Unlucky James Nesbitt annoys comic book fans with Superman gaffe

Nesbitt currently stars in Lee’s drama series Lucky Man, and appeared on the daily programme to speak about his role as a detective who comes into the possession of an ancient bracelet that gives him supernatural luck.

Speaking to hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, Nesbitt said: “Stan Lee, who came up with this - he also came up with Superman and all those great Marvel heroes - the superpower he always wanted was the ability to control luck.”

But viewers quickly picked up on the Northern Irish star’s error, with many pointing out that Superman was not only not created by Lee, but that the character is also part of the DC Comics world, not Marvel Comics.

One fan took to Twitter to write: “James Nesbitt just said Lucky Man was from the mind of Stan Lee, creator of Superman and other famous Marvel characters ... Geek rage!”

Another fumed that Nesbitt committed “comic book blasphemy”, while one told Nesbitt to “do your research”.

The disbelief continued as one viewer wrote: “@schofe Play it back but James Nesbitt just said Stan Lee created Superman?”

“I just died a little that on This Morning James Nesbitt said Stan Lee created Superman,” wrote another disgruntled tweeter.

But there was support for the 52-year-old actor, who admitted during the chat that he was never a comic book fan as a child and he was more into football.

One person wrote: “People whining James Nesbitt said Stan Lee created Superman. Did you also hear him say he wasn’t a big comic book fan? #ThisMorning.”

Lee created a plethora of superhero characters for Marvel Comics in the 1960s including Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk and the X-Men.

Superman was created in the 1930s by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster before becoming one of the cornerstones of the DC Comics universe.

During his stint on the This Morning sofa, Cold Feet star Nesbitt also praised Taken actor Liam Neeson.

Asked by Schofield if he is the first Northern Irish superhero, Nesbitt said: “I think Liam Neeson will always be the Northern Irish superhero.”