November 12th 2018 Stan Lee passed away and the throne king icon of the superhero genre has been left vacant. There are many kings that have come from the comic book world and Dwayne McDuffie is one of the ones I personally love. Yet, This article is for the man that gave many of us in the world the hero that embodies not only power but what we are defined by, and that is our humanity.
Racism, sexism, self-doubt, being a nerd, social awkwardness and the defining of family all came into comics from the mind of Stan Lee. The Fantastic Four are the first family in comics and through their change in acquiring powers we see a family grow together and save the world while dealing with how life changes around them. In Spider-Man we see the epic teenaged loser grow to become a man and pays off the debt to his late uncle to saving the world "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility". To many of us that see the racism and prejudice in the world the X-Men are the representation of how the world may see people that are different and wants to condemn them.
Stan Lee used the 1960s revolution of human and civil rights to create the X-Men and as he saw the world change he showed us how the world creates it's heroes and how the humans react to a world that fears them. The X-Men's Charles Xavier and Magneto are based on Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X respectfully as they lead to schools of thought in our world so they lead 2 ideals in the comic book world. Stan Lee was bigger than Marvel Comics though as he made heroes for DC Comics as well.
Stan Lee made a female flash, A luchador Batman, and other reimaginations of DC heroes through his school of thought, "Heroes are people with flaws too." His ability to create humanity in the scope of being a hero and how the human character reacts to tragedy and failure is what made Marvel Comic heroes some of the best ever created in the Modern Age of comic books. The Marvel Cinematic Universe benefits from this style of writing as we see people of all ages connecting to the humanity of the heroes on the screen and not just to see the powers that are displayed on the screen.
We have all lost a great contributor to our entertainment and journalistic lives. Stan Lee's cameos will be missed in the Marvel Movies and to everyone that ever met Stan Lee at a comic con you have taken away a small gift of what made the world appreciation him so much. You took away his genuine love for us as we all enjoyed his work as it came to life in our imaginations and in front of our very eyes.
Rest In Peace Stan Lee, and rest knowing we will continue to read and share your work with generations to come and appreciate all you have given us. "Excelsior"
#RIP #StanLee #MarvelEntertainment #MarvelComics #Excelsior #comicbook #comicbooklegend #comicbooks #comics #Spiderman #Xmen #Hulk #thefantasticfour #Daredevil #Captainamerica #DrStrange #Thor #Avengers #Antman #marvelcinematicuniverse #Marvelmovies #Disney #Marveldisney #Disneymarvels
Marvel Comic Tribute: https://www.marvel.com/remembering_stan_lee
DC Comics Tribute: https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2018/11/12/dc-remembers-stan-lee-1922-2018
Stan Lee Tribute - All Of His Marvel Universe Cameos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61moFSk9YvI