In the 1950s, after DC Comics had effectively revitalized the comic book industry with reinventions of characters like “The Flash” and “Justice League of America." In his book, "Masters of the Comic Book Universe Revealed!," Arie Kaplan tells the story of how Stan Lee was told to come up with new characters to compete with comics by publisher Martin Goodman and how Lee’s wife, Joan Lee, encouraged him to experiment. What did he have to lose? It was in this moment, that Lee changed comics forever.
Speaking to The Guardian in 1979, Lee said, "One day I said, 'This is insane,' I'm just doing the same type of stories as everybody else. I wasn't taking pride in my work and I wanted to quit. But my wife said, 'Look, why don't you do the kind of comics you want for a change?'"
The heroes he created with Jack Kirby in that decade: Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Hulk, Thor, X-Men, Daredevil with Bill Everett and Doctor Strange with Steve Ditko, were not the squeaky clean type. They had flaws, personal problems and squabbles within their own groups. As time went on, these kinds of flawed heroes would come to define Marvel Comics. One of the most famous comic books covers of all time features Tony Stark starring into a mirror, his beard half grown out, with a bottle of alcohol in his hand.
Comics Historian Peter Sanderson compared Marvel Comics to the “New French Wave.” Lee and his writers would use their characters to discuss social issues and to help tackle difficult subjects within their interconnected worlds. While he would relinquish his writing duties in 1972, he would remain at Marvel Comics as a publisher for years to come.
The studio and the culture he helped discover would also remain a beacon for comic readers of all sorts for years. New generations have found themselves in new interpretations of some of Lee’s characters: there’s Miles Morales, an Afro-Latino teenager who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man in his own universe. America Chavez, a Latin-American hero who is one of the members of the Young Avengers, as well as being openly LGBTQA+.
How about Deadpool, the fourth wall breaking Merc with the Mouth who isn’t afraid to touch on subjects like mental health or suicidal thoughts. There’s also Northstar, who in 1992, became one of the first openly gay characters in comics history. Venom, Nova, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Carol Danvers, Spider-Gwen, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos, Ultron, Punisher and Ghost Rider; none of those were created by Lee, but none would exist without him either.
On Nov. 12, 2018, Stan Lee passed away at the age of 95, survived by his daughter and brother, confirmed by Kirk Schenck, an attorney for his daughter, J.C. Lee. In his later years, Lee took on a feverish energy towards the medium and characters he helped to create. He appeared at countless conventions, greeting endless rows of fans from all walks of life with his immediately recognizable catchphrase: “EXCELSIOR!”
He spearheaded television shows and documentaries about the comics industry. He’s likely known most, second only to his creation of so many beloved characters, as the old man who keeps popping up in various Marvel film cameos.
Lee was given the National Medal of Arts in 2008, a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star in 2011, inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 1994 alongside Steve Ditko, and was inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995 with Bill Everett. Lee never really stopped working, but in the 2010 documentary “With Great Power…: The Stan Lee Story,” he spoke of his desire to do so much more.
“I want to do more movies, I want to do more television, more DVDs, more multi-sodes, I want to do more lecturing, I want to do more of everything I’m doing…The only problem is time. I just wish there were more time,” said Lee.
During his writer days, Stan would often respond to letters written in to his column “Stan’s Soapbox” and would publish his responses to them in the next issue of whatever comic was to be released. Below is a transcript of one of his most famous “Soapboxes.”
“From time to time we receive letters from readers who wonder why there’s so much moralizing in our mags. They take great pains to point out that comics are supposed to be escapist reading, and nothing more. But somehow, I can’t see it that way. It seems to me that a story without a message, however subliminal, is like a man without a soul. In fact, even the most escapist literature of all-old time fairy tales and heroic legends-contained moral and philosophical points of view. At every college campus where I may speak, there’s as much discussion of war and peace, civil rights, and the so-called youth rebellion as there is of our Marvel mags per se. None of us lives in a vacuum-none of us is untouched by the everyday events about us-events which shape out stories just as they shape our lives. Sure our tales can be called escapist-but just because something’s for fun, doesn’t mean we have to blanket our brains while we read it! Excelsior!"
Stan Lee
Excelsior, Steve. Excelsior!
Lee on the red carpet of the Los Angeles premiere of "Doctor Strange."
Lee, goofing around on the red carpet of "The Avengers."
President George W. Bush (right) awarding Stan Lee (left) the 2008 Nation Medal of Arts.
Lee onstage at Madison Square Garden during the "Stan Lee Creators Roundtable."
Lee (left) onstage with Chris Hardwick (right) at the 2016 "Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con."
Lee holding internet star Grumpy Cat, whilst imitating him.
One of Stan's "Soapboxes," specifically the one transcripted below.
Stan's most famous "Soapbox," published shortly after the assassination of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr.
Lee (left) onstage with Dwayne Johnson (right), at the 2018 "Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic-Con."
A fan made poster created by deviantart used tclarke597, depecting Stan Lee in the style of Marvel Studios' Tenth Anniversary "More Than A" line of posters.
