It’s Trivia Tuesday! Which of the below characters did Stan Lee co-create?
A. Living Brain
B. Living Diamond
C. Living Eraser
D. Living Laser
And the answers are…
A. Living Brain, C. Living Eraser and D. Living Laser!
But first, let’s give the floor to the odd one out:
Living Diamond first popped up in the pages of X-Men #39 back in December 1967, courtesy Roy Thomas and Werner Roth.
Now onto the rest!
Living Brain
This villainous character first came to life by the team of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in The Amazing Spider-Man #8, cover dated January 1964, as an adversary to Spider-Man. The Living Brain was touted to be so smart that it could solve any problem presented to it – well, almost. The jury’s still out on whether it accurately unmasked Spider-Man’s identity when asked who was underneath the mask by students at Midtown High School, since its reply was delivered in mathematical code. Fun facts: Not only does the Living Brain possess superior intelligence, but it also boasts super speed, strength, and it has the ability to fly!
Living Eraser
Living Eraser first became visible to fans in the pages of Tales to Astonish #49 in November 1963, courtesy Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This villain utilizes a tool called the Dimensionizer that can transfer people between Earth and Dimension Z. Where does the ‘Eraser’ part come in? Well, this device renders areas it moves over invisible! One hero caught in Living Eraser’s grip was Henry Pym, who was kidnapped in hopes that they could get him to create nuclear weapons for Dimension Z. (Luckily, the Wasp was accidently brought along and helped rescue Pym and the others who were captured.)
Living Laser
Living Laser first beamed its way into 1966’s The Avengers #34 from the team of Stan Lee, Art Simek and Don Heck. This scientist (real name: Arthur Parks), who boasts a Ph.D in physics, concocted a tiny wrist-mounted laser that he uses for evil purposes – like kidnapping the Wasp, which brings about a battle with the Avengers. At one point, Living Laser even imbeds mini laser components into his skin which give him, among other things, the ability to turn invisible!
Every couple of weeks, we’ll spotlight some of Stan’s most obscure co-creations through trivia, starting with A and ending with Z! Stay tuned for ‘M,’ coming soon!