Stan Lee's Lucky Man hits the jackpot!
In 1963-64, lightning stuck more than once. And it struck in the very same mind every time. Stan Lee steered the comic book industry in a whole new direction that affected more than one generation; the repercussions we are feeling even today. But since that time and, especially, since the early eighties, the skies have been silent. The lightning has been absent…until now.
Stan Lee is one of my personal heroes. His innovative story telling molded me and inspired me more than I can ever repay. But, to be honest, since his early creations and the early decades of Marvel, Stan Lee’s genius has remained just there; in the past. I’ve waited in anticipation with every independent venture ‘THE MAN’ has attempted. But nothing. Now, I would argue why that isn’t enough. I mean, honestly, any man of even great literary talent would be lucky to have a project be half as big as ANY of Stan Lee’s creations. He remains an icon simply on the creations that made Marvel mine! But it’s good to see something new from the mind of Stan Lee that, although it may not be as iconic as Spider-Man or the Avengers, I find touched with a bit of brilliance and a unique originality.
I’m talking, of course, about the new project that bears Lee’s name and earns that name to boot: Stan Lee’s Lucky Man.
This project brings many of the best things together that I personally love. It combines the best of British drama and action with the wildly resourceful imagination of Stan ‘The Man’. Once asked what super power he would chose, Stan passed up on the obvious like strength, flight or invulnerability and chose LUCK instead.
“It's really the one superpower left that hasn't been written about,” Says Lee. “I thought it would be fun to have a character who has a great amount of luck- some good, some bad- and go with that and see where it takes us.”
theguardian.com
And, I, for one, can't wait to see 'where it takes us'! The story follows a London police detective, Harry, who is not unlike many of Marvels lead characters; broken, jaded and not the hero you hoped for. But, in the end, I believe we will learn that, like so many of Lee's creations, Harry find the hero in him and rise to the occasion. We have already seen him making great strides in this direction.
Also like many of the heroes Lee created at Marvel, Harry did not ask and, at times, does not want the power to begin with! Yes, I know what you're saying! “What? How could you NOT want LUCK?” Well, as with Peter Parker, with great power comes great responsibility. I mean, if you thought it was going to be that easy, you are wildly mistaken. And, thank God you are! It would make for a very boring show without the pathos the luck brings!
Lucky Man has a good ensemble cast. Most, although they try to become more, fade into the backdrop. I'm not sure if that's a mistake in the writing or if they don't want us to get TOO attached to any of them. Spoiler: one of the supporting cast dies in the second episode so no one is expendable. The only secondary characters I think have lasting power is Harry's partner, DS Suri Chohan , and Harry's ex-wife and daughter. Suri, played by Amara Karan, is an exceptional contrast to Harry's gruff, gambling obsessed nature. She's also quite a standout with her continuous display of intellect. There won't be any feminist marches or angry blogs over this show, that's for sure!
The only drawback is its distribution. So far I've only been able to find it on SKY 1. AND according to a Sky one representative to see Lucky Man legally is to move to Ireland or the UK. There aren't any plans to open it to Netflix, Hulu or Amazon at this time. But, I dare say, once they see what they have a hold of, it will be some of them, at least. Worst case, you can buy the box DVD when it comes out.
Regardless, this is an excellent show and you should do whatever it takes to check it out. I look forward to all 10 installments and seeing the pay-off.
