It’s Trivia Tuesday! Which of the below characters did Stan Lee co-create?
A. Madame Menace
B. Molten Man
C. Monsteroso
D. Moses Magnum
And the answer(s) are…
B. Molten Man and C. Monsteroso!
But first, let’s shine a spotlight on the two other characters:
Moses Magnum first made his way into the pages of Giant-Size Spider-Man #4 in April 1975, the brain child of writer Gerry Conway and artist Ross Andru.
Madame Menace, aka Sunset Bain, started wreaking havoc in the Marvel universe in October 1980 in Machine Man #17, courtesy writer Tom DeFalco and legendary artist Steve Ditko.
Now onto Stan’s handiwork!
Molten Man
Molten Man burned his way into readers’ memories in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #28 in September 1965, straight from the minds of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. (As you may have guessed based on the title, he was introduced as an adversary to Spidey.) As a scientist, Mark Raxton had a hand in creating a new liquid metallic mixture with his boss, Dr. Smythe. However, a fight ensued when Raxton tried to abscond with the concoction, resulting in the liquid spilling and being absorbed by his skin, turning it gold. Aside from the accident converting his body tissue into a solid metal alloy, Molten Man’s powers include the ability to pick locks (thanks to his metallic fingers that are sensitive to sound) and superhuman strength – not to mention, his skin can reach such high temperatures that it can burn anyone who touches it, and he can even fire burning projectiles at his foes. Word to the wise: Don’t cross Molten Man or it could turn into one heated meeting!
Monsteroso
Monsteroso (this version, anyway – more on that below) first invaded Marvel Comics way back in October 1961 in the pages of Amazing Adventures #5. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the aptly named giant monster was actually an infant! As the alien traveled on a spacecraft with its parents, Monsteroso accidentally dispatched the craft’s lifeboat, and the being crash landed on Earth. An unconscious Monsteroso was found by a circus owner and taken to New York’s Museum of Natural History where it woke up and started to run amok in the Big Apple. Luckily, it was determined that the alien didn’t mean any harm and was genuinely curious about its new surroundings, and after being sedated by scientists, Monsteroso fell into the East River. But don’t worry, this story has a happy ending – right after, the infant alien’s parents arrived at long last to take their baby back home.
It must be pointed out that there exists another being that goes by the name of Monsteroso, also co-created by Stan Lee! Stan whipped this character up with Steve Ditko in the pages of Tales to Astonish #18 in April 1961, which means this character actually appeared first!
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 ‘N,’ coming soon!