Final Jeopardy had a Stan Lee reference last night and I learned something new (that is old). 0

[Jaylam]

Last night's final Jeopardy question was "Stan Lee said the alias-using title character of this novel set during the French Revolution “was the 1st super-hero I…read about”. The answer was "The Scarlet Pimpernel". Even though I had heard about "The Scarlet Pimpernel" in passing, I never knew much about it except that the great Daffy Duck cartoon "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" was some kind of parody of it. This Jeopardy question of course piqued my curiosity about it and was shocked to find the stage play and subsequent novel was the first to set the pattern for the superhero genre years down the road with all the double life/secret identity and calling card tropes we are all now familiar with but were virtually unheard of before this. I found it was a novel written by Baroness Emma Orczy and first published in 1905 but this novel was based on the very successful stage play she and her husband had written a few years earlier. I am both floored and embarrassed about how through all my literary travels over the years this information has escaped me, especially since I have been a comic book aficionado most of my life. Am I the only one who somehow let this slip through the cracks in my life? For more info into this story here's a link to an article about it and how it relates the superhero genre; one of many such stories you can find.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/09/batman-wonder-woman-black-widow-worlds-first-superhero-scarlet-pimpernel-orczy

Edited January 30 by Jaylam

[ADAMANTIUM]

ya I saw that as it was aired Scarlett something, everyone in the room at the time asked me the answer, I knew it when they revealed it, but for the life of me I couldn't pick it out of a memory beforehand  

[ADAMANTIUM]

The other answers given that were wrong were: count of monte christo and something else I forget

[csaag]

On 1/30/2024 at 12:31 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

ya I saw that as it was aired Scarlett something, everyone in the room at the time asked me the answer, I knew it when they revealed it, but for the life of me I couldn't pick it out of a memory beforehand  

that's funny - my wife said the same thing to me. But I had no clue.

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 1/30/2024 at 11:33 AM, csaag said:

that's funny - my wife said the same thing to me. But I had no clue.

ya same as you I learned it in passing, probably on the boards, and I was like, "I should know this  "

Edited January 30 by ADAMANTIUM

[ADAMANTIUM]

Guy who got it right ended up wagering enough to win because the lead money earner wagered too much and said monte christo  

That is what stuck out to me, the lady on the right I forget her guess, but she wouldn't have really been in the running  

middle guy advanced to the finals. the look on his face was of a humble nerd as well  

Edited January 30 by ADAMANTIUM

[Jaylam]

On 1/30/2024 at 12:33 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

The other answers given that were wrong were: count of monte christo and something else I forget

I think the other contestant said "A Tale of Two Cities".

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 1/30/2024 at 11:33 AM, csaag said:

that's funny - my wife said the same thing to me. But I had no clue.

I knew it was Scarlett something, but I don't feel I learned anything as today I was still like "Scarlett something haha"

I couldn't get the syllables of pimpernel from memory, and I had no idea if I was right, just a odd or one off fact 🤣

I think I said something like "Scarlett... Um er Scarlett pimperton" by that time I kept my mouth shut

Edited January 30 by ADAMANTIUM

[ADAMANTIUM]

Tbh I think I blame this album for faulty memory 

[Chip Cataldo]

The Scarlet Pumpernickel is brilliant.

[Jaylam]

I honestly thought it was this, not knowing it was actually called "The Scarlet Pimpernel". Can you imagine my embarrassment if I was a contestant on Jeopardy and wrote "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" instead? 

[Ken Aldred]

As a kid I always thought the Scarlet Pimpernel sounded like a character with badly inflamed acne.

[Jaylam]

On 1/30/2024 at 2:41 PM, Ken Aldred said:

As a kid I always thought the Scarlet Pimpernel sounded like a character with badly inflamed acne.

I didn't even know it was flower (some consider a weed) until I read the origin of name for the character. 

 

[ThothAmon]

Surprised Stan didn’t say Ebenezer Scrooge.  The Scarlet Pimpernel reminds me of this guy. 
 

[adamstrange]

There's an excellent movie adaptation from 1937 starring Leslie Howard.  He's not a super-hero or even a costumed hero (Zorro added that element), but Scarlet Pimpernel was a part of the evolution of the superhero.

Edited January 30 by adamstrange

[Dr Zen]

I knew it because there was a 1982 movie starring Jane Seymour and Ian McKellen. I really liked it at the time. No idea how it holds up. It's on youtube if you've got a couple of hours to burn.

 

 

[Ken Aldred]

On 1/30/2024 at 7:53 PM, Jaylam said:

I didn't even know it was flower (some consider a weed) until I read the origin of name for the character. 

 

I found out a few years later in my teens, but I couldn’t erase the image I’d already formed in my head.

Edited January 31 by Ken Aldred

[paperheart]

On 1/30/2024 at 9:33 AM, ADAMANTIUM said:

The other answers given that were wrong were: count of monte christo and something else I forget

that was my guess

[KirbyJack]

I knew it, but only because of an episode of Black Adder.

[comicginger1789]

Also caught the question...my wife joked "you should know this". And I admitted I did not. And like what I love about this hobby, it forever enlightens you to something you did not know or can learn more about. Gotta love comics!