Fans of Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Spider-Man and so many other iconic Marvel superhero’s are grieving the loss of comic book legend, Stan Lee.
Comic book fans everywhere are grieving the loss of Stan Lee, the creator of everyone’s favorite superhero’s and the face of the Marvel Universe, who passed away Monday morning at 95 years old. Stan Lee is the mastermind behind not only the hero’s listed above but also the Fantastic Four, Guardians of the Galaxy, the X-Men, Black Panther and many other characters including those that make up the Avengers. Lee was able to create hero’s such as Iron Man, who may not always be the best people or always make the right choices, but are able to be super anyways. They aren’t perfect, but are flawed beings who viewers can relate too and gain inspiration from. They we’re people first and superheroes second. Not to mention he has provided generations of, not only comic book readers but movie goers also, with years of quality entertainment. This whole universe existed in his head and millions of fans will forever be thankful that he chose to share his imagination with us. As complicated and hard to follow as it is for me, I can appreciate the genius it takes to create something that has become so meaningful to so many and has impacted so many people, through stories everyone can enjoy.
“We all grew up with giants and ogres and witches. Well, you get a little bit older and you’re too old to read fairy tales. But I don’t think you ever outgrow your love for those kind of things, things that are bigger than life and magical and very imaginative,” Stan Lee.
Stan Lee began his work in the comic book industry working on the third Captain America comic for Timely Publications. He went on to help create many other well known characters before enlisting in World War II after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. He was a lineman for the Signal Corps until the army realized his talent for writing and moved him to technical writing and doing posters. Just yesterday, Lee posted a photo of himself on Facebook thanking all of America’s veterans for their service and even shared his official US Army title during WWII, “Playwright.” After the war he returned to Timely Publications, now called Marvel Comics. He continued to create more iconic characters which represented social change and equally iconic storylines. In 1972 he became Marvel’s publisher and editorial director and was henceforth known as the face of Marvel, even after he was no longer in charge.
I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing,” Stan Lee
Lee’s stories singlehandedly changed the face of the movie industry. It all started back in 2008 with the first Iron Man movie which was followed by The Incredible Hulk later that same year. Soon enough these movies were breaking box office records and no other movie stands a chance at going up against them. It’s like a death wish to be given a release date the same weekend as a Marvel movie. No one will remember what movie came out the same weekend as Black Panther or Infinity War but both made billions of dollars their opening weekends. It’s not longer the movies with big movie star names attached to them that make the most money, but the movies that previously only played in Lee’s head. Not only are they loved by comic book lovers but brought movie lovers to the comics and blurred the lines between the two worlds. It gave a movie buff like me the chance to have a common interest with my sister, the comic book fan (although I’ll never admit to her I enjoy watching the movies). Stan Lee changed the landscape of the movie industry by allowing his stories to reach a wider audience and inspire millions.
A good movie helps the sale of the comic books and the comic books help the movie and one hand washes the other. So, I don’t think there’s any reason to think that comics will die out. – Stan Lee
Fans will miss seeing Lee’s cameos in the movies but will have the comic books and movies to look back on. The world he created was bigger than anything anyone could have imagined and he will be greatly missed.
“I’ve been very lucky. All I wanted was to pay the rent. Then these characters took off and suddenly there were Hulk coffee mugs and Iron Man lunchboxes and The Avengers sweatshirts everywhere. Money’s okay, but what I really like is working. – Stan Lee”