Chrome Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 The Adventures of Super Ringo by Joal Ryan Jan 26, 2005, 5:20 PM PT You look at Ringo Starr, and see an ex-Beatle. You are not Stan Lee. "We were talking and kidding around and I said [to Starr], 'You're known all over the world, and you've got the most distinctive way of talking, and I think if we did a cartoon of you it would be fantastic," the comic-book legend said. "Wouldn't it be cool if we could make you a superhero?" Starr agreed that, yes, it would be cool. And, thus, another origin story was born. Lee's POW! Entertainment announced plans Wednesday for an animated series to feature the dulcet Liverpudlian tones, music and crime-fighting tactics of the rock idol. The show doesn't have a name yet. Neither does the character, really. ("At the moment, it's just Ringo," Lee said. "The name Ringo is magic.") A DVD, likely to feature three episodes of the drummer's exploits, will debut either late this year or early next. Also to be determined: Starr's superpowers. Will he be able to leap the Capitol Records Building in a single bound? Will he turn into a form of expensive bottled water? Will he fly? "Flying high as a superhero shouldn't be much of a stretch for Ringo," Chris Mason, cofounder of Superherohype.com, said in a tongue-in-cheek email Wednesday. "We can't wait to see Ringo drum evil into submission!" Neither can Lee. The 82-year-old impresario, who sicced Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk and the X-Men on the underworld during his iconic reign at Marvel Comics, said he's just starting to write the Starr series. But in a way, he's been waiting decades to help the Fab Four make like the Fantastic Four. "The funny thing is I had met Paul McCartney years ago, and at that time I thought, 'Gee, it would be great to make [the Beatles] superheroes, with all four of them, but nothing came of it," Lee said. "So this is the realization of a dream right now." Today, Starr and McCartney are the only surviving Beatles. There are no plans for McCartney to ride in Starr's sidecar. "Right now, it's just Ringo and me," Lee said. Being the star of the show, Starr had a request regarding his animated alter-ego, Lee said: He wants to be a "reluctant superhero," just your average, world-famous musician who gets dragged into saving the world between sets. Fortunately for Starr, reluctant superheroes happen to be a specialty of Lee, a man who endowed Spider-Man with enough insecurities to keep the therapy profession humming along nicely, thankyouverymuch. Accordingly, Super Ringo, or whatever he's to be called, will follow in the tradition of angsty Lee characters, "but he's going to be funnier," the creator promised. Although Starr has been shrinky-dinked before in the name of cartoon fun--chiefly, the 1960s Beatles animated series and the 1968 feature Yellow Submarine--he's never before supplied his own speaking voice. (Those were fake Beatles--or actors, as they're officially known--heard making puns in both projects.) In a statement, Starr joked that his new superhero venture was going to be "one of the most exciting adventures I've had all day." In truth, Starr has been logging adventures since making Pete Best's life one, long nightmare by supplanting him in the Beatles in 1962. The onetime symbol of the youth-culture explosion is 64 going on 65. Will Super Ringo be a sexagenarian? Said Lee, ever the showman: "Ringo is ageless." Then Lee, ever the storyteller, added: "No, he won't be in his 60s." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 That sounds cool! If I had to put my life in either Paul or Ringo's hands, I'd take Ringo anyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTMX Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Been there, done that, bought the DVD... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Wasn't there a Beatles cartoon in the late '60s? I'm not thinking of the Yellow Submarine, more like a Sat. morning cartoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 http://data.chicks-dig-unix.net/cometogether.swf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzypaul Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Yeah, there was. And I always make mention of it and no one gets the joke. John, Paul and George would unplug their instruments and then put them away. Then Ringo would unplug his drumset and it would deflate. I always wanted that kit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 http://data.chicks-dig-unix.net/cometogether.swf That was trippy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Yeah, there was. And I always make mention of it and no one gets the joke. John, Paul and George would unplug their instruments and then put them away. Then Ringo would unplug his drumset and it would deflate. I always wanted that kit... Thanks, I didn't think I imagined that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 meets 'Nuff said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Yeah, there was. And I always make mention of it and no one gets the joke. John, Paul and George would unplug their instruments and then put them away. Then Ringo would unplug his drumset and it would deflate. I always wanted that kit... I don't remember the drumkit, but that's wild. Although those cartoons weren't of the highest quality, I loved watching them when I was a kid. The first time I ever heard "Tomorrow Never Knows" was while watching the Beatles cartoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzypaul Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Ringo as Zappa...that's pretty close to superhero anyway, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjarrell Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Ringo's busy shooting the Arafat biopic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Ringo's busy shooting the Arafat biopic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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