Panel Discussion: Celebrity Influence on our Favorite Comic Characters!

Martinex1: Did you ever wonder how comic book artists are inspired to invent such lasting characters and situations?  Sometimes the inspiration for character design comes from real life.  Sometimes the "models" are famous Hollyood actors and actresses.  Today, let's look at a few such cases in which movie celebrities may or may not have become comic book stars.

It has been said that John Romita saw Ann-Margaret in the 1963 film Bye Bye Birdie, and Mary Jane evolved from the image of the carefree fun-loving dancing red head. What do you think?  Do you see the resemblance?  And if you've seen Ann-Margaret movies do you see aspects of the party girl Mary Jane was initially portrayed as?

For maybe a resemblance a little less subtle, take a look at silent film star Conrad Veidt.  He was a German actor in the early days of cinema and starred in classics like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.  The photos below come from his appearance in the 1928 romantic melodrama The Man Who Laughs.  Supposedly Bob Kane and Bill Finger drew their inspiration from Veidt's appearance and performance. That seems pretty clear.

Reportedly when Stan Lee created Tony Stark the industrialist and tycoon, he had a very famous movie mogul, aviator, and billionaire in mind - the legendary and eccentric Howard Hughes.  Silver Age depictions of the heroic inventor definitely resembled Hughes in his younger days.

Tony Stark seemed to de-age in the seventies and take on a much different look, but it is easy to see the Hughes influence in the Tales of Suspense Iron Man stories with Don Heck handling the artistic steps.

John Byrne may be most recognized for using film and television stars to influence comic characters with his iconic take on the Hellfire Club.  The entire concept was a blunt homage to an episode of the British television serial The Avengers.  One episode had John Steed and Emma Peel investigating and infiltrating the famed Hellfire Club.  Diana Rigg as Peel donned a sultry outfit much like the one worn by Jean Grey; in fact she was identified as the Queen of Sin in the show.  The episode is titled "A Touch of Brimstone" and guest stars actor Peter Wyngarde as the charming leader of the group (keep that in mind).

This was an extremely popular episode of the series and must have left quite an impression on the X-Men handlers.  Take a look.

Byrne went even further (and along with Chris Claremont as writer) designed the look and named each of the evil team's  comic characters after Hollywood elite.  Sebastian Shaw had a close resemblance to Robert Shaw.

Harry Leland had a definite Orson Welles vibe. Also note that two well known characters in Welles' films were Harry Lime (The Third Man) and Jed Leland (Citizen Kane).  A coincidence - I think not.

Remember Peter Wyngarde from the above mentioned television show, well here is Peter Wyngarde the actor next to Jason Wyngarde the mutant villain.  Note also that one of Peter Wyngarde's most famous roles was as Jason King in a couple of British programs from the early 1970s. Peter Wyngarde just passed away about a month ago at the age of 90.

And last but not least, cyborg Donald Pierce was based on Donald Sutherland, who portrayed Hawkeye Pierce in the movie version of M*A*S*H.

It is definitely fun to see how the artists draw from the culture around them to create the lasting images we so fondly remember.  Do you know of any other significant character inspirations?  Let's discuss them all today at BitBA.  Cheers!

Rank and File: The Villain Teams!

Martinex1:  I recently read a list that rated comic book villain teams and I felt that it really missed the mark, so I decided to conduct my own artificial and unscientific poll for today's edition of  "Rank and File."

Who is your favorite team of villains?  Rate them from one through five and also share a choice for a team that you felt was woefully underdeveloped or pathetic.   I only have two brief rules for today's round:  1) A team is merely a group of more than one - so dastardly duos do indeed count, and 2) the team should not have any heroic tendencies; we are looking for true antagonists - so the reformed Thunderbolts do not count but the Masters of Evil do.

Down below are a number of examples to choose from; but don't let that stop you from finding others from the annals of comic history on which to comment.

My top 5:

1) The (newer) Masters of Evil - There have been many iterations of this team over the years, but I am focused on the large group that Zemo assembled during the siege on Avengers Mansion arc by Roger Stern and John Buscema.  I thought this was the epitome of grand and dangerous teams.
2) The Frightful Four - Likewise there has been some variation in team members over the years, but I always enjoyed the Wizard and his rather motley group and their usually less than adequate plans.   Perennial underachievers, I still rooted slightly for them during their Bronze Age exploits. 
3) The Legion of Doom - You cannot grow up in the 70s without garnering some influence from the Superfriends.  I thought this was a formidable group and would have liked to see a similar representation in the comics.
4) The Hellfire Club - Heavily influenced by their major first appearance heading into the Dark Phoenix storyline in Uncanny X-Men, I cannot dismiss how powerful this group can be.   The later incarnations left me feeling flat, but just the fumes of their glory days carried them into my top five.
5) Flash's Rogue Gallery - I have to say that I like the teaming of the Rogues very much.  In many ways the Flash's enemies are just as crazy and iconic as Spider-Man's villains.

And a team that needs some revamping:

Hammer and Anvil - When I was young I enjoyed this rather one-note duo when they appeared in Marvel Team-Up and The Incredible Hulk, but there is truly not much to them at all.   Just knock their hard heads together and be back to your morning tea before even the rooster misses you.

So what are your choices for the most villainous assemblages?   Are they sourced more heavily from Marvel or DC?   Don't forget about the Madmen or Punch and Jewelee from the Charlton days!  Make your picks, send in your comments, and let's rate the raucous!