Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of comics. I’m a Marvel guy—outside of Batman, DC has never held much interest for me—so I started with some relatively modern runs on The Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers and Thunderbolts. Eventually, I remembered how much I enjoyed some older stuff, too. Years ago, guys like Jim Starlin and Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart were among some of my favorite writers. I won’t go through the entire progression that led me there, but ultimately I went back as far as the Kree/Skrull War (1971) and the First Thanos War (1972).
These are comics from an entirely different age and social
order than modern comics. I’ve read some of it before, but I had forgotten how
deeply ingrained the anti-war and civil rights movements were in many of those
stories. I think a lot of purported “fans” of that age either remember those
stories through the lens of their current political beliefs or never really
read or understood them in the first place. These were hardly conservative
stories and they assumed their audience was sophisticated enough to understand real-world
conflicts.
Until 1972, Stan Lee was the editor-in-chief of Marvel
Comics. Starting sometime in the 60s, he wrote a monthly column called Stan’s
Soapbox that appeared in all their publications. Usually, he talked about
behind-the-scenes anecdotes and goings-on around the office. He sometimes
celebrated and brought recognition to specific creators or titles, and he
generally tried to form a personal connection with readers that went beyond the
stuffy persona of being the boss.
In December of 1968, Stan wrote a Soapbox that made Marvel’s position on civil rights and equality absolutely crystal clear. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy had both been assassinated in the preceding year, and George Wallace was the vocal champion of racial segregation nation-wide. Race riots were everywhere on the news, and law enforcement was deploying tear gas against protestors with abandon. In the midst of this, Stan spoke about real-world issues to his mostly young audience. He didn’t hide behind fantasy or metaphors, and he didn’t pretend that his readers were too young to know about such things.
“Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills
plaguing the world today,” he wrote. “The only way to destroy them is to expose
them — to reveal them for the insidious evils they really are.”
These were not words lightly written or published. Stan was
risking a massive backlash in such a politically charged time. Like today,
sides were polarized, anger was rampant, and there seemed no hope of
compromise. Marvel could have easily faced financial catastrophe at the hands
of angry parents and political figures who didn’t want their children
indoctrinated into beliefs they didn’t share. But Stan felt it was too
important an issue to stay on the sidelines. The stories he wrote in the 60s
had spoken his mind loud and clear for anyone who paid attention, but now he
spoke up in full print, not just handwritten word balloons.
“Although anyone has the right to dislike an individual, it’s
totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race — to despise an
entire nation — to vilify an entire religion.”
That’s powerful stuff, not just for a kid to read in a comic book, but for anyone watching as American society seemed to be at war with itself in 1968. I think Stan needed to get his thoughts out there for his own mental health just as much as his readers needed to hear it. And lest anyone dismiss these as the ramblings of a naive fool, don’t forget that in 1968 Stan was a middle-aged man of 44 years. Stan was hardly a hippie, but he knew right from wrong and that was something that pervaded his comic book work his entire life.
So for anyone who thinks Marvel is too “woke” (a term I saw
used to describe the Marvel Cinematic Universe just this morning), I’d like to
say this: I don’t think you’ve been paying attention. I don’t think you truly
understand the people who built that universe, from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to
Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin and on and on. I think you’re
remembering those stories through the lens of the way you wish they had been,
the way they fit comfortably into your modern, conservative opinions of today.
I think you’re having trouble wrapping your brain around the idea that you’re
the bad guys Stan was writing about back then.
“Pax et Justitia,” Stan signed off with. “Peace and justice.”
I’m sorry to say that almost 60 years later, we’re still having those same
arguments, and still fighting that same fight.