Art imitating life is a fundamental philosophy among many creators, who take inspiration from their experiences and environments even when they make fantastical worlds and characters. For the creative team at Marvel Comics, this philosophy is evident. Many of Marvel’s most well-known and compelling characters are based on real-life people. Everything from these characters’ designs to their personalities can have their roots traced back to very real singers, actors, and businesspeople. Some writers also draw from their personal lives, basing characters on childhood friends and even exaggerated versions of themselves. Many of these people were indirectly immortalized by becoming the basis for some of Marvel Comics’ most beloved characters.
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These are some of the fictional Marvel Comics characters that were inspired by the exploits of real men and women.
1) Iron Man – Howard Hughes
The genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, was based on the equally eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. Everything about this man seemed like something out of a movie. Howard Hughes was an American businessman, aerospace engineer, inventor, and pilot. Furthermore, he had a reputation as an adventurer and a ladies’ man. Hughes also had OCD, which drove him to be a perfectionist when devising and implementing plans and inventions, some of which seemed fantastical for his time. With such an iconic example for a persona, it is no wonder that Stan Lee was inspired by Hughes to create the billionaire superhero Tony Stark that we all know and love. In fact, as an easter egg to this inspiration, Tony’s father’s name is Howard Stark.
2) Ultimate Nick Fury – Samuel L. Jackson
The Nick Fury of the Ultimate Marvel Universe is a unique case where a character is based on a real person who then goes on to portray them on the big screen. One of the most significant changes the Ultimate Universe made to the Marvel canon was reimagining Nick Fury as a bald Black man with a striking resemblance to Samuel L. Jackson. The character even acknowledges this similarity and says that the actor should play him in a film. Well, Nick Fury got his wish, as Samuel L. Jackson played the one-eyed head of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This portrayal became so popular that Marvel introduced into the primary Earth-616 continuity a character with Jackson’s likeness named Nick Fury Jr., who is the son of the original secret agent. Taking over his father’s role as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury Jr. also represented the significant impact the Marvel Cinematic Universe had on Marvel Comics.
3) Bucky Barnes – Bucky Pierson
Although today people know Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, as a hardened ex-brainwashed cyborg assassin-turned anti-hero, his origin was far more lighthearted. Bucky Barnes debuted in 1941 as Captain America’s 15-year-old, joyful, and trusty sidekick. The character was created by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby to be Captain America’s best friend and partner in crimefighting. Joe named the young sidekick after Bucky Pierson, his real-life childhood friend. Bucky Pierson was the star of Joe’s high school basketball team. This characteristic of his friend probably influenced Joe’s portrayal of the Bucky’s athletic ability. Although in recent years the character of Bucky Barnes has taken a much darker turn, his creation is nothing short of heartwarming.
4) Mary Jane Watson – Ann-Margret
When Stan Lee and his team created the gorgeous bombshell and love interest of Peter Parker, they drew inspiration from the beautiful Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning singer, actress, and dancer Ann-Margret. Everything about Mary Jane, from her looks, confident and upbeat personality, and striking fashion sense, was all based on Ann-Margret. More specifically, Mary Jane’s physical appearance, including her red hair, was inspired by the actress’s role in the 1963 musical Bye Bye Birdie. When looking for an influence to create a beautiful and compelling character, the Marvel writers hit the jackpot!
5) Kingpin – Sydney Greenstreet
Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, is the most notorious crime lord in all of Marvel Comics. To make this terrifying character, Marvel based him on a classic Hollywood actor, Sydney Greenstreet. This English American actor had significant roles in black-and-white movies like Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon. In the latter film, Greenstreet’s played a rotund, bald, cunning, and ruthless gangster named Kasper “The Fat Man” Gutman. It was this character that directly inspired appearance and personality of Kingpin. Of course, the writers at Marvel decided to make Kingpin’s imposing figure originate from muscle, not fat, so that he could be a physical threat to villains like Spider-Man and Daredevil.
6) Wolverine – Paul D’Amato
When writer Roy Thomas and artist John Byrne were assigned to come up with a Canadian hero/villain with a northern animal’s name, they decided to take inspiration from the American actor Paul D’Amato. More specifically, they based the gruff X-Man’s appearance and personality on Paul D’Amato’s role in the 1977 comedy film Slap Shot, where he played the unstable hockey player Tim “Dr. Hook” McCracken. This violent and crazed personality acted as the basis for Wolverine’s own savage nature. Furthermore, D’Amato’s character also had distinctive mutton chops, which inspired Byrne to give Wolverine his now-iconic sideburns.
7) J. Jonah Jameson – Stan Lee
Who would have guessed that Spider-Man’s biggest hater was based on his creator, Stan Lee? The chief editor of Marvel Comics drew inspiration from himself when making the hot-headed, tyrannical boss of the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson. During an interview with NPR, Stan Lee explained that he developed the idea for the character by asking, “If I were a grumpy, irritable man, which I am sometimes, how would I act?” This lighthearted jab at himself led to the development of one of Marvel’s most beloved and over-the-top jerks. Stan Lee even wanted to play J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and was bummed when he didn’t get the part. Instead, Stan Lee just got a cameo in those films and almost every single subsequent Marvel movie for nearly two decades. I’d say that it was a worthy tradeoff!
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image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
