Stan Lee: A Marvelous Man

Today we mourn the loss of a man who not only created characters that we loved, but he found a way to bring them to life in a way that we were able to connect with these heroes. Which is strange in its own sense, how can someone connect and relate to someone like Spider-Man or The Hulk? In a way, it’s as if we look at The Hulk and say “I get angry too, but it’s how you control your emotions that defines you as a person.” Or one the greatest lessons that could’ve been taught by Spider-Man, “With great power, comes great responsibility.”Stan Lee has left a legacy that should impact the generations to come with his tales of heroes and villains, and of course who could forget his marvelous cameos in his own movies? To the superhero community, Stan Lee was a hero. He was not only a hero in their eyes, but in the eyes of those brave men who fought in World War II. Stan enlisted in the Army in early 1942 where he served in the Signal Corps, repairing telegraph poles and other equipment. He later transferred to the Training Film Division. It was there that he worked writing manuals, training films, slogans, and the occasional cartoon. He always said his military classification was “playwright” and he took that with him wherever he went. Sergeant Stanley Lieber left the Army in 1945.He got his start at Atlas Comics in the 1950’s where he wrote stories of multiple genres like romance, Westerns, humor, science fiction, medieval adventure, horror and suspense. Later that decade, he was assigned to come up with a new superhero team to counter the popular Justice League by DC Comics. He then created the Fantastic Four, which became popular almost overnight. It was after the overwhelming popularity that he created the members of the Avengers starting with The Hulk in May 1962.These comics rose to the top and Marvel became the center of the superhero world. Stan Lee had built an empire and gave us characters that we have come to love.He brought joy to many of our homes, whether you read the comics or if you love the Marvel movies that have recently been produced. He showed us that no matter what your background is or how different you are, you can do whatever you want and we can all be a hero.

“Just because you have superpowers, that doesn’t mean your love life would be perfect. I don’t think superpowers automatically means there won’t be any personality problems, family problems or even money problems. I just tried to write characters who are human beings who also have superpowers.”

I know personally, I grew up with his comics with my grandfather and I knew from a young age that I could do whatever it is I want. I want to thank Stan for giving me hope and laughter and for giving everyone a sense of purpose. You will be greatly missed. Excelsior!