I like Stilt-Man. I know he's considered the lamest of villains by some, even by Daredevil standards, but there's always been something about this goofy villain which I found curiously interesting.
Getting tall wouldn't be all that much of an advantage in the Marvel Universe, but Stilty always seemed to bring something else to the party, most notably his shrinking ray. Here is Stilt-Man's debut story.
One thing though, is that Stilt-Man always made for a striking cover, and that's what I think kept Wilbur Day's pernicious alter-ego in the game early on. Created I suspect by Wally Wood, he's a visual spectacle. Take a peek.
When teaming with other baddies, Stilt-Man's unique perspective had to be smushed down.
Stilt-Man did get out of the DD-verse a time or two and battled Captain America, Spider-Man, and even the equally awesome Black Goliath.
But as much as I like Stilt-Man, I'd have to say this version which appeared in Spidey Super Stories looks incredibly lame, even by the usual Stilt-Man standards. This guy ain't no super-villain.
This guy is!
All hail the awesome Stilt-Man!
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As I said when I reviewed the early Daredevil issues,
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Stilt Man didn't seem lame when he first appeared. He seemed like a big problem for Daredevil. He went from 0-40 stories high at the touch of a button and Daredevil was left grasping at the bottom of his tremendous legs. It's too bad he started to become lame and played for laughs as time went on.
As the Marvel Universe got more and more and cosmic, these simple villains who wanted to steal stuff became too small time. It's a shame, because sometimes when you balloon these guys up so they can hang and bang, they just get goofier still.
ReplyDeleteCase in point...The Circus of Crime. Sheesh!
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When Wallace Wood created Stilt-Man in the mid-1960s, the character was absolutely captivating and one of the more interesting villains in comics up to that time. Gene Colan did an excellent job of following Wood with Stilt-Man and portraying the character well in the changing times. As Rip Jagger said, it is only as time went on and more realistic criminals like robbers and murderers found it difficult to compete for attention in the ever-expanding ever more-cosmic Marvel Universe.
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