It is undeniable that Stan Lee is one of the most well-known and beloved comic creators who ever lived. Together with artists such as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, Lee had a hand in creating some of Marvel's most famous characters and teams. With his distinctive narration and focus on relatable heroes, his writing style defined Marvel Comics and set it apart from their main competition, DC. It is only natural to wonder what the DC Universe would look like if Stan Lee had a hand in its creation. Well, in the early 2000's, DC answered that by hiring Stan Lee to reimagine their most iconic heroes in the limited series, Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating the DC Universe
The series began with Just Imagine Stan Lee With Joe Kubert Creating Batman. Unlike Bruce Wayne, Stan Lee's Batman is Wayne Williams, an African American man who is falsely imprisoned for the murder of his father. After honing his body and mind in prison, Wayne manages to earn a pardon by saving the prison warden's life. Much like Lee's Spiderman, Wayne first starts his superhero career in the wrestling ring. Unlike Bruce Wayne, who inherited his fortune, Wayne Williams becomes wealthy due to his lucrative career as a professional wrestler.
Other heroes reimagined by Lee include Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Green Lantern, all with wildly different origins and characters than their counterparts in the main DC Universe. Superman goes from the last survivor of Krypton to a Kryptonian cop stranded on Earth. Wonder Woman is a Hispanic woman who is gifted with powers by the Incan sun god. Perhaps the most bizarre is Lee's version of the Flash, who is a teenage girl given super-speed by the DNA of a hummingbird. All of them would team up to face a cult leader named Dominic Darrk. Stan Lee would go on to do a second series for DC, reimagining Robin, Shazam, Aquaman, Catwoman, and Sandman which all culminated in Just Imagine Stan Lee with John Cassaday Creating Crisis.
While the characters would only make a handful of appearances outside of the initial series, the universe does have an official designation in the DC Multiverse. Before the New 52, Stan Lee's Just Imagine series was given the label of earth 901. It was later established in Multiversity that the Just Imagine series took place on Earth 6.
The comics ended up receiving a mixed reception from comic fans and critics alike. While creative reinventions such as Lee's Batman were well regarded, most of the others didn't earn as much respect. Many cited the silver age feel of Stan Lee's writing as a major problem for the books.
While the series may not have been particularly strong, it remains an interesting experiment. Wisdom held for a long time that the primary difference between Marvel and DC was that Marvel's heroes were relatable while DC's were aspirational. It is easy to see how Stan Lee tried to push DC's heroes to be more relatable and relevant. One of the most interesting aspects of the series is how diverse it is. Batman became Black, Wonder Woman was a Hispanic Woman, and the Flash was a teenage girl. Creating a more diverse Justice League is undeniably admirable, even if the execution is off. In a way, it almost reads as prophetic as both Marvel and DC had some of their most famous heroes pass their mantle on to a more diverse generation. DC even found success in diversifying classic heroes with characters like Nubia, Luke Fox, and Jaime Reyes.
Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating the DC Universe might not be for everyone, but twenty years later, it remains a fascinating look at how a titan of comics would have made a very different DC Universe.
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