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{{Short description|Fictional mailman for the Fantastic Four}}
{{Supersupportingbox| <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
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image=[[File:Willie Lumpkin FF 11.png]]
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|caption=Willie Lumpkin demonstrates his ear-wiggling "power" in his debut appearance in ''Fantastic Four'' #11 (Feb, 1963). Art by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
|character_name=Willie Lumpkin
|character_name=Willie Lumpkin
⚫
|image=Willie Lumpkin FF 11.png
⚫
|caption=Willie Lumpkin as depicted in his debut appearance in ''Fantastic Four'' #11 (February 1963). Art by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]
|debut=(in daily comics): ? (1960), (in comic books): ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'' #11 (February 1963)
|debut=(in daily comics): ? (1960), (in comic books): ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'' #11 (February 1963)
|creators=[[Stan Lee]] (writer)<br>[[Dan DeCarlo]]<br>[[Jack Kirby]] (artist)
|creators=[[Stan Lee]] (writer)<br>[[Dan DeCarlo]] (artist)
|full_name=Willie Lumpkin
|full_name=William Lemuel Lumpkin
|supports=[[Fantastic Four]], [[Spider-Man]]
|supports=[[Fantastic Four]], [[Spider-Man]]
|powers=Ability to wiggle ears and nose
|powers=Ability to wiggle ears and nose
}}
}}
'''Willie Lumpkin''' is a [[fictional character|fictional]] [[supporting character]] appearing in [[American comic book]]s published by [[Marvel Comics]]. The character is best known as the [[Mail carrier|mailman]] of the [[Fantastic Four]] in their self-titled comic book.<ref name="mnyc">{{cite book | last = Sanderson | first = Peter | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Marvel Comics Guide to New York City | publisher = [[Pocket Books]] | date = 2007 | location = New York City | pages = 42–48 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1-4165-3141-6}}</ref>
'''William Lemuel "Willie" Lumpkin''' is a fictional [[supporting character]] appearing in [[American comic book]]s published by [[Marvel Comics]]. The character is best known as the [[Mail carrier|mailman]] of the [[Fantastic Four]] in their [[Fantastic Four (comic book)|self-titled comic book]].<ref name="mnyc">{{cite book | last = Sanderson | first = Peter | title = The Marvel Comics Guide to New York City | publisher = [[Pocket Books]] | date = 2007 | location = New York City | pages = 42–48 | isbn = 978-1-4165-3141-8}}</ref>


Willie Lumpkin was portrayed by [[Stan Lee]] in the 2005 film ''[[Fantastic Four (2005 film)|Fantastic Four]]''.
⚫
==Publication history==


⚫
==Publication history==
===Newspaper comic strip===
===Newspaper comic strip===
[[File:Lumpkin.gif|thumb|Willie Lumpkin in the 1959-61 comic strip. Art by [[Dan DeCarlo]].]]
[[File:Lumpkin.gif|thumb|Willie Lumpkin in the 1959-61 comic strip. Art by [[Dan DeCarlo]].]]
The character was originally created for a [[print syndication|syndicated]] daily comic strip by writer [[Stan Lee]] and artist [[Dan DeCarlo]]. Lee recalled in a 1998 interview that,
The character was originally created for a [[print syndication|syndicated]] daily comic strip by writer [[Stan Lee]] and artist [[Dan DeCarlo]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Markstein |first1=Don |website=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |access-date=2 April 2020 |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/wililump.htm |title=Willie Lumpkin}}</ref> Lee recalled in a 1998 interview that,

{{quote|[[Mel Lazarus]] had done a strip called ''[[Miss Peach]]'', which used not panels but one long panel instead. I liked that idea very much, so when Harold Anderson, the head of [[Publishers Syndicate]], asked me to do a strip, I came up with ''Barney's Beat'', which was about a New York City cop and all the characters on his patrol who he'd meet every day and there would be a gag. I did some samples with Dan DeCarlo, and I thought it was wonderful. Harold said it was too "big city-ish" and they're not going to care for it in the small towns because they don't have cops on a beat out there. He wanted something that would appeal to the hinterland, something bucolic. He said, "You know what I want, Stan? I want a mailman! A friendly little mailman in a small town." I don't remember if I came up with the name Lumpkin or he did, but I hated it. I think I came up with the name as a joke and he said, "Yeah, that's it! Good idea!"<ref name=comicbookartist>{{cite news | title=Stan the Man & Roy the Boy: A Conversation Between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas | url = http://www.twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/02stanroy.html | work = [[Comic Book Artist]] | issue = 2 | date = Summer 1998 |accessdate= 2013-12-30}}</ref>}}
{{blockquote|[[Mel Lazarus]] had done a strip called ''[[Miss Peach]]'', which used not panels but one long panel instead. I liked that idea very much, so when Harold Anderson, the head of [[Publishers Syndicate]], asked me to do a strip, I came up with ''Barney's Beat'', which was about a New York City cop and all the characters on his patrol who he'd meet every day and there would be a gag. I did some samples with Dan DeCarlo, and I thought it was wonderful. Harold said it was too "big city-ish" and they're not going to care for it in the small towns because they don't have cops on a beat out there. He wanted something that would appeal to the hinterland, something bucolic. He said, "You know what I want, Stan? I want a mailman! A friendly little mailman in a small town." I don't remember if I came up with the name Lumpkin or he did, but I hated it. I think I came up with the name as a joke and he said, "Yeah, that's it! Good idea!"<ref name=comicbookartist>{{cite news | title=Stan the Man & Roy the Boy: A Conversation Between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas | url = http://www.twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/02stanroy.html | work = [[Comic Book Artist]] | issue = #2 | date = Summer 1998 |access-date= 2013-12-30}}</ref>}}


''Willie Lumpkin'' drew humor from the people and situations Willie would encounter along his mail delivery route in the small town of Glenville. The daily strip ran from December 1959 to May 6, 1961. A Sunday strip ran through May 28.<ref>{{cite web|first=Ger |last=Apeldoorn | publisher = The Fabuleous Fifties|title=Late Mail|url=http://allthingsger.blogspot.nl/2013/11/late-mail.html | date= November 11, 2013}}</ref>
''Willie Lumpkin'' drew humor from the people and situations Willie would encounter along his mail delivery route in the small town of Glenville. The daily strip ran from December 1959 to May 6, 1961. A Sunday strip ran through May 28.<ref>{{cite web|first=Ger |last=Apeldoorn | publisher = The Fabuleous Fifties|title=Late Mail|url=http://allthingsger.blogspot.nl/2013/11/late-mail.html | date= November 11, 2013}}</ref>


===Marvel Comics===
===Marvel Comics===
Lee and artist [[Jack Kirby]] then introduced their comic book version of Willie Lumpkin in ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'' #11 (Feb. 1963). The comic book Lumpkin is depicted as significantly older than in the comic strip, though the character's good nature was retained, as were references to his past as a mailman in Glenville, which the comic book placed in [[Nebraska]].{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}
Lee and artist [[Jack Kirby]] then introduced their comic book version of Willie Lumpkin in ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'' #11 (Feb. 1963).<ref>{{cite book |last1=DeFalco |first1=Tom |last2=Sanderson |first2=Peter |last3=Brevoort |first3=Tom |last4=Teitelbaum |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |last6=Darling |first6=Andrew |last7=Forbeck |first7=Matt |last8=Cowsill |first8=Alan |last9=Bray |first9=Adam |title=The Marvel Encyclopedia |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-7890-0 |page=219}}</ref> The comic book Lumpkin is depicted as significantly older than in the comic strip, though the character's good nature was retained, as were references to his past as a [[mail carrier]] in Glenville, which the comic book placed in [[Nebraska]].{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}


In his first comic book appearance, Lumpkin is represented as having befriended the Fantastic Four, to whom he makes regular fan mail deliveries at their [[Baxter Building]] headquarters in New York City. He half-jokingly requests to join the team on the grounds that he has the "power" to wiggle his [[ear]]s.
In his first comic book appearance, Lumpkin is represented as having befriended the [[Fantastic Four]], to whom he makes regular fan mail deliveries at their [[Baxter Building]] headquarters in New York City. He half-jokingly requests to join the team on the grounds that he has the "power" to wiggle his [[ear]]s.


Lumpkin appeared in his own solo feature in ''[[Marvel Comics Presents]]'' #18 (May 1989). In this parody of ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', he is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, who had intended to haunt cantankerous Spider-Man nemesis [[J. Jonah Jameson]] but couldn't find his address. The story concludes with the normally amiable postman deciding he hates Christmas.
Lumpkin appeared in his own solo feature in ''[[Marvel Comics Presents]]'' #18 (May 1989). In this parody of ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', he is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past who had intended to haunt cantankerous Spider-Man nemesis [[J. Jonah Jameson]], but couldn't find his address. The story concludes with the normally amiable postman deciding he hates Christmas.


==Fictional character biography==
==Fictional character biography==
In Marvel Comics, Willie Lumpkin serves as the postal worker mailman whose Manhattan route includes the joint home and office of the superhero group the [[Fantastic Four]]. On occasion he falls into the danger that typically surrounds the adventuring heroes. Examples include a story in which he is forced to spend Christmas Eve locked in a closet while the Fantastic Four fight the [[Super-Skrull]],{{issue|date=March 2013}} or when he helped to save the team from the [[Mad Thinker]]. This incident involved Reed's trust in Lumpkin; he had hired the mailman to manipulate the machinery as part of a safety routine.<ref>"Fantastic Four" Vol 1. #15 (June 1963)</ref> Later Lumpkin is mind-controlled into accessing [[Doctor Doom]]'s time machine by a minion of [[Immortus]].{{issue|date=March 2013}} An alien [[Skrull]] also impersonates him in another story to infiltrate the Fantastic Four's headquarters.{{issue|date=March 2013}}
In Marvel Comics, Willie Lumpkin serves as the [[mail carrier]] whose Manhattan route includes the joint home and office of the superhero group the [[Fantastic Four]]. On occasion he falls into the danger that typically surrounds the adventuring heroes. Examples include a story in which he is forced to spend Christmas Eve locked in a closet while the Fantastic Four fight the [[Super-Skrull]],{{Volume needed|c=y|date=March 2013}} or when he helped to save the team from the [[Mad Thinker]]. This incident involved Reed's trust in Lumpkin; he had hired the mailman to manipulate the machinery as part of a safety routine.<ref>''Fantastic Four'' #15 (June 1963). Marvel Comics.</ref>
Later, Lumpkin is mind-controlled into accessing [[Doctor Doom]]'s time machine by a minion of [[Immortus]].{{Volume needed|c=y|date=March 2013}} An alien [[Skrull]] also impersonates him in another story to infiltrate the Fantastic Four's headquarters.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=March 2013}}

Willie Lumpkin was visited by the [[Ghost of Christmas Past]] who couldn't find the address to [[J. Jonah Jameson]]. This incident led to Willie disliking Christmas.<ref>''Marvel Comics Presents'' #18 (May 1989). Marvel Comics.</ref>


He also briefly dated [[Peter Parker]]'s [[Aunt May]].<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/49115/#263953 ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #343 (Jan. 1991)] at the [[Grand Comics Database]].</ref> When May briefly appeared to have died, Lumpkin grieved and was seen to befriend a new companion named Doreen Greenwald.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/series/18329/ ''Spider-Man Holiday Special, 1995'' (1995)] at the [[Grand Comics Database]].</ref>
He also briefly dated [[Peter Parker]]'s [[Aunt May]].<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/49115/#263953 ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #343 (Jan. 1991)] at the [[Grand Comics Database]].</ref> When May briefly appeared to have died, Lumpkin grieved and was seen to befriend a new companion named Doreen Greenwald.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/series/18329/ ''Spider-Man Holiday Special, 1995'' (1995)] at the [[Grand Comics Database]].</ref>
Line 37: Line 44:
He was interviewed about the Fantastic Four on the news show ''Lateline'',<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/335453/ ''Fantastic Four'' #543 (April 2007)] at the Grand Comics Database</ref> saying how though the group took on cosmic menaces, they always found time to greet him. Sometime later, the super-team, miniaturized, entered his body to remove an otherwise inoperable brain tumor.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/946711/#1080226 ''Fantastic Four'' #606 (July 2012)] at the Grand Comics Database</ref>
He was interviewed about the Fantastic Four on the news show ''Lateline'',<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/335453/ ''Fantastic Four'' #543 (April 2007)] at the Grand Comics Database</ref> saying how though the group took on cosmic menaces, they always found time to greet him. Sometime later, the super-team, miniaturized, entered his body to remove an otherwise inoperable brain tumor.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/946711/#1080226 ''Fantastic Four'' #606 (July 2012)] at the Grand Comics Database</ref>


Lumpkin was later hired as a biology teacher for the 'Future Foundation', a school founded by the Fantastic Four.<ref>''FF'' #5 (2013)</ref> Willie enjoyed a trip to the moon when the Future Foundation and associates decided to hold a party. <ref>''FF'' #16 (2014)</ref>
Lumpkin was later hired as a biology teacher for the '[[Future Foundation]]', a school founded by the Fantastic Four.<ref>''FF'' #5 (2013). Marvel Comics.</ref> Willie enjoyed a trip to the moon when the Future Foundation and associates decided to hold a party.<ref>''FF'' #16 (2014). Marvel Comics.</ref> Lumpkin is also hired as a moderator for the FF's online presences.<ref>''Fantastic Four'' vol. 6 (2020). Marvel Comics.</ref>


During the "[[Venom War]]" storyline, Willie Lumpkin was among those possessed by the Zombiotes while delivering the mail. He was freed by the possession by [[Flash Thompson|Agent Anti-Venom]] who advised him and the person his Zombiote appearance had cornered to take shelter inside a building.<ref>''Venom War'' #3. Marvel Comics.</ref>
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==Other versions==

===Marvels===
''[[Marvels]]'' is a "history" of the world of Marvel super-heroes painted by [[Alex Ross]] and which spans from the late 1930s to the 1960s. In one scene, main character Phil Sheldon, a journalist who observes the Marvel characters from a distance (and sometimes close-up), meets his ex-girlfriend in a [[movie theatre]] where she introduces him to her date, Bill Lumpkin. With a smile, Lumpkin tells Sheldon that they have met though he states that Sheldon will not remember where, causing the reporter a little embarrassment.<ref>"Marvels" Vol. 1 #1 (Jan. 1994)</ref>


⚫
==Other versions==
===Ultimate Marvel===
===Ultimate Marvel===
In the [[Ultimate Marvel]] Universe, there is a government agent named Lumpkin, who works for the agency that runs the think-tank/school in the Baxter Building. His first name is not mentioned. He is in his forties and overweight. He is initially shown recruiting [[Reed Richards]].<ref>''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' #1 (Feb. 2004)</ref> He has expressed a romantic interest in Grimm's mother. Lumpkin and three of his men assist the Four in confronting the Mad Thinker, a former Baxter Building student. The entire group is knocked out by tranquilizing chemicals. Reed saves everyone.<ref>''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' #19-20 (July 2005 - August 2005)</ref>
In the [[Ultimate Marvel]] Universe, there is a government agent named Lumpkin, who works for the agency that runs the think-tank/school in the Baxter Building. His first name is not mentioned. He is in his forties and overweight. He is initially shown recruiting [[Mister Fantastic|Reed Richards]].<ref>''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' #1 (Feb. 2004). Marvel Comics.</ref> He has expressed a romantic interest in Grimm's mother. Lumpkin and three of his men assist the Four in confronting the Mad Thinker, a former Baxter Building student. The entire group is knocked out by tranquilizing chemicals. Reed saves everyone.<ref>''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' #19-20 (July 2005-August 2005). Marvel Comics.</ref>


==In other media==
==In other media==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Fantastic1.jpg|right|thumb|280px|Stan Lee playing Lumpkin in [[Fantastic Four (2005 film)|Fantastic Four]] (2005){{ffdc|1=Fantastic1.jpg|log=2017 November 16}} ]] -->

===Television===
===Television===
*Lumpkin appears in the ''[[Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes]]'' episode "My Neighbor was a Skrull" voiced by Colin Murdock.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}
* Willie Lumpkin appears in the ''[[Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes]]'' episode "My Neighbor was a Skrull", voiced by Colin Murdock.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}


===Film===
===Film===
* Lumpkin appears in the 2005 ''[[Fantastic Four (2005 film)|Fantastic Four]]'' film portrayed by [[Stan Lee]].<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://ew.com/article/2015/09/02/stan-lee-fantastic-four/|title=Stan Lee says Fantastic Four flopped because he didn’t have a cameo|website=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|last=Coggan|first=Devan|date=September 2, 2015}}</ref> Identified on-screen only as Willie, he is portrayed as a chipper mailman who delivers a letter to Dr. Richards as the Fantastic Four arrive at the Baxter Building. It was the first time in Lee's cameo appearance in a Marvel Comics-based film that he portrayed a character he created.<ref>{{citeweb|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/stan-lee-cameo-spider-man-homecoming-34-more-films-tv-shows-1018027/item/spider-man-2-2004-stan-lee-cameos-1989-2017-1018040|title=From 'X-Men' to 'Spider-Man': 35 of Stan Lee's Most Memorable Cameos|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|last=Berggren|first=Victoria|date=July 19, 2017}}</ref>
* Willie Lumpkin appears in the 2005 ''[[Fantastic Four (2005 film)|Fantastic Four]]'' film, portrayed by his creator [[Stan Lee]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://ew.com/article/2015/09/02/stan-lee-fantastic-four/|title=Stan Lee says Fantastic Four flopped because he didn't have a cameo|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|last=Coggan|first=Devan|date=September 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/stan-lee-cameo-spider-man-homecoming-34-more-films-tv-shows-1018027/item/spider-man-2-2004-stan-lee-cameos-1989-2017-1018040|title=From 'X-Men' to 'Spider-Man': 35 of Stan Lee's Most Memorable Cameos|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|last=Berggren|first=Victoria|date=July 19, 2017}}</ref>
*Willie Lumpkin is a character in a 1948 Harding Films cartoon called "Make Mine Freedom." In this film Willie Lumpkin is the handyman that becomes a skilled laborer for the first automobile company.<ref>{{Citation|last=The Best Film Archives|title=Anti-Communist Propaganda Cartoon {{!}} Make Mine Freedom {{!}} 1948|date=2017-04-29|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxsNU7ZZAlU&t=58s|access-date=2018-07-25}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://toonopedia.com/wililump.htm Willie Lumpkin] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]. [https://www.webcitation.org/6bb1lxwvj Archived] from the original on September 16, 2015.
* [http://toonopedia.com/wililump.htm Willie Lumpkin] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]. [https://archive.today/20240527130710/https://www.webcitation.org/6bb1lxwvj?url=http://toonopedia.com/wililump.htm Archived] from the original on September 16, 2015.
*[http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/William_Lumpkin_%28Earth-616%29 Willie Lumpkin] at Marvel Wiki
* [https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/William_Lumpkin_%28Earth-616%29 Willie Lumpkin] at Marvel Wiki
*[http://www.comicvine.com/willie-lumpkin/4005-15288/ Willie Lumpkin] at Comic Vine
* [https://comicvine.gamespot.com/willie-lumpkin/4005-15288/ Willie Lumpkin] at Comic Vine

{{Fantastic Four}}
{{Fantastic Four}}
{{Stan Lee}}
{{Jack Kirby}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Lumpkin, Willie}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lumpkin, Willie}}
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[[Category:1959 comics debuts]]
[[Category:1961 comics endings]]
[[Category:Gag-a-day comics]]
[[Category:Comics set in the United States]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1959]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1959]]
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[[Category:American comic strips]]
[[Category:Fantastic Four]]
[[Category:Fantastic Four]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from Nebraska]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from Nebraska]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from New York City]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from New York City]]
[[Category:Fictional postal workers]]
[[Category:Fictional United States Postal Service workers]]
[[Category:Film characters]]
[[Category:Characters created by Dan DeCarlo]]
[[Category:Characters created by Stan Lee]]
[[Category:Characters created by Stan Lee]]
[[Category:Characters created by Jack Kirby]]
[[Category:Characters created by Jack Kirby]]
[[Category:Male characters in comics]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics film characters]]

Latest revision as of 14:14, 1 December 2024

Willie Lumpkin
Willie Lumpkin as depicted in his debut appearance in Fantastic Four #11 (February 1963). Art by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearance(in daily comics): ? (1960), (in comic books): Fantastic Four #11 (February 1963)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Dan DeCarlo (artist)
In-story information
Full nameWilliam Lemuel Lumpkin
Supporting character ofFantastic Four, Spider-Man
AbilitiesAbility to wiggle ears and nose

William Lemuel "Willie" Lumpkin is a fictional supporting character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is best known as the mailman of the Fantastic Four in their self-titled comic book.[1]

Willie Lumpkin was portrayed by Stan Lee in the 2005 film Fantastic Four.

Publication history

[edit]

Newspaper comic strip

[edit]
Willie Lumpkin in the 1959-61 comic strip. Art by Dan DeCarlo.

The character was originally created for a syndicated daily comic strip by writer Stan Lee and artist Dan DeCarlo.[2] Lee recalled in a 1998 interview that,

Mel Lazarus had done a strip called Miss Peach, which used not panels but one long panel instead. I liked that idea very much, so when Harold Anderson, the head of Publishers Syndicate, asked me to do a strip, I came up with Barney's Beat, which was about a New York City cop and all the characters on his patrol who he'd meet every day and there would be a gag. I did some samples with Dan DeCarlo, and I thought it was wonderful. Harold said it was too "big city-ish" and they're not going to care for it in the small towns because they don't have cops on a beat out there. He wanted something that would appeal to the hinterland, something bucolic. He said, "You know what I want, Stan? I want a mailman! A friendly little mailman in a small town." I don't remember if I came up with the name Lumpkin or he did, but I hated it. I think I came up with the name as a joke and he said, "Yeah, that's it! Good idea!"[3]

Willie Lumpkin drew humor from the people and situations Willie would encounter along his mail delivery route in the small town of Glenville. The daily strip ran from December 1959 to May 6, 1961. A Sunday strip ran through May 28.[4]

Marvel Comics

[edit]

Lee and artist Jack Kirby then introduced their comic book version of Willie Lumpkin in Fantastic Four #11 (Feb. 1963).[5] The comic book Lumpkin is depicted as significantly older than in the comic strip, though the character's good nature was retained, as were references to his past as a mail carrier in Glenville, which the comic book placed in Nebraska.[citation needed]

In his first comic book appearance, Lumpkin is represented as having befriended the Fantastic Four, to whom he makes regular fan mail deliveries at their Baxter Building headquarters in New York City. He half-jokingly requests to join the team on the grounds that he has the "power" to wiggle his ears.

Lumpkin appeared in his own solo feature in Marvel Comics Presents #18 (May 1989). In this parody of A Christmas Carol, he is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past who had intended to haunt cantankerous Spider-Man nemesis J. Jonah Jameson, but couldn't find his address. The story concludes with the normally amiable postman deciding he hates Christmas.

Fictional character biography

[edit]

In Marvel Comics, Willie Lumpkin serves as the mail carrier whose Manhattan route includes the joint home and office of the superhero group the Fantastic Four. On occasion he falls into the danger that typically surrounds the adventuring heroes. Examples include a story in which he is forced to spend Christmas Eve locked in a closet while the Fantastic Four fight the Super-Skrull,[volume & issue needed] or when he helped to save the team from the Mad Thinker. This incident involved Reed's trust in Lumpkin; he had hired the mailman to manipulate the machinery as part of a safety routine.[6]

Later, Lumpkin is mind-controlled into accessing Doctor Doom's time machine by a minion of Immortus.[volume & issue needed] An alien Skrull also impersonates him in another story to infiltrate the Fantastic Four's headquarters.[volume & issue needed]

Willie Lumpkin was visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past who couldn't find the address to J. Jonah Jameson. This incident led to Willie disliking Christmas.[7]

He also briefly dated Peter Parker's Aunt May.[8] When May briefly appeared to have died, Lumpkin grieved and was seen to befriend a new companion named Doreen Greenwald.[9]

Lumpkin has since retired, and his niece Wilhemina "Billie" Lumpkin has taken his position as the Fantastic Four's mail carrier.[10]

He was interviewed about the Fantastic Four on the news show Lateline,[11] saying how though the group took on cosmic menaces, they always found time to greet him. Sometime later, the super-team, miniaturized, entered his body to remove an otherwise inoperable brain tumor.[12]

Lumpkin was later hired as a biology teacher for the 'Future Foundation', a school founded by the Fantastic Four.[13] Willie enjoyed a trip to the moon when the Future Foundation and associates decided to hold a party.[14] Lumpkin is also hired as a moderator for the FF's online presences.[15]

During the "Venom War" storyline, Willie Lumpkin was among those possessed by the Zombiotes while delivering the mail. He was freed by the possession by Agent Anti-Venom who advised him and the person his Zombiote appearance had cornered to take shelter inside a building.[16]

Other versions

[edit]

Ultimate Marvel

[edit]

In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, there is a government agent named Lumpkin, who works for the agency that runs the think-tank/school in the Baxter Building. His first name is not mentioned. He is in his forties and overweight. He is initially shown recruiting Reed Richards.[17] He has expressed a romantic interest in Grimm's mother. Lumpkin and three of his men assist the Four in confronting the Mad Thinker, a former Baxter Building student. The entire group is knocked out by tranquilizing chemicals. Reed saves everyone.[18]

In other media

[edit]

Television

[edit]

Film

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sanderson, Peter (2007). The Marvel Comics Guide to New York City. New York City: Pocket Books. pp. 42–48. ISBN 978-1-4165-3141-8.
  2. ^ Markstein, Don. "Willie Lumpkin". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Stan the Man & Roy the Boy: A Conversation Between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas". Comic Book Artist. No. #2. Summer 1998. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  4. ^ Apeldoorn, Ger (November 11, 2013). "Late Mail". The Fabuleous Fifties.
  5. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  6. ^ Fantastic Four #15 (June 1963). Marvel Comics.
  7. ^ Marvel Comics Presents #18 (May 1989). Marvel Comics.
  8. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #343 (Jan. 1991) at the Grand Comics Database.
  9. ^ Spider-Man Holiday Special, 1995 (1995) at the Grand Comics Database.
  10. ^ Fantastic Four vol. 3, #2 (Feb. 1998) at the Grand Comics Database
  11. ^ Fantastic Four #543 (April 2007) at the Grand Comics Database
  12. ^ Fantastic Four #606 (July 2012) at the Grand Comics Database
  13. ^ FF #5 (2013). Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ FF #16 (2014). Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ Fantastic Four vol. 6 (2020). Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ Venom War #3. Marvel Comics.
  17. ^ Ultimate Fantastic Four #1 (Feb. 2004). Marvel Comics.
  18. ^ Ultimate Fantastic Four #19-20 (July 2005-August 2005). Marvel Comics.
  19. ^ Coggan, Devan (September 2, 2015). "Stan Lee says Fantastic Four flopped because he didn't have a cameo". Entertainment Weekly.
  20. ^ Berggren, Victoria (July 19, 2017). "From 'X-Men' to 'Spider-Man': 35 of Stan Lee's Most Memorable Cameos". The Hollywood Reporter.
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