“One of the weapons Marvel used in its climb to comic-book dominance was a willingness to invent new characters at a dizzying speed. There are so many Marvel universes, indeed, that some superheroes do not even exist in one another's worlds, preventing gridlock.”

American film critic and journalist, 1942–2013. He became a defining voice of film criticism through his long tenure at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he championed thoughtful, accessible reviews that balanced rigor with warmth. His work extended beyond print to television, where his *Siskel & Ebert* show with Gene Siskel made film discussion a cultural touchstone.