Rediscovering "Doc Savage -- Man of Bronze"

[fncceo]

The epic number of "Doc Savage" stories, 213 to date, including 206 novels, the bulk of which were written by Lester Dent, under the pen name Kenneth Robeson, guarantees The Man of Bronze will have a place of honor in literary history.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the character, first created by Lester Dent in 1933, Doc Savage is the progenitor of all superhero epics. The inspiration for Superman, Batman, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, Tom Strong (Alan Moore), and others. Doc is unambiguously morally good, who, without hesitation or apology, fights the forces of evil using his massive strength, his towering intellect, and his mastery of just about every science, language, and cultural fact known to man.

Along with a crew of other strong, competent men, The Fabulous Five, Doc Savage will fly anywhere in the world (in the fastest plane every made, that he personally created) to fight any injustice.

The novels aren't great literature and don't expound any deep philosophical truths, but they are fun, fun, fun. With Doc and his cohorts getting into seemingly impossible fates and escaping, over and over, by their physical strength and intellect (and a lot of very cool inventions). The bulk of the novels were published between 1933 and 1949, coming out at the rate of nearly one a month in The Great Depression.

I recently found a new novel, published in 2012, that sticks true to the "Savage" formula and is quite a thrill ride, with Doc and three members of "The Five" fighting Malay pirates, evil Monks, and a greedy industrialist to attempt to control an object from space that could very well end the world as we know it.

"Doc Savage -- The Infernal Buddha"

I recommend any Doc Savage story to anyone interested in an action-filled, fun story that you can read in a day.

All the proceeds of the sale of Doc Savage books go to buying Doc a new shirt.

 

[JGalt]

The Malay pirates and evil Monks I can do without.

But those greedy industrialists make nice things I can buy at Walmart, so leave them alone.

 

[fncceo]

The Malay pirates and evil Monks I can do without.

But those greedy industrialists make nice things I can buy at Walmart, so leave them alone.

Not this guy ... he's a twit.

The novels, particularly the ones from The Great Depression, do have a recurrent theme of "rich man bad" (although Doc Savage is one of the richest men in the world and bases his operations out of The Empire State Building of which he is the sole occupant).

However, one the best novels in the series, "The Red Spider" (also by Dent), written in 1948, predicts the Communist threat to the world and was withheld from publication for several years by the publisher as being "too controversial".

 

[JGalt]

Not this guy ... he's a twit.

The novels, particularly the ones from The Great Depression, do have a recurrent theme of "rich man bad" (although Doc Savage is one of the richest men in the world and bases his operations out of The Empire State Building of which he is the sole occupant).

However, one the best novels in the series, "The Red Spider" (also by Dent), written in 1948, predicts the Communist threat to the world and was withheld from publication for several years by the publisher as being "too controversial".

Creeping Bolshevism was and is everywhere you look, even back then.

 

[DudleySmith]

The epic number of "Doc Savage" stories, 213 to date, including 206 novels, the bulk of which were written by Lester Dent, under the pen name Kenneth Robeson, guarantees The Man of Bronze will have a place of honor in literary history.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the character, first created by Lester Dent in 1933, Doc Savage is the progenitor of all superhero epics. The inspiration for Superman, Batman, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, Tom Strong (Alan Moore), and others. Doc is unambiguously morally good, who, without hesitation or apology, fights the forces of evil using his massive strength, his towering intellect, and his mastery of just about every science, language, and cultural fact known to man.

Along with a crew of other strong, competent men, The Fabulous Five, Doc Savage will fly anywhere in the world (in the fastest plane every made, that he personally created) to fight any injustice.

The novels aren't great literature and don't expound any deep philosophical truths, but they are fun, fun, fun. With Doc and his cohorts getting into seemingly impossible fates and escaping, over and over, by their physical strength and intellect (and a lot of very cool inventions). The bulk of the novels were published between 1933 and 1949, coming out at the rate of nearly one a month in The Great Depression.

I recently found a new novel, published in 2012, that sticks true to the "Savage" formula and is quite a thrill ride, with Doc and three members of "The Five" fighting Malay pirates, evil Monks, and a greedy industrialist to attempt to control an object from space that could very well end the world as we know it.

"Doc Savage -- The Infernal Buddha"

View attachment 759536

I recommend any Doc Savage story to anyone interested in an action-filled, fun story that you can read in a day.

All the proceeds of the sale of Doc Savage books go to buying Doc a new shirt.

Pic looks like an angry Tony Randall.

 

[hjmick]

I read a lot of the books in my younger days. And I remember the movie with Ron Ely in the role.

There is a movie currently in development, as well as a television show. Dwayne Johnson is attached to star as Doc in the movie. Only time will tell if it happens.

 

[Synthaholic]

I still have all my Doc Savage comics from the 1970s. Marvel can't add him to the MCU, though, because of copyright issues.

 

[Synthaholic]

Dwayne Johnson is attached to star as Doc in the movie.

I hope not. He's awful. I don't see the attraction of that guy, especially as an actor.

 

[fncceo]

I still have all my Doc Savage comics from the 1970s. Marvel can't add him to the MCU, though, because of copyright issues.

In fact, The first appearance of Doc Savage, Doc Savage Magazine, was in March 1933 ... a full six years BEFORE the first Marvel comic was published in 1939.

So, if anything, Marvel characters should be added to the Doc Savage Universe.

 

[Synthaholic]

I'd have to look, but I'm almost positive I have this one, too:

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3. Doc Savage​

The rabid popularity of Conan the Barbarian in the 1970s prompted Marvel to experiment with other licensed titles based on old pulp heroes. That included a short-lived 1972 series featuring Doc Savage, who is widely regarded as one of the first superheroic figures in American fiction. (He predates Superman by about five years.)

Marvel’s Doc Savage petered out fairly quickly — but not before he appeared in an issue of Marvel Two-In-One, another Marvel Team-Up like book, only with Fantastic Four’s Thing as the recurring star instead of Spider-Man. Doc Savage got his own movie in 1975 starring Ron Ely in the title role and a few years ago there was talk of making a new version starring Dwayne Johnson. If that movie ever happens, though, it won’t be connected to the MCU as the character’s rights left the company decades ago.


Read More: 12 Marvel Heroes That Can Never Appear in the MCU | 12 Marvel Heroes That Can Never Appear in the MCU

 

[fncceo]

Doc Savage got his own movie in 1975 starring Ron Ely in the title role

Let's not talk about that. A last gasp disaster from the once legendary George Pal ... a disappointment along the lines of finding your childhood hero got arrested with a geriatric tranny hooker.