Review of "Stan Lee’s Mutants, Monsters & Marvels," DVD version

 Review of

Stan Lee’s Mutants, Monsters & Marvels, DVD version

Five out of five stars

The voice of Marvel speaks

 I listen to an oldies radio station and there have been occasions when the DJ has mentioned the amount that the works of an artist or group has earned from their musical creations. While the numbers are impressive, they are dwarfed by what the creations of Stan Lee at Marvel has earned. A Marvel superhero movie is considered a failure if it earns less than a quarter billion dollars. “Avengers: Endgame” has earned approximately three billion worldwide.

 This DVD contains two features where Stan Lee is interviewed by filmmaker Kevin Smith. The questioning is very low-key, and Lee is very honest in his answers. He is humble yet takes reasonable credit for the characters that he co-created. When specific characters are mentioned, Lee describes who collaborated with him on that specific character.

 Lee also never hesitates to explain how he adapted existing characters when creating new ones. For example, the version of the human torch that is Johnny Storm was an adaptation of a pre-existing human torch that was an android.

 There is also some insight into the Marvel-DC “rivalry” that existed while Lee was at Marvel. He points out that it was a friendly, sometimes collaborative rivalry in the sense that Lee met with people at DC on a regular basis to discuss the current trends in comics.

 If you are interested in the history of Marvel Comics in general and some of the characters in particular, this is a video that you should watch. It is impossible to understate the role Stan Lee had in creating what is now an entertainment powerhouse.