< Return to Video

What makes a superhero? | Stan Lee | TEDxGateway

  • 0:11 - 0:14
    First of all, I really want to thank you
  • 0:14 - 0:20
    for letting me speak to TEDxGateway
    in India about superheroes.
  • 0:20 - 0:25
    I wish I could be there in person,
    but this is the next best thing.
  • 0:25 - 0:27
    I would really love to share
  • 0:27 - 0:30
    some of the things
    I've learned over the years
  • 0:30 - 0:35
    and share them with any artists
    and writers in India
  • 0:35 - 0:38
    who might be wanting
    to create new superheroes
  • 0:38 - 0:41
    and new superhero adventures.
  • 0:41 - 0:46
    India has been on my mind a lot lately
    because I've been working
  • 0:46 - 0:51
    with my good friend Sharad Devarajan
    and with Graphic India
  • 0:51 - 0:56
    to create a new Indian superhero
    named Chakra The Invincible,
  • 0:56 - 0:58
    who lives in Mumbai.
  • 0:58 - 1:01
    My goal with Chakra was really simple.
  • 1:01 - 1:05
    I wanted to bring an Eastern
    concept, like the chakras,
  • 1:06 - 1:09
    to the Western world of superheroes.
  • 1:09 - 1:15
    And for me, superheroes
    will always spark the imagination
  • 1:15 - 1:19
    of people around the world
    regardless of their background,
  • 1:19 - 1:23
    because I think that people
    are always looking for something
  • 1:23 - 1:29
    that represents the ideal person
    or the ideal situation.
  • 1:31 - 1:36
    Almost all of us have loved fairy tales
    when we were young.
  • 1:36 - 1:40
    Just remember stories
    of giants and witches
  • 1:40 - 1:42
    and wizards and monsters
  • 1:42 - 1:47
    and things that were so colorful
    and bigger than life.
  • 1:47 - 1:52
    But then, you get a little older
    and you're too old to read fairy tales.
  • 1:52 - 1:58
    But you never outgrow
    your love of that type of story.
  • 1:59 - 2:01
    And if you think about it,
  • 2:01 - 2:07
    superheroes stories today are really
    like fairy tales for grown-ups.
  • 2:07 - 2:11
    The characters are bigger than life,
    just like in fairy tales.
  • 2:11 - 2:15
    They have the same type of superpowers:
  • 2:15 - 2:19
    some can fly, some are extra-strong,
    some can be invisible.
  • 2:20 - 2:23
    It gives the viewer and the reader
  • 2:23 - 2:29
    a chance to relive the excitement
    he or she had when they were young.
  • 2:30 - 2:33
    They're really reading
    fairy tales for grown-ups
  • 2:33 - 2:38
    when they read or when they see
    superhero stories today,
  • 2:38 - 2:41
    and that's why I love them so.
  • 2:42 - 2:45
    To me, the human aspect of superheroes
  • 2:45 - 2:49
    has always been, perhaps,
    the most important part.
  • 2:49 - 2:55
    By that, I mean: OK, we assume
    your superhero might be extra-strong,
  • 2:55 - 3:00
    or might be able to fly
    or run as fast as a comet,
  • 3:00 - 3:04
    but unless you care
    about the superhero's personal life,
  • 3:04 - 3:07
    you're just reading a shallow story.
  • 3:07 - 3:11
    Just because a person has a superpower
  • 3:11 - 3:15
    doesn't mean he might not
    have the same personal problems
  • 3:15 - 3:17
    that you or I might have.
  • 3:17 - 3:20
    Maybe he doesn't have enough money,
  • 3:20 - 3:22
    maybe he has a family problem,
  • 3:22 - 3:24
    maybe the girl he loves doesn't love him.
  • 3:24 - 3:28
    Or maybe the girl he loves doesn't want
    to be involved with a superhero.
  • 3:28 - 3:31
    There are so many things you can think of
  • 3:31 - 3:36
    that round out the character
    and the personality,
  • 3:36 - 3:40
    so the superhero isn't just
    one or two dimensional.
  • 3:40 - 3:47
    You want a three-dimensional superhero
    who lives and breathes and worries
  • 3:47 - 3:51
    and experiences things
    just the way you and I do
  • 3:51 - 3:55
    except for the fact
    that she or he has a superpower.
  • 3:55 - 3:58
    One thing I might mention, most writers -
  • 3:58 - 4:01
    and I think it's an unfortunate thing -
  • 4:01 - 4:03
    they try to write something
  • 4:03 - 4:07
    that they think a certain
    audience might enjoy.
  • 4:07 - 4:09
    I've never been able to do that
  • 4:09 - 4:14
    because I can't put myself
    in the mind of other people.
  • 4:14 - 4:20
    I only know what I enjoy,
    so every time I've written a story,
  • 4:20 - 4:23
    I've always tried to write
    the sort of story
  • 4:23 - 4:26
    that I, myself would enjoy reading,
  • 4:26 - 4:30
    a story that would interest me
    while I'm writing it
  • 4:30 - 4:33
    as I'm waiting to find out
    what happens next.
  • 4:33 - 4:38
    And I can't know what other people think,
  • 4:38 - 4:41
    but I can know what I think,
  • 4:41 - 4:46
    and I feel I'm not that unusual
    if there's a type of story I like.
  • 4:46 - 4:51
    There must be lots of people
    who like the same type of stories.
  • 4:51 - 4:56
    Therefore, I have always
    written to please myself,
  • 4:56 - 5:00
    not to please a certain type of audience,
  • 5:00 - 5:06
    because you can't know the audience
    as well as you know yourself.
  • 5:06 - 5:11
    And if I write a story
    that I'm enjoying while I'm writing it
  • 5:11 - 5:14
    and I can't wait to see what happens next,
  • 5:14 - 5:18
    then I'm hoping that a large
    proportion of the public
  • 5:18 - 5:21
    will feel the same way,
    and they'll enjoy it too.
  • 5:21 - 5:28
    So to sum it up, I have always tried
    to please myself, not other people.
  • 5:28 - 5:31
    And somehow, it seems to have worked
  • 5:31 - 5:35
    because I guess I'm not
    that different than other people.
  • 5:36 - 5:38
    So, to wrap it up.
  • 5:38 - 5:42
    What I suggest is, use your imagination,
  • 5:42 - 5:47
    don't be afraid to come up
    with the wildest thought in the world
  • 5:47 - 5:51
    if what you create is truly
    different and colorful,
  • 5:51 - 5:55
    and if it's written well,
    people will enjoy it.
  • 5:55 - 5:56
    Now when I say "written well,"
  • 5:56 - 6:01
    what I mean is you might have
    the most fantastic notion in the world,
  • 6:01 - 6:06
    suddenly you have a man who
    can fly faster than the speed of light.
  • 6:06 - 6:08
    That could be interesting,
  • 6:08 - 6:10
    but you have to make him believable,
  • 6:10 - 6:13
    you have to give
    the reader or the audience
  • 6:13 - 6:18
    some reason to think
    he really has the ability to do that.
  • 6:18 - 6:20
    How did he get that power?
  • 6:20 - 6:24
    Origins of superpowers
    are always very interesting.
  • 6:24 - 6:27
    If you get the right origin,
  • 6:27 - 6:32
    like, for example, Spiderman
    being bitten by a radioactive spider,
  • 6:32 - 6:36
    at least, then the viewer
    has something to hold on to
  • 6:36 - 6:40
    and to say, "Well it might have
    happened, now I'll enjoy it."
  • 6:40 - 6:42
    So even though you're writing
  • 6:42 - 6:46
    what amounts to
    a fairy tale for grown-ups,
  • 6:46 - 6:52
    try to keep enough facts
    and try to give enough detail
  • 6:52 - 6:57
    that the reader or the audience will say,
    "Well, it could have happened,"
  • 6:57 - 7:01
    and then your public
    goes along with the fun.
  • 7:02 - 7:04
    But if you make it too wild,
  • 7:04 - 7:09
    and you don't give any reason
    why it is as wild as it is,
  • 7:09 - 7:12
    then sometimes it can be overkill.
  • 7:13 - 7:18
    So what I'm trying to say is,
    let your imagination flow freely,
  • 7:18 - 7:23
    but always base what happens
    on some sort of provable fact
  • 7:23 - 7:27
    so that the reader or the viewer
    will go along with it
  • 7:27 - 7:31
    and enjoy it as much
    as you enjoy writing it.
  • 7:31 - 7:32
    So good luck to you!
  • 7:32 - 7:36
    Thanks for listening
    and I really enjoyed talking to you.
  • 7:37 - 7:39
    Excelsior!
Title:
What makes a superhero? | Stan Lee | TEDxGateway
Description:

Stan Lee is known to millions as the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. His co-creations include some of the most well-known and beloved superheroes of all time including, Spider-Man™, The Avengers ™, X-Men™, Iron Man™, The Incredible Hulk™, The Fantastic Four™, as well as hundreds of others.

He was inducted into the comic book industry's The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995. And now Stan is all set to launch his first original superhero for India, 'Chakra The Invincible,' on Cartoon Network.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

more » « less
Video Language:
English
Team:
closed TED
Project:
TEDxTalks
Duration:
07:55
  • Punctuation and segmenting has been changed in a few places since the transcript has been published.
    If you happen to have translated or are going to review this talk, please check the change here:
    https://amara.org/en/videos/diffing/7817292/7812509/

English subtitles

Revisions Compare revisions