Magneto and Titanium Man
"Magneto and Titanium Man" is a 1975 song by Wings. It is the B-side of the "Venus and Mars/Rock Show" single.
| "Magneto and Titanium Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Wings | ||||
| from the album Venus and Mars | ||||
| A-side | "Venus and Mars/Rock Show" | |||
| Released | 1 November 1975 | |||
| Recorded | January - April 1975 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:16 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Paul McCartney | |||
| Producer(s) | Paul McCartney | |||
| Wings singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Venus and Mars track listing | ||||
13 tracks
| ||||
Lyrics
The song is in narrative form, and includes the Marvel Comics characters Magneto, Titanium Man and the Crimson Dynamo in its story.[1] When asked his opinion of the song decades after its release, Stan Lee (who co-created all three characters) said he thought it was "terrific."[2]
Personnel
- Paul McCartney — vocals, bass, guitars, piano, keyboards
- Linda McCartney — keyboards, backing vocals
- Denny Laine — guitars, backing vocals
- Jimmy McCulloch – guitars
- Joe English — drums
Live
The song was included in the setlist for the band's 1975/1976 world tours.[3] While it was performed, comic art of Magneto, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and Titanium Man & the Crimson Dynamo, created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, was projected onto the large screen behind the band. The Magneto figure on the backdrop is by George Tuska and John Tartaglione from X-Men #43 (April 1968, on sale February, 1968), the Titanium Man is by George Tuska and Mike Esposito from Iron Man #22 (February 1970, on sale December 1969), and the Crimson Dynamo is by Sal Buscema and Joe Staton from Avengers #130 (December 1974, on sale October 1974). The two backdrop figures are reversed from their original Comic Book presentation.[4]
McCartney, a Marvel Comics fan and comic book fan in general, met with Kirby on the L.A. leg of the tour, giving him front row seats and back stage passes (his daughter was a big Wings and Beatles fan), and Kirby backstage gave Paul and Linda an original comic drawing he did of them.[5]
The song can be heard coming from a radio, creating an argument, in a scene in the 1976 Mike Leigh play Nuts in May.
The Roots played the song as walk-on music for Michael Fassbender for his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon during his promotional tour for X-Men: Days of Future Past.
References
- McCartney: Songwriter ISBN 0-491-03325-7 p. 201
- "Stan's Soapbox", Marvel Comics cover-dated June 2000, including Spider-Woman (vol. 3) #12 (June 2000).
- McCartney: Songwriter ISBN 0-491-03325-7 p. 118
- Hoppe, Rand (16 May 2013). "More Kirby and McCartney". The Kirby Effect. Jack Kirby Museum. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
- Gallagher, Paul. "When Paul McCartney Met Jack Kirby". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
