斯坦?李：超級(jí)英雄之父

By Michael Cavna 譯 / 周穎

蜘蛛俠、鋼鐵俠、綠巨人、X戰(zhàn)警、神奇四俠……這些超級(jí)英雄可謂無(wú)人不知，他們的誕生也都與同一個(gè)人密不可分——斯坦·李。斯坦·李本名斯坦利·馬丁·利伯（Stanley Martin Lieber），只因他從小懷有文學(xué)夢(mèng)想，以為創(chuàng)作漫畫故事只是權(quán)宜之計(jì)，因此使用了斯坦·李這一筆名來為漫畫的創(chuàng)作署名，而要把自己的真名留給真正偉大的文學(xué)作品。怎料，正是這個(gè)筆名鋪就了他一生的漫畫之路，使他成為當(dāng)之無(wú)愧的漫畫界泰斗。他筆下的超級(jí)英雄有缺點(diǎn)，有個(gè)性，有煩惱，不再是高高在上的存在，而是像極了每一個(gè)普通人。正因?yàn)槿绱耍@些超級(jí)英雄的故事跨越了半個(gè)世紀(jì)仍經(jīng)久不衰。

Stan Lee professes no deep and analytical insight into the human soul. “Im not a psychiatrist，” he begs off1）. “All I know is， the good superhero movie has got action， suspense， colorful characters， new angles—thats what people like.”

The rangy2） 88-year-old—sitting poised3） against the leopard-print pillows on the couch in his POW！4） Entertainment office—is a natural at delivering the dramatic angle. Asked to strike5） a towering6） pose， he springs to his feet and in a blink is balancing with feline7） ease atop a chair.

Lee was a mere Manhattan comics-industry mortal for decades until， because of diligence and vision， he was elevated to Marvel Comics8） demigod， creating—alongside fellow legends Jack Kirby9） and Steve Ditko10）—the likes of Spider-Man and Iron Man， the Hulk， X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

“My theory about why people like superheroes is that when we were kids， we all loved to read fairy tales，” says Lee， beaming behind his trademark tinted11） glasses. “Fairy tales are all about things bigger than life： giants， witches， trolls12）， dinosaurs and dragons and all sorts of imaginative things. Then you get a little bit older and you stop reading fairy tales， but you dont ever outgrow your love of them.

“Superhero movies are like fairy tales for older people，” continues Lee， whose voice envelops the listener with a raspy13）， lilting14） warmth. “All those things you imagined—if only I could fly or be the strongest—are about wish fulfillment. And because of that， I dont think theyll ever go out of vogue.”

Lees literary approach—and his desire to depict his heroes private lives—profoundly altered comics. Spider-Man suffers a teens social travails15）. Iron Man battles his demon addiction. Lee says he was guided by intimate questions： “What did they do when they werent fighting supervillains？ Where did they live？ What were their hopes， dreams， aspirations， as well as their frustrations？” He believes passionately that many people like their superheroes to have depth， to have vulnerability， to have flaws—to be vexed16） beneath the spandex17）.

“For a long time， there was no personal involvement with some of the superheroes，” Lee says. “Id read books and Dickens always had interesting characters. Mark Twain had interesting characters—so did Edgar Rice Burroughs18）， and Arthur Conan Doyle， who created the greatest fictional character of all in Sherlock Holmes.

“I wanted to write the kind of dialogue that would give the character personality.”

When superhero films combine that depth of character with wish fulfillment， Lee says， theyre already winners. “Youve got power and abilities you dont see all the time. Plus， great stars， great directors.”

Lee leans back. More than three decades after he moved to Hollywood， the very thought of such superheroic movie magic makes him smile.

The arc of Stan Lees life began to bend toward greatness a half-century ago， when he was on the very verge of quitting the business.

Lee had broken into comics two decades earlier when hired as a teenager by Joe Simon， co-creator of Captain America with Kirby. Then， in 1960， Lees boss Martin Goodman told Stan to create a team of superheroes. DC19） was boasting of its success with its superhero team Justice League of America. Goodman wanted Lee—as editor of what would soon become Marvel Comics—to follow suit.

“Not again，” Lee recounts of having to hew to20） scripting convention. “I told my wife Joanie， ‘Im going to quit. But she said： ‘Why not write it the way you want to write it？ If it doesnt work， the worst thats going to happen is that theyll fire you. And you want to quit anyway.”

Emboldened， Lee shunned the superheros usual teenage sidekick21）. He eschewed secret identities. He even decided to have his characters bicker22）. The result was the Fantastic Four. “I tried having heroes [Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Girl] in love and getting married，” he says. “And the teenager was a brother [the Human Torch] who didnt particularly want to be a superhero.

“It was the turning point of my life.”

Co-created with Kirby， the Fantastic Four debuted in November 1961 and sold briskly， setting the stage for a run of characters that would turn around Marvels fortunes. It also helped Lee learn to listen to himself.

“I dont analyze things too closely，” Lee says. “I find the more you analyze， the more you get away from spontaneity. I have only one rule： I just want to write a story that would interest me—thats the only criterion I have. Am I eager to see how it ends？ If these characters really existed， would I want to see what happens to them？

“If I like something， there are bound to be millions of people who like it， too. And if they dont， shame on them.”

“Theres no question that Stan and the innovations he came up with saved the comic book and the superhero，” says Tom Brevoort， Marvels senior vice president of publishing—noting that Lee and the artists he worked with “made me want to do this professionally.”

“By crafting characters with feet of clay23） and personal problems—and not writing down to an audience that was perceived to be primarily 8-year-olds—Stan opened the doorway for more sophisticated and interesting treatments of any subject matter in comics，” Brevoort says. “He made comics interesting and relevant and fun again.”

The man who has written thousands of stories for thousands of characters doesnt believe in epiphanies24）—at least for himself. “I dont have inspiration，” Lee says. “I only have ideas. Ideas and deadlines.”

As for the character ideas behind Hollywoods next Marvel release， Lee says， “In the case of the X-Men， I wanted to do a strip that would point out the injustice and wrongheadedness of bigotry25）. As for their powers， I took the easy way out； instead of dreaming up some complicated explanation for each， I simply wrote， ‘They were born that way. They were mutants26）， and that was that.”

Still an indefatigable27） ambassador of the art form， the ever-adapting Lee says he is working on such projects as a comic rock opera and new lines of books. “To have an idea is the easiest thing in the world，” says Lee， who minutes before was writing weeks of outlines for the Spider-Man comic strip. “Everybody has ideas. But you have to take that idea and make it into something people will respond to.

“Thats hard.”

斯坦·李并不認(rèn)為自己對(duì)人類靈魂有著深刻的認(rèn)識(shí)和透徹的分析?！拔也皇蔷癫W(xué)家，”他為自己辯解說，“我所知道的就是一部好的超級(jí)英雄電影要有打斗動(dòng)作、懸念、有趣的人物、新穎的角度——這些就是人們喜歡的東西?！?/p>

在POW！娛樂公司的辦公室里，這位88歲高齡（編注：原文發(fā)表于2011年5月）、身材瘦高的老人背靠著豹紋靠枕安坐在沙發(fā)上。在創(chuàng)造戲劇性效果方面，他是個(gè)天才。當(dāng)我請(qǐng)他擺出一個(gè)巍然屹立的姿勢(shì)時(shí)，他立刻從沙發(fā)上跳起來，轉(zhuǎn)瞬之間就穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地站在了椅子上，動(dòng)作像貓一樣輕盈。

幾十年來，李在曼哈頓漫畫界一直籍籍無(wú)名，直到后來，他因自己的勤奮和真知灼見而被推上了漫威漫畫公司的神壇——與同是傳奇人物的杰克·柯比和史蒂夫·迪特科一起，創(chuàng)造了諸如蜘蛛俠、鋼鐵俠、綠巨人、X戰(zhàn)警和神奇四俠這樣的超級(jí)英雄。

“人們?yōu)槭裁聪矚g超級(jí)英雄？我的看法是因?yàn)槲覀冃r(shí)候都喜歡讀童話故事，”李說，戴著標(biāo)志性有色眼鏡的他滿臉笑意，“童話故事講述的都是超越現(xiàn)實(shí)生活的東西：像巨人啊，女巫啊，巨怪啊，恐龍啊，飛龍啊，各種想象出來的東西。然后我們長(zhǎng)大一些了，不再讀童話故事，但我們從來不會(huì)停止對(duì)它們的喜愛。

“超級(jí)英雄電影就像是給大人們看的童話故事，”李接著說，他的聲音沙啞而富有節(jié)奏，使聽眾感覺被一種溫暖包裹著，“你所想象過的所有那些東西——比如希望自己能飛啦，或者自己最強(qiáng)啦——都與愿望的實(shí)現(xiàn)有關(guān)。正因?yàn)槿绱?，我相信它們永遠(yuǎn)都不會(huì)過時(shí)?！?/p>

李的文學(xué)式創(chuàng)作方法以及他對(duì)描寫英雄私人生活的渴望給漫畫創(chuàng)作帶來了深刻的變化。蜘蛛俠忍受著少年的社交痛苦，鋼鐵俠也要與自己的酗酒惡習(xí)相抗?fàn)帯＠钫f，引導(dǎo)他創(chuàng)作的是一些私密問題：“當(dāng)他們不與超級(jí)大反派戰(zhàn)斗時(shí)，他們?cè)谧鍪裁?？他們住在哪里？他們的希望、?mèng)想與志向是什么？又經(jīng)受過哪些挫折？”他強(qiáng)烈地認(rèn)為，許多人都喜歡看到他們的超級(jí)英雄有深度，有弱點(diǎn)，有缺陷——在斯潘德克斯彈性纖維的戰(zhàn)衣下也有自己的煩惱。

“長(zhǎng)期以來，某些超級(jí)英雄沒有自己的個(gè)人生活，”李說，“我讀過一些書，知道狄更斯筆下的人物總是很有趣，馬克·吐溫的人物也很有趣，埃德加·賴斯·伯勒斯的人物也是如此，還有阿瑟·柯南·道爾，他在《夏洛克·福爾摩斯》中創(chuàng)造了一位空前絕后最了不起的小說人物。

“我想寫出能賦予人物以個(gè)性的那種對(duì)話。”

一旦超級(jí)英雄電影將愿望的實(shí)現(xiàn)與有深度的角色相結(jié)合，那就已經(jīng)成功了，李說?！澳阌辛四切┎粚こ５牧α亢湍芰?，此外還有一些優(yōu)秀的明星、優(yōu)秀的導(dǎo)演。”

李身體后傾，靠在沙發(fā)背上。在他進(jìn)軍好萊塢三十多年之后，一想到超級(jí)英雄電影的這種魔力，他就忍俊不禁。

斯坦·李的人生開始向成功邁進(jìn)是在半個(gè)世紀(jì)以前，而那時(shí)的他正打算退出漫畫界。

在那之前的20年前，李就已經(jīng)進(jìn)入了漫畫界。那時(shí)他還是個(gè)少年，受雇于喬·西蒙，也就是與柯比共同創(chuàng)作了《美國(guó)隊(duì)長(zhǎng)》的編劇。后來，在1960年，李的老板馬丁·古德曼讓他創(chuàng)作一個(gè)超級(jí)英雄團(tuán)隊(duì)。當(dāng)時(shí)，DC漫畫公司已經(jīng)有了一個(gè)超級(jí)英雄團(tuán)隊(duì)，即“美國(guó)正義聯(lián)盟”，正在大肆吹噓自己的成功。古德曼想讓李也跟風(fēng)，當(dāng)時(shí)李所主筆的那家公司將很快成為后來的漫威漫畫公司。

“我再也不想那樣做了，”李講述了他不得不遵守腳本撰寫慣例的情況，“我對(duì)太太喬安妮說：‘我要辭職。但她卻說：‘你何不就按照自己的想法去寫呢？如果不行的話，大不了他們會(huì)把你辭退。反正你正想辭職呢?！?/p>

這番話給李壯了膽，他避開了超級(jí)英雄通常都有的少年搭檔，也避開了英雄的神秘身份。他甚至決定讓他的人物斗嘴。于是神奇四俠就這樣誕生了?！拔以囍屛业挠⑿踇神奇先生和隱身女]相愛并結(jié)婚，”他說，“而且這次的少年是隱身女的弟弟[霹靂火]，他并不是特別想成為超級(jí)英雄。

“那是我人生的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)?！?/p>

1961年11月，與柯比共同創(chuàng)作的《神奇四俠》問世了，銷售非?；鸨?，這也為一系列的人物形象鋪平了道路——這些人物將改變漫威漫畫的命運(yùn)。這部漫畫也讓李學(xué)會(huì)了傾聽自己的聲音。

“我不會(huì)將事情分析得太過透徹，”李說，“我發(fā)現(xiàn)你分析得越多，就越缺少自然流露的東西。我只有一條規(guī)則：我只想寫出一個(gè)能讓我自己感興趣的故事——這是我唯一的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。我是否急于想知道故事的結(jié)局？如果這些人真的存在，我想知道發(fā)生在他們身上的故事嗎？

“如果我喜歡什么，肯定會(huì)有成百上千萬(wàn)的人也喜歡。如果他們不喜歡，那是他們的錯(cuò)?！?/p>

“毫無(wú)疑問，斯坦和他的創(chuàng)新挽救了漫畫書和超級(jí)英雄?！睖贰げ祭孜涮卣f。布雷武特是漫威漫畫公司負(fù)責(zé)出版的高級(jí)副總裁，他說李和與其合作的藝術(shù)家“給了我以漫畫為業(yè)的動(dòng)力”。

“斯坦精心刻畫了一些有缺陷和個(gè)人問題的角色，創(chuàng)作時(shí)也不再認(rèn)定讀者主要是八歲的孩子。由此，他打開了一扇門，從而用更復(fù)雜、更有趣的方式處理漫畫中的任何題材，”布雷武特說，“他使漫畫再次變得趣味盎然，與我們息息相關(guān)，充滿樂趣?！?/p>

這位為數(shù)千個(gè)角色編寫了數(shù)千個(gè)故事的人卻不相信有什么頓悟——至少對(duì)他自己而言?！拔覜]有什么靈感，”李說，“我有的只是想法——想法和交稿期限?！?/p>

關(guān)于好萊塢要發(fā)布的下一部由漫威漫畫所改編的電影中的人物構(gòu)思，李說：“就《X戰(zhàn)警》而言，我想做一部漫畫來指出偏見的不公正與執(zhí)迷不悟。至于他們的超級(jí)力量，我采取了簡(jiǎn)便省事的方法，那就是不再去為每個(gè)人編造一些復(fù)雜的解釋，只是簡(jiǎn)單地說：‘他們生來如此。他們是變種人。僅此而已?！?/p>

李依然是一位永不倦怠的漫畫藝術(shù)大使，永遠(yuǎn)在順應(yīng)潮流。他說他目前正在做的項(xiàng)目包括一部漫畫搖滾音樂劇，還有幾個(gè)系列的新書。幾分鐘之前，他還在為《蜘蛛俠》的連載漫畫撰寫可供幾周使用的情節(jié)大綱。他說：“有想法是世界上最容易的事。人人都有自己的想法。但你要把這個(gè)想法變成人們會(huì)有所反應(yīng)的東西。

“那可就難了?！?/p>

1. beg off：懇求免除某種義務(wù)（或約束）

2. rangy [?re?nd?i] adj. 四肢瘦長(zhǎng)的

3. poised [p??zd] adj. 平穩(wěn)的；泰然自若的

4. POW?。篜OW！娛樂公司，是斯坦·李在2001年創(chuàng)辦的公司，公司主營(yíng)業(yè)務(wù)是開發(fā)電影、電視劇和電腦游戲。

5. strike [stra?k] vt. 擺出……姿勢(shì)

6. towering [?ta??r??] adj. 高聳的，屹立的

7. feline [?fi?la?n] adj. 貓狀的，似貓的

8. Marvel Comics：漫威漫畫，美國(guó)漫畫公司，始建于1939年。漫威漫畫公司旗下有蜘蛛俠、綠巨人、美國(guó)隊(duì)長(zhǎng)、鋼鐵俠等5000多個(gè)漫畫角色。

9. Jack Kirby：杰克·柯比（1917～1994），美國(guó)著名漫畫家、編輯和編劇，創(chuàng)作了神奇四俠、綠巨人、X戰(zhàn)警、美國(guó)隊(duì)長(zhǎng)等漫畫人物。

10. Steve Ditko：史蒂夫·迪特科（1927～），美國(guó)漫畫藝術(shù)家與作家，以創(chuàng)作蜘蛛俠等漫畫人物而著名。

11. tint [t?nt] vt. 給……著淡色

12. troll [tr?l] n. （北歐民間傳說中居住于地下、洞中、山間的）巨人，巨怪

13. raspy [rɑ?spi] adj. 嘶啞的，沙啞的

14. lilting [?l?lt??] adj. 抑揚(yáng)頓挫的，有節(jié)奏的

15. travail [?tr?ve?l] n. 痛苦；艱難

16. vex [veks] vt. 使煩惱，折磨

17. spandex [?sp?ndeks] n. [紡]斯潘德克斯，氨綸（一種彈性合成纖維或其織物）

18. Edgar Rice Burroughs：埃德加·賴斯·伯勒斯（1875～1950），美國(guó)作家，代表作品為《人猿泰山》（Tarzan of the Apes）長(zhǎng)篇系列小說。

19. DC：指DC漫畫公司，與漫威漫畫同為目前美國(guó)最大型的兩家漫畫公司。DC漫畫公司旗下?lián)碛谐恕Ⅱ饌b、神奇女俠、閃電俠、綠燈俠等漫畫角色。

20. hew to：堅(jiān)持，遵守

21. sidekick [?sa?d?k?k] n. 朋友；助手

22. bicker [?b?k?（r）] vi. （為瑣事）爭(zhēng)吵，爭(zhēng)論

23. feet of clay：致命的弱點(diǎn)（或缺陷）

24. epiphany [??p?f?ni] n. 頓悟

25. bigotry [?b?ɡ?tri] n. 偏執(zhí)，偏見

26. mutant [?mju?t（?）nt] n. 突變體

27. indefatigable [??nd??f?t?ɡ?b（?）l] adj. 不知疲倦的