Stan Lee: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Needs More Colorful Characters

In a new interview with IGN Movies, Stan Lee teases his upcoming Tuesday appearance on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which he says is almost more of a supporting role than a cameo. Along the way, though, he answered some questions about whether he agrees with viewers (recently called "losers" by series star Clark Gregg) who say the series needs more of a connection to the Marvel Universe, and specifically more superheroes. Turns out Lee, who co-created many of the best-known superheroes in the Marvel Universe, as well as the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization, does agree with them. "Well, I guess they felt they had to have some normal people — or seemingly normal people — and certainly Clark is doing a very good job playing the role," Lee said. "I just feel that we also need more colorful characters to be popping up all the time. I don't mean that Clark isn't colorful as an actor, but what I mean is characters who as comic book characters are more colorful." The interviewer then noted that there's some more colorful characters coming down the pike, including Deathlok, Lady Sif and the Asgardian villain Lorelei, sister to the Enchantress. Lee said that should help fit the bill. "Yeah, that will be great. I think that's what the show needs. I think people will tune in to see those characters and will enjoy seeing them in the context of being with normal people on a normal mission." The series was never promoted as a superhero series, per se, but many fans have noted that if you're fighting a random, powered character each week, it wouldn't hurt anything to go the Arrow/Iron Man 3 route of giving your random, powered villain a familiar name to fans. Extremis soldiers in Iron Man 3 were named for characters like Firepower, Coldblood and Radioactive Man. It gave fans a sense that, even if this wasn't "their" version of the character, the world the movie inhabited was familiar to longtime comics readers.