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Radioactivity: where did the idea come from? J David Spurlock 12 February 2017 RADIOACTIVITY AT THE BIRTH OF MARVEL Late-1950s movies and early-'60s comics frequently explained oddities/mutations/powers as being born from radioactivity; including Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Spider-Man & Daredevil. The question is, where did this concept come from? 1950s sci-fi films? Who brought it to Marvel, Jack Kirby? Once introduced at Marvel, was it Stan who started using it as an easy go-to excuse for super powers? What is the earliest use by Jack of radioactivity? Earliest Lee use? Mark Ricard: The earliest use is probably in 1940s science fiction magazines. Henry Kuttner had hillbilly mutants traced their powers back to nuclear mutation in Atlantis. Jim Van Heuklon: Yellow Claw? Patrick Ford: Both Radium and Cosmic Rays played large roles in Kirby's Blue Bolt stories. Here's an example of mutation caused by exposure to cosmic rays in BLUE BOLT #6 which was published in Nov. 1940. Jim Van Heuklon: That was a joke. Kirby had mutants in Yellow Claw. Mark Ricard: Kuttner's series is sort of like a redneck mutant series. Though it was very very silly. Patrick Ford: Mark Ricard: Children of The Atom is another source. Once again it is a short story series from the late 40s that appeared in the science fiction magazines. Both this and Kuttner's are prose not comic books. Patrick Ford: Patrick Ford: Mark Ricard: Just some research on both stories. The origin for Kuttner's mutant rednecks was in a story called "Pile of Trouble" first published in 1948. Though the earliest story was a year before that that was the first to give the origin. Wilmar Shiras' series started with "In Hiding" which gave a nuclear radiation origin for the high intelligence of the main character. Also 1948. Norris Burroughs: Kirby's Blue Bolt stories predate any of these mentioned. Norris Burroughs: Do any of Stan Lee's scripts exist? Dave Rawlins: We'll find Bigfoot first. J David Spurlock: are cosmic rays necessarily radioactive? Patrick Ford: Yes and in fact Kirby refers to the cosmic rays as radiation. Patrick Ford: See FF # for Cosmic Rays: Patrick Ford: I'm sure there are earlier mentions of radiation and mutation in science fiction. That's not relevant to the question of whether it was Kirby or Lee who began using exposure to radiation bringing about mutation and what would be called super powers. Obviously it was Kirby. Lee was not published at the time. J David Spurlock: early examples of super powers derived from radio activity, with dates, issues, please :) Dave Rawlins: Captain Atom by Gill and Ditko predates all the Silver Age Marvel heroes, 1960, I believe. Norris Burroughs: Why does no one see Patrick's post about Kirby's Blue Bolt, Nov. 1940. Stan Lee was probably delivering newspapers then. Michael Hill: Possibly something to do with blocking. Patrick Ford: FF #1 Cosmic Rays. BLUE BOLT #6 Cosmic Rays. Both resulting in super powers due to mutation. Norris Burroughs: I would like to see some compelling evidence that Stan Lee created anything or actually plotted anything. I do believe that he did at some point, but because of his obviously false creation stories and court testimony, whatever actual contributions Lee made have been tainted by obfuscation. Michael Hill: Norris, begin your quest with no preconceptions. "I do believe he did at some point" is like a person with no dog in the hunt knowing that "the truth is somewhere in between." Norris Burroughs: I'm willing to go either way. I don't really care. I don't believe Lee did much but I am willing to listen to reason. It seems like he probably had some creative input somewhere. Michael Hill: I'm being half serious, but at what point does someone conclude, faced with mounting evidence that he didn't create a given number of things to which he's laid claim, that he didn't create *anything* he claims? Norris Burroughs: Not sure what Cosmic rays actually are, but I always assumed that they referred to the Van Allen radiation belt surrounding the earth. Patrick Ford: There are numerous other examples of Kirby using radiation and mutation in his work prior to the Silver Age. This includes his work at Marvel in 1956 as well as his work for DC and Harvey around the same time. For example Kirby's story "The Last Enemy." Steve Sherman: Here's the deal--from 1941 till 1961, Stan Lee (as far as I know) created nothing. He was a follower. Chasing trends. Then from 1961 to 1968 he created a shitload of characters and concepts. Does that make sense? Dave Rawlins: His imagination was fortified with vitamin K! ;) Patrick Ford: It's literally one of the most ridiculous debates ever. Other debates may be equally ridiculous, but there aren't any which are more ridiculous. It reminds me of Trump and his sycophants claiming the crowd was larger at his inauguration than at Obama's. It's very hard to resist the urge to say, "What? Are you stupid?" Mark Ricard: Van Vogt had a character who was deformed by radiation in his Clan series which was in 1946. But there is nothing about super powers. Mark Ricard: Slan was a mutant hero story from the early 40s but the mutation was not from radiation. Also by Van Vogt. Mark Ricard: Van Vogt was a prose writer.

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