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| Black Panther (courtesy Marvel.com) |
So I am a comics superhero movie fan. I looovvvveeeee Superman and no matter how many times I watch Lois and Clark: the adventures of superman, I never get tired. I didn’t follow Smallville when it aired because I was kinda of angry that Lois and Clark was discontinued and I didn’t understand all the Lana Lang angle but in the past couple of years, I have watched as much Youtube clips of Smallville that I can find online.
Wakanda Forever…. Yes, Black Panther….The latest rave among non superhero movie and superhero movie fans. There was so much hype around it that it was choking. I have watched and read so much reviews and editorials that I felt overwhelmed. Why? I didn’t want the marvel cinematic universe movies to be overshadowed by the overwhelming political and sub psychological context that people were placing on the movie. I have loved MCU movies since Robert Downey Jr starred as Iron Man. I watched some X-men movies till I got offended that Halle Berry was not cast as Storm. I watched the first Fantastic 4 movie (with Chris Evans now Captain America and Jessica Alba) and was mad as heck when they decided to do a reboot with Micheal B Jordan as invisible girl’s brother or so. Please don’t get me started….
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| Stan Lee |
Let us get back to the essence of this post….I recently heard that MCU has made over 15 billion dollars from its superhero/comics movie franchise. I saw the class photo and videos of the shoot and I had to take a step back and reflect. The creator of these comics and movie characters, Stan Lee never really wanted to write comics at the beginning of his career. He wanted to be a literary author. But he got an assistant job at the comics division of a magazine where part of his duties was to fill the ink jar for the writers. After a while and after the departure of some of the comic writers/creators, he was made an editor and given the opportunity to create the superheroes that we all know now.
As I reflected on the impact of Stan Lee’s creation, some key points of living a life of impact came to me and I decided to share.
1. Start anyways, anyhow, anywhere: a comics section of a magazine in not the same as writing biographies but it is still writing and the skills can be transferrable. A lot of people nowadays always look at the big picture and want to zoom to their big goals without starting small or starting at all.
2. Love what you do: I heard a snippet of an interview with Stan Lee where he said if you love what you do, it will feel like you are playing and not working. It is obvious that Stan Lee fell in love with what he was doing and put his heart, soul and body into it. Heck, a fun fact is that Stan Lee has made numerous cameos in most of the movies and cartoons of marvel. He was even in Black Panther (did you spot him? Can you tell me the scene/location?)
3. Never listen to naysayer: When he created Spiderman and he told his manager or someone (I can’t remember who now), he was told he was crazy and it won’t work. Fun fact: Spiderman is the highest earning superhero character in Marvel history.
4. Never be afraid to break barriers or Take chances: Black Panther, a superhero infused with African culture and traditions was created in 1966 in a bid to make marvel comics all inclusive in a time where it will have been seen as suicidal. He wanted to make a statement and scatter barriers and he did. Fun fact: About 3 South African based actors were used in the Movie. The Mining elder, T’Chaka (T’Challa’s father) both the Older and Younger version. Another fun fact: The Older/Elder T’Chaka is the real father of the younger T’Chaka.
5. It is not always about you: Stan Lee is old and grey and not really involved in as much of the process of marvel studios and comics but he still shows up when he can. Why? Because it is more than him. Do you know how many lives he has touched, is touching and will continue to touch? By showing up, he is encouraging everyone and making sure that the Marvel universe continues to bring joy, hope and encouragement to others for a very long time.
I watched Black Panther not because of the hype but because like I said, I am a superhero movie kinda of girl. I will rather spend 2500naira on the Avengers, Batman vs Superman (heck I went to watch it on the day it was released and I had never gone to the cinemas in the UK before that day but for a superhero flick. Count me in) than watch say The wedding party, Titanic and the rest.
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| Princess Shuri (marvel.com) |
I always come out of the movies on a high but there was something different about this one. I came out empowered. My mind became clearer. I realised that I have been selling myself short for too long and it had to end now. Though I may be scared about some things, I am going to look at the fear and tell it to stand down. It took a comic book movie to actually like really, really, really drum it in my head that I am a daughter of a King, a daughter of the Lion of Judah.
Anyway, with the incredible success of Black Panther, it has grossed over $1.3 billion dollars worldwide and counting, there is going to be a Part 2……Yaaayyyyy. The Avengers: Infinity wars (Part 1) is going to be seen in cinemas at the end of April/May and I hope I am brave enough to watch it. There is going to be so much chaos and I am so scared but I will show up like a Warrior Princess.
Okay folks, that is all about the life lessons I was able to gain from the life of Stan Lee and his arsenal of superheroes.
So who has watched Black Panther or any of the MCU character films? Did you enjoy it or them? A side note: I read that one actress said that they should stop producing superhero movies and I felt like giving her a swift kick in her butt. What kind of talk is that?
Thanks for stopping by.
Luv ya,
Petite Diva
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