"....As it was, he barely looked at the comics. He took a look at Iron Man for the first time in over a year, saw the triangular nose that had been added to the helmet on his own orders, and said,
"What's this — why is this here?"
"You don't want that?"
"Well, it looks kind of strange, doesn't it?" Lee zoomed away, on to the next thing.
Everything was big-picture now : synergy, demographics, partnerships. Lee called at least one meeting to remind writers not to make major changes to characters, lest those changes jeopardize deals with licensees.
Decisions were being made, Steve Englehart said, "not by Stan Lee as the top of a bunch of creative people, but by Stan Lee as the bottom of a bunch of businessmen. And he began to really put his energy up into the business end of it rather than down into the creative end below."
As out of touch as he was with the creative process, by now even Stan Lee knew that fans were clamoring for more of Howard the Duck. Howard's sporadic appearances, in the back pages of the tremendously titled Giant-Size Man-Thing, produced an avalanche of mail, and Steve Gerber found himself meeting with Lee about Howard getting his own title.
Accompanying Gerber was Mary Skrenes, a college friend of Alan Weiss who'd moved to New York and easily fallen into freelance comic writing. Skrenes found that she loved comics, but it took some time getting used to the man-child comic pros that surrounded her. Gerber, whom she met on a visit to the Marvel offices, was an exception: "I came in," she said, "and everybody clustered around me. Some of these guys weren't used to girls. So they were all around me, saying things like, 'I've been having trouble... I hate to go to sleep….. I hate to wake up, and I looked up and I saw this big head bouncing toward me from the other room. It was Steve Gerber. He took my hand, and led me out of the room. All these guys are like, 'What?""
She quickly became Gerber's muse - the inspiration for Howard the Duck's go-go dancing girlfriend, Beverly Switzler — and writing partner. They began dating and soon moved in together. Her sensibility was every bit as skewed as his. When she was asked to take a crack at conceptualizing a superheroine with the name of Ms. Marvel, she turned in a proposal about Loretta Petta, a petite, dyslexic waitress who'd moved from a trailer park to the big city. "When she would get pissed—in the first issue, somebody robbed her diner-she would get super-adrenaline strength. They didn't want her to be tiny and dys-lexic; they wanted her to be statuesque. Stan just didn't like it."*
( * A different version of Ms. Marvel would eventually see the light of day, written by Gerry Conway: Carol Danvers, a security agent at Cape Kennedy Space Center, was a bystander during a battle between Captain Marvel and his Kree enemy; when an exploding piece of Kree technology radiated her, she gained the strength of ten men and "the knowledge and instincts of a Kree warrior." She left her security job to edit Woman magazine for the Daily Bugle's J. Jonah Jameson. )
But she and Gerber had better luck together. In the pitch meeting for Howard, they'd also brought along their idea for another comic, about a character named James-Michael-"a real twelve-year-old," as he put it, "a human being poised on the edge of puberty, facing all the enormous (and enormous seeming) problems adolescence would bring." Not, in other words, another stupid kid sidekick.
Of course, it wasn't quite vérité-in the first issue, James-Michael's parents die in a horrible auto accident and are revealed to be robots. James-Michael, hyperintelligent and nearly autistic in his cold manner, is adopted by a kind nurse and her hip roommate, who live in the Hell's Kitchen section of Man-hattan, and he's haunted by dreams of a mute, caped alien who shoots lasers from his palms and leaves a trail of destruction that's still there when James-Michael awakes. But what would they call it?
"Omega the Unknown!" Lee shot back. He put both titles on the schedule.
"faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries," a rare word before 20c., coined by Horace Walpole in a letter to Horace Mann that is dated Jan. 28, 1754, but which apparently was not published until 1833.
Walpole said he formed the word from the Persian fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip" (an English version was published in 1722) whose heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of" [Walpole].
Serendip (also Serendib), attested by 1708 in English, is an old name for Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), from Arabic Sarandib, from Sanskrit Simhaladvipa "Dwelling-Place-of-Lions Island."
Attention was called to the word in an article in The Saturday Review of June 16, 1877 ["An ungrateful world has probably almost forgotten Horace Walpole's attempt to enrich the English language with the term "Serendipity." etc.]; it begins to turn up in publication 1890s but still is not in Century Dictionary in 1902.
also from 20c.
Entries linking to serendipity
Sri Lanka
large island southeast of India (known in English before 1972 as Ceylon), from Lanka, older name for the island and its chief city, + Sanskrit sri "beauty" (used especially of divinities, kings, heroes, etc.), also an honorific prefix to proper names, from PIE root *kreie- "to be outstanding, brilliant, masterly, beautiful," found in Greek (kreon "lord, master") and Indo-Iranian. Related: Sri Lankan.
serendipitous(adj.)
of discoveries, etc., "made or done by happy accident, unexpected," 1914; see serendipity + -ous. Related: Serendipitously.
Trends of serendipity
fluke
"flat end of an arm of an anchor," 1560s, perhaps from fluke (n.3) "flatfish," on resemblance of shape, or from Low German flügel "wing." Transferred meaning "whale's tail" (in plural, flukes) is by 1725, so called from resemblance...."lucky stroke, chance hit," 1857, also flook,
chief
c. 1300, "highest in rank or power; most important or prominent; supreme, best, placed above the rest," from Old French chief "chief, principal, first" (10c., Modern French chef), from Vulgar Latin *capum (source also of Spanish and Portuguese cabo, Italian capo, Provençal cap),
control
early 15c., countrollen, "check the accuracy of, verify; regulate," from Anglo-French contreroller "exert authority," from Medieval Latin contrarotulus "a counter, register," from Latin contra "against" (see contra) + rotulus, diminutive of rota "wheel" (see roll (n.)). The word
prayer
c. 1300, preiere, "earnest request, entreaty, petition," also "the practice of praying or of communing with God," from Old French prier "prayer, petition, request" (12c., Modern French prière), from Medieval Latin precaria "petition, prayer," noun use of Latin adjective precaria,
quell
Middle English quellen "to kill" (a person or animal), from Old English cwellan "to kill, cause to die; murder, execute," from Proto-Germanic *kwaljanan (source also of Old English cwelan "to die," cwalu "violent death;" Old Saxon quellian "to torture, kill;" Old Norse kvelja "to
case
early 13c., "what befalls one; state of affairs," from Old French cas "an event, happening, situation, quarrel, trial," from Latin casus "a chance, occasion, opportunity; accident, mishap," literally "a falling," from cas-, past-participle stem of cadere "to fall, sink, settle do
handsome
c. 1400, handsom "easy to handle, ready at hand," from hand (n.) + -some (1). Sense extended to "fit, appropriate" (1550s, implied in handsomely), then "having fine form, good-looking, agreeable to the eye" (1580s). Meaning "generous, on a liberal scale" (of rewards, etc.) first
guild
also gild, early 13c., yilde (spelling later influenced by Old Norse gildi "guild, brotherhood"), a semantic fusion of Old English gegield "guild, brotherhood," and gield "service, offering; payment, tribute; compensation," from Proto-Germanic *geldja- "payment, contribution" (so
horizon
late 14c., orisoun, from Old French orizon (14c., Modern French horizon), earlier orizonte (13c.), from Latin horizontem (nominative horizon), from Greek horizon (kyklos) "bounding (circle)," from horizein "bound, limit, divide, separate," from horos "boundary, landmark, marking
disdain
mid-14c., desdeinen, "think unworthy or worthless, look upon with contempt," from Old French desdeignier "disdain, scorn, refuse, repudiate" (Modern French dédaigner), from des- "do the opposite of" (see dis-) + deignier "treat as worthy," from Latin dignari "to deem worthy or fi
Young Ones S02EP03 Nasty - Victorian Navy skit0001
MIKE: Guys, guys, I hate to say anything negative, but no. If The Police come 'round, they'll grab hold of our nasties!
NEIL: [protecting crotch with his hands] Oh!
MIKE: The videos!
NEIL: Oh! Have we got a video?
VYVYAN: If anyone else asks that question, I'm going to stick their head through the window!
NEIL: Vyv, have we got a video?
VYVYAN: Right! Come this way Neil!
[walks into the kitchen, rips an entire window, frame and all out of the wall, walks over to Neil
(INSERT: several frames of a close up of an outdoor faucet, dripping water in a steady stream. Several large white vans are visible in the background, but are out of focus)]
Sideways on!
[Neil complies by turning 90 degrees, and Vyv drops the window over his head]
NEIL: I still don't understand! Does that mean we've got one or not?
[ZOOM IN: to the still-life poster in the background of the kitchen: "Early Victorian Breakfast Photographs"]
[DISSOLVE TO: the identical scene in real life. An old sailing song played on Accordion can be heard. PAN: to reveal five shabby men on the deck of an old sailing ship, its captain and some crew. Prisoner #1 is a dirty, balding man, missing most of his teeth]
PRISONER #1: [rather eloquently]
Transported for Life to The Colonies,
and for what? Scum I was to that beak,
nothing but scum. 'Tis for my accent and
my situation that I am condemned.
'Tis for the want of better graces and
The Influence they bring that
I am to board this prison hulk.
PRISONER #2: .... -- and allthose murders you done.
CAPTAIN: [to a woman who
was out of view] Aged and
toothless and bent old crone!
CRONE: How'd you know me name?
CAPTAIN: We wish to engage
You as Ship's Cook and Concubine.
CRONE: Oh yeah?
What's A 'Concubine', then?
CAPTAIN: .....It's asmall, spiky mammal.
CRONE:No... that'sA Hedgehog!
CAPTAIN: Inthat case,
We wish to engage You in
Ship's Cook and Hedgehog.
[A bell is ringing]
PRISONER #1: Hello mate. Say goodbye to merry England. It's ''stralia for us.
PRISONER #2: Quite looking forward, really. Son and daughter went out 'bout six years ago. And I haven't even seen The Baby. Must be nearly four by now.....
[PAN: back to still life, DISSOLVE: back to poster in kitchen, ZOOM out]
NEIL: What? Wow! Oh, too much! Can I have a go at it guys? Please?
MIKE: Alright, alright, so long as you're very careful and you don't break it.
VYVYAN: Because at the moment, Neil, it's in absolute complete working order.
RICK: Yes, yes. So if you happen to press the button and it doesn't work, that means you've broken it and you've got to pay!
MIKE: £500!
NEIL: Anything, anything. [looks at a video tape box] Oh wow! Yeah! [Neil looks at the machine] Well it's not plugged in. [moves to the wall outlet]
Watson is intelligent, if lacking in Holmes’s insight, and serves as a perfect foil for Holmes : the archetypal late Victorian/Edwardian gentleman against the brilliant, emotionally detached analytical machine. Furthermore, he is considered an excellent doctor and surgeon, especially by Holmes. For instance, in “The Adventure of the Dying Detective”, Holmes creates a ruse that he is deathly ill to lure a suspect to his presence, which must fool Watson as well during its enactment. To that effect, in addition to elaborate makeup and starving himself for a few days for the necessary appearance, Holmes firmly claims to Watson that he is highly contagious to the touch, knowing full well that the doctor would immediately deduce his true medical condition upon examination.
Watson is well aware of both the limits of his abilities and Holmes’s reliance on him :
Holmes was a man of habits... and I had become one of them... a comrade... upon whose nerve he could place some reliance... a whetstone for his mind. I stimulated him... If I irritated him by a certain methodical slowness in my mentality, that irritation served only to make his own flame-like intuitions and impressions flash up the more vividly and swiftly. Such was my humble role in our alliance.
—
“The Adventure of the Creeping Man”
Watson sometimes attempts to solve crimes on his own, using Holmes’s methods. For example, in The Hound of the Baskervilles, Watson efficiently clears up several of the many mysteries confronting the pair, including Barrymore’s strange candle movements turning out to be signals to his brother-in-law Seldan, and Holmes praises him for his zeal and intelligence. However, because he is not endowed with Holmes’s almost-superhuman ability to focus on the essential details of the case and Holmes’s extraordinary range of recondite, specialised knowledge, Watson meets with limited success in other cases. Holmes summed up the problem that Watson confronted in one memorable rebuke from “A Scandal in Bohemia”:
“Quite so... you see, but you do not observe.”
In “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist,” Watson’s attempts to assist Holmes’s investigation prove unsuccessful because of his unimaginative approach, for example, asking a London estate agent who lives in a particular country residence. (According to Holmes, what he should have done was “gone to the nearest public house” and listened to the gossip.) Watson is too guileless to be a proper detective. And yet, as Holmes acknowledges, Watson has unexpected depths about him; for example, he has a definite strain of “pawky humour”, as Holmes observes in The Valley of Fear.
Watson never masters Holmes’s deductive methods, but he can be astute enough to follow his friend’s reasoning after the fact. In “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder,” Holmes notes that John Hector McFarlane is “a bachelor, a solicitor, a Freemason, and an asthmatic”. Watson comments as narrator: “Familiar as I was with my friend’s methods, it was not difficult for me to follow his deductions, and to observe the untidiness of attire, the sheaf of legal papers, the watch-charm, and the breathing which had prompted them.” Similar episodes occur in “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot,” “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist,” and “The Adventure of the Resident Patient.” In “The Adventure of the Red Circle”, we find a rare instance in which Watson rather than Holmes correctly deduces a fact of value. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Watson shows that he has picked up some of Holmes’s skills at dealing with people from whom information is desired. (As he observes to the reader, “I have not lived for years with Sherlock Holmes for nothing.” )
Watson is endowed with a strong sense of Honour. At the beginning of “The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger,” Watson makes strong claims about “the discretion and high sense of professional honour” that govern his work as Holmes’s biographer, but discretion and professional honour do not block Watson from expressing himself and quoting Holmes with remarkable candor on the characters of their antagonists and their clients. Despite Watson’s frequent expressions of admiration and friendship for Holmes, the many stresses and strains of living and working with the detective make themselves evident in Watson’s occasional harshness of character. The most controversial of such matters is Watson’s candour about Holmes’s drug use. Though the use of cocaine was legal and common in Holmes’s era, Watson directly criticizes Holmes’s habits.
Watson is also represented as being very discreet in character. The events related in “The Adventure of the Second Stain” are supposedly very sensitive: “If in telling the story I seem to be somewhat vague in certain details, the public will readily understand that there is an excellent reason for my reticence. It was, then, in a year, and even in a decade, that shall be nameless, that upon one Tuesday morning in autumn we found two visitors of European fame within the walls of our humble room in Baker Street.” Furthermore, in “The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger,” Watson notes that he has “made a slight change of name and place” when presenting that story. Here he is direct about a method of preserving discretion and confidentiality that other scholars have inferred from the stories, with pseudonyms replacing the “real” names of clients, witnesses, and culprits alike and altered place-names replacing the real locations.
Influence
As the first-person narrator of Doyle’s Holmes stories, Watson has inspired the creation of many similar narrator characters. After the appearance of Watson, the use of a “Watsonian narrator”, a character like Watson who has a reason to be close to the detective but cannot follow or understand the detective’s line of investigation, became “a standard feature of the classical detective story”. This type of character has been called “The Watson”.
The Holmes-Watson partnership, consisting of a “brilliant yet flawed detective” and a “humbler but dependable and sympathetic sidekick”, influenced the creation of similar teams in British detective fiction throughout the twentieth century, from detective Hercule Poirot and Poirot’s companion Captain Hastings (created by author Agatha Christie in 1920), to Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis, introduced in 1975. Watson also influenced the creation of other fictional narrators, such as Bunny Manders (the sidekick of gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, created by E. W. Hornung in 1898) and the American character Archie Goodwin (the assistant of detective Nero Wolfe, created by Rex Stout in 1934). Author Kodō Nomura modeled his characters Heiji Zenigata and his sidekick Hachigoro on Holmes and Watson.
Microsoft named the debugger in Microsoft Windows “Dr. Watson”.
