The two creators who had the biggest influence on Marvel's Silver Age are undoubtedly Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. With Lee's writing and Kirby's art, the two created some of Marvel's most well-known properties, including the Fantastic Four, Hulk, and the X-Men. But as legendary as their creations became, their frequent clashes earned the same level of fame.
After his work with Marvel, Kirby was adamant that he did a majority of the work, including writing, on the books he and Stan Lee supposedly worked on as a creative team. These conflicts left the artist so embittered, Kirby left Marvel for DC Comics in the '70s, and one of his most famous creations for them included a not so subtle jab at his former collaborator. With the knowledge of their history, it becomes obvious that the Mister Miracle villain 'Funky Flashman' is a caricature of Stan Lee.
Debuting in 1972's Mister Miracle #6, Funky is introduced as a con artist living off the good-will of an unseen benefactor named Colonel Mockingbird. With the help of his assistant, Houseroy, Funky attempts to con Mister Miracle into paying him to do publicity. His own greed ends up being his downfall though when he steals Mister Miracle's Mother Box. Signals from the box lead a group of Female Furies from Apokolips to Flashman's estate. The cowardly Funky immediately throws Houseroy at the furies and then flees the scene.
Though the caricature might not be apparent at first, it becomes obvious in retrospect. Funky looks similar to a young Stan Lee and his grandiose style of talking is evocative of Lee's writing style. Funky's attempts to commodify Mister Miracle are also similar to how many felt that Lee cared more about Marvel as a brand than anything else. Adding to the comparisons is that Mister Miracle, in many ways, is meant to be Kirby himself. Scott Free's wife, Big Barda, is based on Kirby's own wife, and his upbringing on Apokolips reflects Kirby's feelings of feeling trapped by aspects of the comic industry. Funky's attempts at exploiting Mister Miracle symbolize Lee taking credit for Kirby's creations.
Making the caricature more apparent are Funky's supporting characters. Houseroy is intended to be Marvel editor Roy Thomas, who was Lee's prodigy, while Colonel Mockingbird is former Marvel publisher Martin Goodman. Goodman left Lee in charge of Marvel, much like how Funky lived off the Colonel's will. As unflattering as all that is, later writers would attempt to spin Funky in a more positive light. The 2017 Mister Miracle series by writer Tom King included Funky as a baby sitter for Scott and Barda's child. King highlighted Funky's nature as a caricature of Lee by having him use famous Stan Lee quotes such as "With great power comes great responsibility," and "Excelsior."
Whether Funky Flashman is a fair caricature of Lee is a hotly debated topic among comic fans. What is known is that Kirby did not get the credit he deserved. While Stan Lee wrote a majority of the dialogue for their collaborations, Kirby frequently wrote the plots himself. Though it's difficult not to see Funky as an incredibly harsh critique, Kirby would continue to work with Lee long after Funky's debut in 1972. Kirby returned to work with Marvel in 1975 where he mostly wrote and drew his own books but did work with Stan on a Silver Surfer graphic novel.
As innocuous as he might seem, Funky Flashman actually reflects decades of comic book controversy that fans of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee still debate to this day.
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