Stan Lee is a legend in the world of comics. Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, and a few other names might carry more weight, but none of them come close to Lee's pop culture appeal. He, more than any other, defined the era of comics that is most often called "the Marvel Age". Together with Jack Kirby and occasionally Steve Ditko, he co-created the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, The X-Men, Thor and countless other mainstays of comic fiction. His creative era really ended by the mid to late 70's, when administrative work consumed his time at Marvel and his comic work slowed to an eventual halt. Still, his name appears at the top of every Marvel comic, and his place in comic history is assured. These days, Stan Lee is primarily known for his aging "hipster" personality, his amiable personality, always ready to share an anecdote when some new Marvel project makes him worth a quick soundbite. Lee was signed to a "lifetime exclusive contract" with Marvel, which pretty much made him a figurehead to Marvel's entertainment empire. Among the many brilliant financial moves that Marvel has made recently was to release Stan The Man from that exclusive contract. It saved Marvel a few bucks and DC was quick to pounce on him for a comic fans dream project.

DC has been promising a series in which Stan Lee would present his own versions of DC's most popular characters. Many of the biggest names in comic art were quick to volunteer to be a part of it. The first is Just Imagine Stan Lee's Batman with art by Joe Kubert. This is not the Bruce Wayne Batman that we are familiar with, but rather a totally new Batman as envisioned by Stan Lee. This Batman is Wayne Williams, the son of a slain cop who is initially timid and unwilling to interfere with the thugs who rule his slum neighborhood. When he is framed for a robbery and sent to prison, he decides to start standing up to criminals. With determination and purpose, he builds his body and sharpens his agility. Upon release from prison, he slowly begins building a reputation as a crimefighter and plans revenge on the hood that framed him.

My first impression was that DC should have given us Stan Lee's take on the traditional heroes, rather than re-create them. Once you accept them as the "Elseworlds" books that they really are, you can appreciate that Lee has managed to provide a twist on the character without changing the basic properties of the legend. This Batman has no superpowers, just a determination. His thirst to stop crime stems from being a victim of it himself. His parents are taken from him. All of these elements are kept from the original Batman story, yet enough is changed that it becomes a different version of the Batman, one that belongs to Stan Lee.

Stan Lee is really out of his element with this type of character. His forte was cosmic menaces and high melodrama. The art by Joe Kubert is rough and earthy, reasonably well suited to a story that mostly takes place in slums or a prison ground. It is still somewhat lifeless for a project of this calibur. The four page back up story by Mike Kaluta is much more attractive and only serves to make the Kubert art seem flatter by comparison. Still, the real thrill here is seeing Stan Lee write his own Batman. While it may be a project that was doomed not to live up to its' high expectations, every fan should be at least curious to see Stan The Man do DC's most famous characters.

Reviewed July 9th, 2001
See Also:
Just Imagine: Stan Lee Creating Superman

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(except for the Marvel Covers on the Archive Link, of course)
are copyright 2001 DC Comics

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