Ringo Starr to become superhero

Starr also plans to add music to the animated series

Ex-Beatles drummer Ringo Starr will become a superhero in a new cartoon series by Spider-Man creator Stan Lee.

Starr will voice the "evil-battling, earth-saving" hero with "a great sense of rhythm" in an animated TV and DVD series planned for 2006.

"Ringo is beloved worldwide for his commitment to people and his singular wit," Stan Lee said.

"Our Ringo superhero character will combine these qualities, along with Ringo's secret powers."

Who deserves to be a superhero?

Stan Lee co-created a string of well-known superheroes including Spider-Man (with artist Steve Ditko), Fantastic Four and the Hulk (with artist Jack Kirby) and The X-Men, which have appeared in hit comic books and movies.

Having made his name at Marvel comics, Lee's company Pow! Entertainment will produce the new series with Starr's own Rocca Bella production company.

Describing Starr as "one of the most colourful, creative guys I know", Lee said the adventures of "the rollicking, ringed and bearded Ringo" would entertain comic fans "for years to come".

Stan Lee created Spider-Man, The X-Men and The Hulk

"I'm so excited to become a 'reluctant superhero,'" said Starr, 62.

"How great to hang out with Stan and laugh, laugh, laugh, as we're in the first stages of creating this soon-to-be masterpiece.

"Adding music to this adventure is something I am also looking forward to."

Following global success with The Beatles, Starr released a series of solo albums which spawned four Top 10 UK hits in the early 1970s including It Don't Come Easy and Back Off Boogaloo.

In the 1980s Starr narrated ITV's animated children's series Thomas the Tank Engine.

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Which public figures did you think deserved to be turned into superheroes? The debate has now closed, and a selection of your comments are below:

Surely cricketer Andrew Flintoff is a no-brainer?
Giacomo O Squintani, Portishead

I think it's fairly obvious to everyone that comedian Mickey Rooney deserves to be turned into a superhero. Also highly recommended is Russ Abbott. RooneyMan and the Mad Abbott could team up and fight the forces of evil with their sharp wit and character-based comedy.
Morris T Bear, Cardiff

Boris Johnson - Super Fop Flies Again (obviously he will have a secret lair in Liverpool).
Ian McKinley

I think Boy George because of his influence as an icon in the early 1980s and for the way he broke down sexual barriers. Best of all he could be called Boy George Boy!
Chris P, Newport, S Wales

Christopher Reeve, but I guess he was!
Tim, Manchester

How about Muhammad Ali? A super hero who stood up for what he passionately believed in no matter how unpopular those views may have been at the time and no matter the cost personally/professionally. Then mellowed somewhat yet still managed to defend his former attitudes whilst acknowledging his errors and being a super-fit athlete to boot and all round larger than life character, then to top it all regaining legendary status and popularity despite a debilitating illness. Surely that's pretty super?
Johnboy, Reading

Sylvester Stallone. Need I say any more?
Lee Brawn, Chester

Michael Palin - Atlasman, Bob Geldof - Givvusyemoneyman, Michael Howard - The Invisible Man, Dennis Skinner - The Red Bladder, Ken Dodd - Diddyman.
Geordie Bosworth, Leicestershire

Sir Alex Ferguson should become a comic book superhero with his super gum-chewing antics with his jaw of death. He can immobilise his criminal victims with his hair-dryer team talks. He would be one superhero not to get on the wrong side of, just ask David Beckham.
Thomas Peterson, Hull

Tony Blair. Alter-ego, Teflon Man. Defender of the American way, criticism just bounces off him. Can cut opponents down with a single sound-bite. His arch-enemy, of course, is Gordon Brown - otherwise known as The Chancellor.
Dave Godfrey, Swindon

I'd like to see a team of four superheroes consisting of The Goblin King, Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke and, of course, David Bowie. They would all live together in an apartment inside the Louvre, and most episodes would centre around finding David a costume.
Kris, Surbiton, Surrey

Mo Molam is the closest we have to a superhero. She had to battle against the evils of cancer in her private life. Then in her political career she, it could be said, brought together the forces of good and evil and had an important role in creating peace in Northern Ireland. A true hero if ever there was one.
David, Belfast

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer because they're most of the way there already! Also because they're sort of cartoons as well.
Mike Dymond, Bristol

Victoria Beckham, she could fight the baddies off with her pout!
Faye Whelan, Birmingham

Alastair Campbell as Spinman. A bizarre yet strangely familiar supervillain. Obviously Teflonman is his close ally, maybe The Chancellor?
oliver Kenton, Manchester, UK

Jane Tomlinson - she is one.
Stuart Hay, Dunbar Scotland

I think the Darkness should become a superhero task force, with the aim to spread rock 'n' roll all around the world. They have their secret base headquarters underground at Stonehenge and their Wise Mentors should be Spinal Tap dressed in Jedi Robes with their "Mighty Axes" providing the catalyst to unlock their secret powers (maybe I thought about this for too long huh!)
Anon for preservation of secret identity

Ann Widdecombe as Captain Frump. Sir David Attenborough as Wildlife Man, capable of surving any conditions and speaking in hushed tones.
Paul Bateman, Oxford

Let's have two of them. Mild-mannered, bespectacled John Major goes into a phone booth... and out steps superhero Tony Blair! (Well, he thinks he's one, anyway)
David Hazel, Fareham, UK

Dennis WaterMan - a man made entirely of water, putting out relatively small fires each week - except and chip pan fires of course, that would require some kind of Dampteatowel Man.
Andy, Leicester

Sir Cliff Richard as Mr Indestructible.
Prashanth, London

My first thought is Alice Cooper, although I honestly have no idea why. I reckon he'd just look cool in the part, so long as he's not in lycra. But who would he fight? Supervillains could include Murdochman - tyrannical media manipulator and his somewhat less successful sidekick - Comical Ali.
Daniel "Guinnessman" Gray, Melton Mowtropolis

Patrick Moore, the superhero who never looks directly at the sun!
Michelle, Leicester

David Blunkett and Tony Blair would make a great Don Quixote and Sancho Panza type duo - battling against non existing empires of evil; where oil wells are used instead of windmills etc.
Endada, Kendal,UK

John Peel - rescuing the ills of the world with music !
Jeff Gordon, NY

George Bush. PRESIDENTMAN!
Doc Martian, Indio, USA

I think the late, great Christopher Reeve should be honoured as a superhero. I often thought, prior to his passing, that he would make a great superhero, enhanced with cybernetic or genetic powers, Reeve, with his stoic image and heroic personality is already the perfect superhero.
Kaleb J. Darrin, Fontana, California, USA

David Hasselhoff, Chuck Norris and William Shatner. They could be the male, middle aged and slightly flabbier version of Charlie's Angels.
James, Midlands

Johnny Rotten - Ringo's first arch enenmy (with sidekick Sid Vicious).
Jason, Los Angeles

Dean Gaffney - the most versatile and underrated British actor in world!
Luke Cumiskey, Molesey

Frank Spencer - OohBettyMan. Frankie Howerd - Ooh-er-man. And let's not forget Stephen Hawking as QuantumIrregularityMan, who sucks his evil foes into a black hole of infinite confusion by forcing them to solve multidimensional field equations in imaginary time.
Gordon Morrison, Basingstoke, UK

I think Frank Zappa would make a good superhero. He could like defeat his foes with a mix of comedy and crazy guitar solos. In fact you could use the whole band and make a superhero group.
Chuck, Dundee, Scotland

How about Keith Moon as Ringo's sidekick, a generous and helpful man if not a little crazy the perfect assistant to a superhero, an excellent off duty companion as well.
Paul Sharp, Surrey

Woody Allen, he can disorient evil-doers with his monologues.
Erich Schwartz, Pennsylvania, USA

The Pope. He already has the costume and cool car.
Bob Indapewl, Sydney, Australia

Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Kylie Minogue as PopGirls. They spread anarchy through the world with their songs and cause mass destructions in their wake. Who'll stop them?
Rohit Krishnan, Singapore

Ivan Noble - enough said.
James McCarraher, Woking