Incredible Hulk #180, before having a fuller role in #181, he was initially an antagonist for Hulk, and we knew little about him except he was a superhuman agent of the Canadian government! But did Stan Lee create the ol' Canucklehead?

Question 4

Daredevil

Daredevil aka Attorney At Law Matt Murdock first appeared in Daredevil #1 in April 1964. The artist was Bill Everett, and he designed the character's costume (with input from Jack Kirby, who designed the trademark billy club). However, the costume was initially yellow and red, a very different look than the all-red we are used to. The yellow costume only lasted six issues, due to the printers having trouble reproducing the colour consistently! Daredevil didn't really catch on with readers until writer-artist Frank Miller took over in the 1980's, but was Stan Lee his original co-creator?

Question 5

Hulk

The green rage monster known as the Hulk first smashed his way into the hearts of comics readers in May 1962's The Incredible Hulk #1. The character was designed by Jack Kirby, and the two major pop-culture influences for his creation were Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The writer chose grey as the colour for the Hulk's skin, as he didn't want to evoke any particular ethnic group. But colourist Stan Goldberg had trouble with the colour, and #1 featured several different shades and even some greens. After seeing the issue, the writer decided Hulk's skin should be green from #2 onwards. But was that writer Stan Lee?

Question 6

Captain America

Captain America is something of an anomaly in the world of Marvel Comics in that his creation actually pre-dates the company! Cap first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 in March 1941, which was published by Timely Comics, who would go on to become Marvel in 1961 with the creation of the Fantastic Four. Cap was Timely's most popular hero during the WWII years, as he was shown socking Hitler on the jaw, amongst other things. His popularity waned in the years following war, and then he was revived in 1964 as a member of The Avengers!

Question 7

Elektra

Elektra Natchios is the ultimate comic book 'girl your mother warned you about'. A devastatingly alluring and sexy woman, capable of bending any man to her will, she is also one of the most deadly people in the Marvel Universe. She is often depicted as a love interest and sometime ally of Daredevil, but her mercenary nature means they can never truly be together. Elektra was initially killed off little more than a year after her first appearance, and her creator promised no other writers would bring her back. 13 years later she was resurrected, and the creator was upset. But was that creator Stan Lee?

Question 8

Hawkeye

Hawkeye aka Clint Barton aka 'the guy with no superpowers who has to shoot monsters with a bow and arrow' first appeared in Tales Of Suspense #57 in September 1964. He was drawn by artist Don Heck and was a reluctant villain! After two more appearances as a villain in #60 and #64, he joined the side of the angels, becoming a member of The Avengers in May 1965's #16. Whilst he is most often a team player, Clint did have his own series by writer Matt Fraction and artist David Aja, which ran for 22 issues and was critically beloved. But was Stan Lee the original co-creator of the character?

Question 9

The Kingpin

Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin is one of the most important villains in the Marvel Universe. Initially introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #50 in 1967, which was drawn by John Romita Sr, he has gone on to become the archenemy of Daredevil and a frequent thorn in the side of Spidey and The Punisher. A ruthless crime lord whose heavyset appearance belies an incredible physical strength and unexpected speed of movement, Fisk has proven so popular with fans that he has starred in several of his own miniseries', which is fairly unusual for a villainous character. But was he the creation of Lee?

Question 10

Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four #1, which hit newstands in November 1961, is largely credited with giving birth to the 'Marvel Age Of Comics'. Their creation was instigated by Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman, who noted to his chief comics writer that National Comics (soon to become DC Comics) was having success with the Justice League Of America, a team of superheroes. He instructed the writer to create a team of superheroes, and the writer, who had felt creatively stifled by writing genres such as romance, horror, war and science-fiction, leapt at the opportunity. He collaborated with the amazing Jack Kirby, and the Marvel Universe as we know it began to take shape!

Question 11

Magneto

Magneto, the X-Men's greatest enemy and one-time friend of their leader Professor Xavier, made his first appearance in the very first issue of X-Men in 1963. His creator said in an interview that he 'did not think of Magneto as a bad guy. He just wanted to strike back against the people who were so bigoted and racist. He was trying to defend the mutants, and because society was not treating them fairly he was going to teach society a lesson.' But was this said by Stan Lee?

Question 12

Ghost Rider

In Marvel Spotlight #5, from August 1972, Marvel fans were given their first taste of Ghost Rider aka stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze. In order to save his father's life, he sold his soul to Satan (later revealed to be Marvel's version of the Devil, Mephisto) and became his 'Ghost Rider' by night: his flesh became consumed by hellfire, setting his skull on fire, and he punished evildoers. Undoubtedly one of Marvel's most visually iconic characters, complete with badass flaming motorcycle, there have been a number of different incarnations of the hero. But did Stan Lee create him?

Question 13

Black Widow

We have to go way back to 1964 to find the first appearance of Natasha Romanova, the Black Widow. Tales Of Suspense #52 introduced her as a Russian spy and enemy of Iron Man. In all her early appearances, she didn't wear the iconic costume we know today; this visual update, featuring the skin-tight black bodysuit, shoulder-length red hair and wrist gauntlets came in The Amazing Spider-Man #86 in 1970. Her first appearance was scripted by Don Rico and drawn by Don Heck, but Rico had a co-creator as well; was that Stan Lee?

Question 14

Iron Man

Speaking of Iron Man, he also made his first appearance in an issue of Tales Of Suspense; #39, from March 1963, to be exact,. The original design of the character (which inspired the clunky grey suit of armour Tony Stark uses to blast out of the cave in the first Iron Man movie) was by Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The credit for the script in his first appearance went to Larry Lieber, but he was collaborating with his editor and plotter, who was credited with the actual creation of the character. Was that Stan Lee?

Question 15

The Punisher

One of the most popular antiheroes in the history of comic books, Frank Castle aka The Punisher first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 in 1974. Introduced as an antagonist to the Wall-Crawler, he was depicted as a bloodthirsty vigilante who was aiming to kill Spider-Man, who he believed was responsible for the murder of Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin). The character's creator always intended Punisher to become a hero (of sorts), but wanted to introduce him in this way in order to highlight the differences between him and more traditional superheroes.

Question 16

Luke Cage

Luke Cage, a character who shot into the public consciousness with the recent release of Netflix' TV series, was created in 1972 and first appeared in Luke Cage: Hero For Hire #1. He was the first ever black superhero to be featured as the lead and title character of a comic book . Cage was created at the height of the popularity of 'blaxploitation' as a film genre; Shaft was released the year before Luke made his bow. But was Stan behind the creation of the character?

Question 17

Rogue

Similarly to a few other heroes in our quiz, such as Hawkeye and Black Widow, Rogue first debuted as a villain. AND, even though she is one of the most iconic members of the X-Men to most fans, she didn't even first appear in an X-Men comic! Avengers Annual #10 in November 1981 was her first appearance, and she didn't become a member of the X-Men for another two years, finally joining the team in Uncanny X-Men #171. Her real name and backstory wasn't even revealed until 20 years after her introduction; talk about keeping the mystery under wraps!

Question 18

Venom

When it was announced recently that Sony still intended to move ahead with their proposed Venom movie, which would be separate from the Spider-Man movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most fans were skeptical. Then they announced that freakin' Bane himself, Tom Hardy, would be playing Eddie Brock/Venom. And all of a sudden fan enthusiasm for the movie hit the roof and people remembered how much they love the villainous symbiote! Venom first appeared in 1988's The Amazing Spider-Man #300, but was he created by Stan Lee?

Question 19

Deadpool

Deadpool is a household name these days. Being the star of the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time will do that for any fourth-wall-breaking, grotesquely scarred but hilariously violent anti-hero. In fact, the Deadpool movie was such a big deal that it outgrossed every other movie in the X-Men franchise! Sorry Logan. Deadpool was created in 1991 and first appeared as a villain in The New Mutants #98. The Merc WIth A Mouth has been a Marvel bestseller ever since, but did he spring from the mind of Stan?

Question 20

Doctor Strange

Doctor Stephen Strange aka The Sorcerer Supreme first appeared in Strange Tales #110 in July 1963. His creation was heavily inspired by stories of black magic dabblers and Chandu The Magician, a radio drama from the 1930's/40's/50's about an American named Frank Chandler who used the mystical arts such as astral projection to fight criminals. Artist Steve Ditko brought a full five-page story to his co-creator with the basis for what would become Doctor Strange, but he needed help filling out a story for the character. Was that co-creator Stan Lee?

Question 21

The Wasp

Tales To Astonish #44 in June 1963 saw the debut of Janet Van Dyne aka The Wasp, Hank Pym's (otherwise known as Ant-Man) partner. She became The Wasp to avenge the death of her father Vernon Van Dyne. She co-starred in Tales To Astonish from #44-#69, and later became a founding member of The Avengers! She appeared in their first issue and was even the character who gave the team their name. Her design was created by Jack 'King' Kirby, but was her story created by Stan?

Question 22

Apocalypse

En Sabah Nur aka Apocalypse is largely seen as the world's first mutant, given that he was born over 5000 years ago in Ancient Egypt. His first appearance came in X-Factor #5 in May 1986, as the shadowy villain leading the Alliance Of Evil. Initially, writer Bob Layton intended the secret villain to be revealed to be The Owl, a mid-range Daredevil villain, but editor Bob Harras wanted a new villain to be created instead. Layton was taken off the book and replaced by a new writer, who created Apocalypse alongside artist Jackson Guice. Was the writer Stan Lee?

Question 23

Iron Fist

Iron Fist was created in the 1970's, only a few years after his Netflix brethren Luke Cage. His first appearance came in Marvel Premiere #15 in 1974, and his creation was inspired heavily by the kung-fu movies that were popular at the time. Eventually, whenever the sales of both characters were flagging, they were thrown together in Cage's series Luke Cage: Power Man, which was renamed Power Man and Iron Fist with 1978's #50. But did Stan Lee create the character?

Question 24

Jessica Jones

The character with the shortest comic book history in our quiz, Jessica Jones was created a scant 16 years ago, first appearing in Alias #1 in November 2001. She is a surly superpowered P.I. who owns and operates Alias Private Investigations. Readers later found out that Jones was once a superhero in the Marvel Universe named Jewel, until she ran afoul of Zebediah Kilgrave aka The Purple Man, who used his powers of mind control to psychologically torture her and make her a participant in his crimes.

Question 25

Silver Surfer

The Silver Surfer is one of the most beloved characters in the Marvel Universe, and has always maintained a cult following, even if his solo comics have sometimes struggled with sales. Created in 1966, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #48 as the herald of Galactus, the imposibly huge world-eating alien giant who saw Earth as his next meal. The Surfer (real name Norrin Radd) only became Galactus' herald to save his own home world from being devoured, but meeting the Fantastic Four and the other people of Earth made him rediscover his humanity, and he betrayed Galactus, helping to save Earth in the process. The character's look was designed by Jack Kirby (again), but was the co-creator Stan Lee?

See Your Result
Questions Left
Current Score