On Monday, we lost a mind and a soul that captivated millions if not billions of people.
Stan Lee had been at the forefront of the comic book world for over 70 years and was responsible for bringing us classic super heroes such as The Hulk, Iron Man, Doctor Strange and my personal favorite, Spider-Man. Through his gift of storytelling, art direction and sheer sense for the spectacular, Stan Lee created a world where we can escape and flip through fantastic stories that have made so many of us feel truly super.
Stan Lee was only a teenager when he was serving as an assistant for Timely Comics in 1933. Filling ink containers, fetching lunch and running other sorts of errands eventually landed him an interim editor gig at 19 years old.
Lee served in the Army during World War II as a part of the Signal Corps, repairing telephone poles and other communication equipment. Eventually, he moved into the Training Film division, writing field manuals, cartooning, making training films and creating slogans until the end of the war.
Upon his return from the war, Lee would create some of the most iconic characters we know and love, changing comic books forever.
He decided that gone were the days of moral, just and perfect superheroes. He saw a demand for reality and humanity in his heroes were gone. The art of characterizing comic book characters is a mainstay for comic books. Since then, we no longer see shining examples of society wearing capes and masks; we have heroes who are flawed, who have homework due the next day, who have their fair share of personal demons — just like us.
On top of captivating characters, we were given magnetic storylines that were not your run-of-the-mill, cat-stuck-in-a-tree stories. “Bedlam at the Baxter Building,” “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” “The Sinister Six” and “Parable” were groundbreaking stories that revitalized the industry and redefined what comic books could be.
Stan Lee cared deeply for his audiences. He would often write open correspondences in his comics to his readers about the state of his comics, even asking readers to send their opinions on his works before signing off with his signature phrase, “Excelsior!”; a word that his biggest supporters hold near and dear to their hearts.
Stan Lee’s work is also responsible for propelling comic books into the media powerhouses they are today. Before the billion dollar box-office opening weekends, comic books were a niche community that was often isolated. For many readers, comics were a way out of the stress of school or work. Today, while infinitely more popular, his work continues to be there for his readers.
After Stan Lee’s endearing cameos in every Marvel movie, it’s difficult to accept that I won’t be seeing him in another film. For some reason, I always had the idea that Stan Lee would outlive me. In a way, he will. Stan Lee will live on through all he left behind for us to continue to love and cherish. Stan Lee will live on through the comics and games and movies and toys that shaped our childhoods and hang around in our adult lives. I never met Stan Lee, but we should all consider ourselves lucky to have the privilege of living on this planet at the same time he did.
Excelsior, Stan.