Since the 1960s, Stan Lee’s name has come to be associated with Marvel and all of its creations. The other half of some of the most important superhero inventions of the previous millennium, such as the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, developed a reputation for being a trailblazer not in spite of but because of the humanity of his stories.
By giving each of his superheroes human flaws, Stan Lee invented the realistic method of character development, which helped transform the once-small Atlas Comics into the behemoth that is today’s Marvel. Stan The Man declared his “retirement” from writing for Marvel Comics in the late ’90s after over 40 years of directly spearheading the fight against his “Distinguished Competition” (gotta love that iconic Stan Lee branding!).
This came as a surprise to comic book fans, but it was nothing compared to what would occur in 2001, the year Stan joined the Distinguished Competition and produced a yearlong series reimagining the most well-known superhero team of all time in his own unique style.
The first issue of the Just Imagine… series, which debuted in September 2001, was centred on a DC character for whom Stan had, sort of, previously written. Stan Lee wrote a poem in tribute to the Caped Crusader for the historic 600th issue of Detective Comics in 1989. A decade later, he was given the opportunity to tell his narrative in his own unique way.
Just envision The first chapter of a 13-issue dream run that saw The Man reimagine the tale of the World’s Finest Detective alongside one of the greatest comic book artists in the world began with Stan Lee and John Kubert creating Batman. So, why don’t we check out what they produced? This is the Just Imagine Universe’s Batman – Explored Origins.
A quick note on the Just Imagine… series as a whole
Before we begin this feature, we’re going to give you a little bit of background on this series and its general perception within the DC fandom; because while Stan Lee creating the Justice League of America sounds amazing on paper, to some fans it remained just that. Many hardcore DC fans were disappointed that Lee took away many of the aspects that made their superheroes relatable to them, but in Stan’s defense, that was kind of the point.
When he was approached by DC for this series, they didn’t ask him to do a bunch of Elseworlds stories; they genuinely wanted their fans to, pardon the pun here, just imagine Stan Lee creating the Justice League of America. Now, Marvel and DC are fundamentally different comic book companies based solely on the way they portray their heroes. Marvel, as we’ve mentioned, focuses a lot more on naturalistic story-telling and minority representation than DC; at least, in the past, anyway.
As a result, Stan Lee’s casual style of writing didn’t exactly fit the mold of some of the more serious DC characters, in particular, the subject of this video. You’ll see why in a minute, too, but we wanted to give Stan a clean slate because, at the end of the day, DC did ask him for his re-imagining of their most iconic characters.
And given that long-time Batman affiliate Michael Uslan oversaw the entire project’s creation, we have to think that this really was just a “fun exercise”, as Stan puts it in his foreword to every issue of the Just Imagine… series. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what Stan Lee’s Batman would’ve looked like.
Wayne Williams: The Origins of Stan Lee’s African-American Batman
If there are two things Stan The Man loves, it’s a hard-knock origin story for a character and alliterative character names. Luckily for Marvel Maniacs, both are present in this here issue of Just Imagine Stan Lee with John Kubert creating Batman. From the very outset, we get the sense that this is going to be something entirely different from Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s iconic creation; and that’s not just because of the fact that Lee’s Batman is African-American.
In Stan Lee’s comic book formula, superheroes exist in the real world, and places like Metropolis and Gotham City do not exist. So, we’re just guessing, and this is pure conjecture, this story begins in New York City. Because that’s where the best Stan Lee heroes come from, and because some of the things his version of Batman will end up doing will remind you of the Big Apple. Now that we’ve given you this entire context, let’s jump into his story. The issue begins with cold, hard rain pouring over a dingy neighborhood.
A mother-son duo is making their way home from a funeral. Stan writes that the night is cold, but Wayne Williams’ heart is colder for it beats with silent, seething rage. Wayne’s father was a police officer. He served the force faithfully and was perfect to a t when it came to doing his duty. But some vendettas can span beyond time served, and Wayne’s father was gunned down in cold blood by some criminals he had previously put behind bars.
We can see that Wayne is bitter about this entire ordeal; he blames not only the thugs who killed his father but the police force as well, for not saving him. His mother reminds him that his father died in the line of duty and that he shouldn’t be bitter about it, but he simply replies by telling her, “I can’t help it, ma…I’m hurtin’. He spent his whole life trying to make a difference, and where did it get him?
This ain’t a neighborhood- it’s a war zone.” While his mother, and we the readers, were rather taken aback by this teenager’s cynicism, we’d soon come to see that he wasn’t entirely wrong to think that way. The pair pass by a bunch of hoodlums beating up a nobody who owed them money; Mrs. Williams immediately intervenes and tries to stop them from hurting him, but Wayne steps in and tells her to get out of there and that the guy probably deserves it, because he recognized the man doing the beating; Handz Horgum, the local menace of their neighborhood.
Handz recognizes that Wayne is the son of that “slimeball” Sam Williams, and asks if his mother’s got a problem with his business, but they leave before the situation can escalate. When they get back home, Wayne’s mom scolds him for siding with Handz, but he flat out tells her the reality of the situation; that she didn’t know who she was messing with. Unfortunately for him, he was about to find out real soon.
False Allegations & Incarcerations: Wayne Williams goes to jail!
So, clearly, Wayne Williams is a kid that knows how “the real world” works and is working hard to steer clear of trouble; especially now that his father was six feet in the dirt, and they had no one to watch their backs anymore. Wayne thought that by letting Handz Horgum- who really should’ve been called Hammerhandz, in our opinion- go about business as usual, he was doing the right thing.
But the fact that his father was a cop and probably had, let’s say, less than pleasant interactions with Handz in the past, made Wayne a prime target for the life-long con. Well, that, and the fact that the kid made the mistake of putting his hands on Handz’ girl; we’re sorry if that last sentence confused you. You see, Wayne worked a regular day job at a grocery store, and one fine day, who should happen to cross by the store but Mr. Hammer himself, with his “foxy girl” wrapped around his arm.
Wayne opines that Handz sure lives the big life, but his thoughts are interrupted by a drive-by attempt at Horgum’s life. Handz manages to duck to safety because he knows that a man in his position needs to be alert at all times, though he does initially dismiss the threat when his partner brings it up. But she stands there, in the middle of the street, frozen with fear. Wayne Williams acts almost as if on instinct, and tackles her to the ground, saving her life, but Handz only cares about the fact that he lay his hands on his woman.
Again, we swear we’re not trying to come up with these hand puns. Horgum threatens Wayne by saying he’ll get what his father got if he interfered in his business, and when the naïve boy tries to attack him, he decides to show him why he’s called Handz. If it hadn’t been for his girlfriend, Wayne Williams would be more like Stephen Strange today; and he wouldn’t need a car accident to get there, either.
The kid thinks to himself that with dad gone and Handz threatening him, things couldn’t get any worse; but he’d prove himself to be a poor prophet, for the very next day, Horgum and his hoodlums staged an armed robbery at the grocery store Wayne worked at, framed him as a co-conspirator, and then knocked him out so he would be the only person “caught in the act.”
Fans of Luke Cage that are raising their eyebrows right now; we’re not done yet. Of course, his case is brought to trial, and of course, he’s convicted and thrown into prison. It wouldn’t be much of a superhero origin story without a bit of injustice, wouldn’t it? And what comes next is going to remind you of another legendary Marvel character, but bear with us, because it will make sense by the end.
A Fighter for Justice makes a Lifelong Friend in Prison; and also gains a pardon!
Wayne Williams’ prison stint was, let’s just say, less than pleasant in the beginning. He got assigned to the sewing department of his facility, which was apparently seen as a weakness in prison. But you’re going to be amazed by just how many superheroes could’ve been potential tailors for The Kingsmen by the time we’re done because despite it making him look like slim pickings, Wayne Williams picked up a trade that would become integral to his career later on.
But anyway, things got so depressing for him in the can that, to keep himself occupied, Wayne started counting the bats in the night sky. He even managed to tame one and took it on as a constant companion from then onwards. Another thing that got him attention early on was an altercation with the prison bully Korgo, whom Wayne witnessed harassing an elderly inmate at the institution’s equivalent of a weight room. Williams stepped in and got his butt summarily handed to him by Korgo in a short fashion.
He ragdolls Wayne around the weight room and slams him against the wall, leaving the yard before the guards could show up. Another elderly inmate empathizes with Wayne’s plight and tells him he shouldn’t have interfered, but this incident, coupled with what happened with Handz’ girl has proven to Wayne one thing; he shoots off his mouth without thinking. To this, his fellow inmate replies, “A good impulse is often a sign of a good spirit”, and advises the young man to use the prison’s facilities to develop himself into something more formidable.
He tells him he must train both body and mind, hit the barbells as much as the books, and become as self-reliant as he can if he wants to survive his situation and actually do some good in the world. The pair develops a friendship, and Wayne learns that the elderly inmate is Dr. Frederick Grant; a scientist and environmentalist who got caught sabotaging a machine that was polluting Mother Earth.
In other words, he was like Wayne, and the pair developed a genuine bond over the next few weeks as Wayne Williams got super smart and super jacked; thanks to a couple of pointers from the inmates who liked the cojones on the new kid who stood up to Korgo. Wayne Williams learned that Dr. Grant was a physicist and an inventor, but before their relationship could develop further, Grant came up for parole and was released from prison. Little did Wayne Williams know that everything was downhill from there for him.
A week after Grant’s release, he received a letter that told him his mother had passed away and it broke Wayne; in his grief, he blamed Handz Horgum for everything that had happened and he made killing Handz his primary goal in life. He was itching to get his vengeance when something rather fortunate happened; someone opened up every damn cell in the prison institution, and all the inmates naturally flocked to the warden’s office to try and take him hostage.
Only one man amongst them stood by the side of the law. Wayne Williams. He fought off Korgo and at least a dozen other muscle-bound inmates before prison security got this riotous situation under control. When the warden asked him why he, an inmate, would come to the aid of the law, Wayne simply thought to himself that the warden wouldn’t understand, as we see an image of him and his mother standing over his father’s grave; implying that he had embraced dispensing justice as a part of his personal identity. For his effort in subduing the prison riot, Wayne Williams was pardoned unequivocally. Now back on the streets, he prepared his master-plan for the ultimate revenge; and he got an old friend involved in it, too.
Superstar, Vigilante & Pro-Wrestler Extraordinaire: The Birth of Batman!
After getting out of prison, all Wayne thought about was survival and a way to kill Handz. He found cheap lodging at a shady part of town with his pet bat, and shaved his head bald to avoid being recognized by his enemies. Finally, having gotten some actual free time on his hands, Wayne got to thinking; how could he take down a criminal as powerful and influential as Handz Horgum?
He had single-handedly destroyed the rival gang and taken over their territory, solidifying himself as the true King of Crime. To defeat such a person, Wayne would need money; a LOT of money. And as he thought about how he was going to get this money, he flipped on a TV set in his apartment; fans of Spider-Man can already tell where this is going.
As he was musing about what he could do to earn a tonne of dough as quickly as possible, the TV channel switched to some good-old Southern wrasslin’, and while Wayne thought nothing of it at first, but he started giving it more thought when he heard the promoter scream out the prize money. He put two and two together, and got to sewing, using his pet companion as the inspiration for his gimmick; and sure enough, a couple days later, The Batman was born- a masked wrestler whose entire shtick was that he was unbeatable, even in a shoot fight.
While Spider-Man took on wrestling as kind of like an experiment, Wayne Williams threw himself into the business and quickly became one of the biggest global stars in professional wrestling; we’re talking El Santo in Mexico, Jushin Thunder Liger in Japan, and Bret Hart in Canada levels of fame. The money just kept pouring in after that, and soon enough, the Batman was on every billboard, on every cereal box, and on every major talk show that American television could provide.
Wayne Williams earned so much money that he built himself a mansion in Los Angeles and turned it into his permanent base of operations against Handz Horgum. He located Frederick Grant and revealed his secret identity to him to gain his trust and basically made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. He’d built a lab at his mansion that would allow Frederick to come up with all the tech that Batman would need to be a crime-fighting vigilante.
On the way to his mansion, Wayne tells Grant about his history and says that he will crush the vermin who prey on helpless people and for that, he needs Grant’s help. Oh, and did he mention that they’ll pretend Grant owns the mansion and that he’ll be posing as his bodyguard?
Can’t get a real estate deal better than this one in Los Angeles, we’ll tell you that much! Anyway, the doctor gets to work and enhances Wayne Williams’ suit to match the lifestyle he was hoping to lead; night-vision goggles, enhanced hearing aids, Kevlar, glider wings, you get the idea. And so, with his suit and his Bat-copter conveniently built for him off-panel, Batman leaps into the night sky to confront the man who killed both his parents; at least in his mind, anyway.
The Death of a menace and the Birth of a hero: Batman goes from Wrestler to Superhero
Wayne Williams leaps onto the balcony of Handz Horgum’s fine estate and confronts him, asking him if he has a few minutes. In typical Stan Lee fashion, all of Hammerhandz’s cronies are scared to get into a fight with him; after all, Batman is an undefeated wrestler. One of them even says, “I seen him rassle, boss. Maybe we oughta go easy on him.” To which Handz replies, “I don’t go easy on nobody.
No two-bit wrestler can scare Handz Horgum!” and proceeds to punch a chunk out of a wall. Batman evades it easily and tells Handz he’s got news for him; that he isn’t the same teenager anymore. This confuses Handz, because he doesn’t know that it’s actually Wayne Williams underneath the cowl! This momentary shift in focus turns the tide in Batman’s favor, and he’s able to gain the upper hand in the fight; especially after his padded headgear withstands a lethal blow from Horgum, deflating his ego and boosting Wayne’s confidence.
Handz corners Wayne on the same balcony he landed on and charges head-first at him, but he uses his rasslin’ skills to simply leg-lift Handz Horgum a few feet into the air and lets him plummet to his death as revenge for the pain he inflicted upon his family and countless others. In the epilogue of the issue, we see a newspaper page with the headline, “Batman Strikes” make its way through a litany of people; old and young, cop and citizen, male and female.
It ends up with a couple of children on monkey bars, where one of them wears the image on the front cover over his face, signifying the birth of superheroes in this world. From this point onward, Batman gets embroiled in a major conspiracy being orchestrated by the mysterious Reverend Dominik Darrk, whose Church of Eternal Empowerment makes a brief but ominous appearance in this issue.
Darrk sets his best disciple, Robin, out to kill Batman because he believes that the latter’s presence will mess with his plans of bringing forth a “crisis”. As it turns out, Robin was brainwashed into joining Darrk’s Church, and Batman’s truth serum sets his mind straight.
The Dynamic Duo pair up for a one-off encounter against Darrk’s henchmen at the Church itself, but they manage to portal away. Later, Batman is one of the 4 heroes that the mystical Green Lantern contacts in an attempt to stop Darrk from bringing forth some dreaded entity, leading to the formation of the Justice League of America; which officially exists on Earth-6 in the post-Flashpoint DC Continuity!
Marvelous Verdict
The very idea of Stan Lee writing a Batman story seems alien, doesn’t it? So, the fact that it exists is something we, as comic book fans, should treasure. Sure, there are a lot of things that he doesn’t quite stick the landing on with his version of Batman; we’d have loved to have seen a resolution to the moral question Nita posed to Batman towards the end of the issue, where she tells him however evil Handz might have been, it didn’t give Batman the right to kill.
Wayne Williams tries to explain himself, but just sort of murmurs it away and then thinks to himself that he’ll clandestinely hire her as Frederick’s secretary to keep her close to him. But as a stand-alone story, and the historic anomaly that is its existence, we can’t help but just love the idea of Stan Lee with Joe Kubert creating Batman. These two pioneers of the comic book industry came together to tell a story that was partly serious, partly ridiculous, and all throughout entertaining. And if that isn’t the goal of reading a comic book, we don’t know what is!