Stan Lee - a hero to many

Stan reading one of his creations

Hi...

It is with a great feeling of sadness that I write this, and in a way I sort of thought that it would never happen.

Stan with his late wife Joan

For a long time I have been a fan of superheroes, and in particular ones from the Marvel universe.

Stan with Spidey

Born in 1970, as a kid I saw reruns of the superb 1960’s Spider-Man cartoons, and I occasionally borrowed a friend’s comics, not just of this hero, but of others.

I absolutely loved these stories, especially as Spidey was a kid, albeit a kid who took photos that made him money from a newspaper (it was tough to get a paper round, nevermind take photos for them).

Stan with Jack Kirby/Steve Ditko on the phone

Joss Whedon, Stan Lee, and Kevin Feige

Now I’m not saying that Stan Lee was the first to create Superheroes, but he took that original idea and did something incredible with it. He created an entire universe, a lot of which was made up of seemingly ordinary people from the outside, who hid incredible abilities within, which were used to help others.
He also helped to create so many of the classic villains - Doctor Doom, The Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Chameleon, and so many more.

Stan with Batman creator Bob Kane - great friends

This creativity spurred on others who have also become legends of the genre - John Romita (Snr and Jnr), Nick Gaiman, Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, and a lot of other writers from across the different comic publishers, and different writers.

I’ll miss Stan, but I’m glad that his creations have helped me to become who I am. His comics and characters helped me through so much in my childhood and adulthood as well, where I was able to escape, and in Spider-Man in particular, I saw a kid who was going through stuff, but still willing to help others no matter what.

One of the creations of Stan & Jack
(from my own collection)

Through that, as a kid at school, I started to stand up for those being bullied, sometimes taking the punches and kicks for them, because bullying is wrong!I’ll miss Stan, but I’m glad that his creations have helped me to become who I am. His comics and characters helped me through so much in my childhood and adulthood as well, where I was able to escape, and in Spider-Man particularly, I saw a kid who was going through stuff, but still willing to help others no matter what. Through that, as a kid at school, I started to stand up for those being bullied, sometimes taking the punches and kicks for them, because bullying is wrong!

In the seventies, Stan approved new
creations while he was in charge of 
Marvel, which  included  
Guardians of the Galaxy
(from my own collection)

I’ll miss Stan, but I’m glad that his creations have helped me to become who I am. His comics and characters helped me through so much in my childhood and adulthood as well, where I was able to escape, and in Spider-Man in particular, I saw a kid who was going through stuff, but still willing to help others no matter what. Through that, as a kid at school, I started to stand up for those being bullied, sometimes taking the punches and kicks for them, because bullying is wrong!

Paul McCartney & Stan Lee

Paul McCartney wrote the song Magneto & Titanium Man based on reading the X-Men comics of Stan and either of the two artists Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko, both of whom famously worked with Stan - between these three, the majority of the Marvel universe of characters were created!

Ringo Starr & Stan Lee

I won’t harp on about troubles I’ve been through, but I will say that watching tv shows based on Stan’s universe and reading the comics, helped me to escape for a little while, as they continue to do now, as I’m approaching my 48th birthday.

Stan Lee and Frank Miller

I definitely watch the films, the tv shows when I can, and yes, I still read comics! I continue to immerse myself in that universe, and escape the crap in life that is always there - it’ll be there to sort out after I’ve had a read or watched something.

Another comic series that Stan
approved whilst in charge of
Marvel, The Human Fly
(from my own collection)

I don’t know if I remember correctly, but I think that as a kid I would be at school, and I’d stand up for other kids who were being bullied, most likely based on these sorts of characters, especially Spider-Man.

Killraven, another that was
approved by Stan, during
his tenure as the man in
charge (from my own
collection)

The alter-ego of Spider-Man was the kid Peter Parker, albeit a kid who somehow took photos that he sold to a newspaper in New York. It was difficult in truth to get a paper round as a kid, so he did well to work for the paper on a freelance basis!

Outside of that though, he used his abilities to help others, even though he was going through crap of his own as a kid does! That spoke to me!

Jack Of Hearts (from my own collection)

Even now I hate bullies! I also dislike people being treated differently to others, by being talked down to. We are all equal, every single one of us. I learnt that through the work of Stan and those he inspired.

In the sixties he was using his "great power" to speak against racism, bigotry, homophobia - a "great responsibility"!

A lot of art is used to convey these subjects, and in this medium, genre is often a way to do this - science fiction chief among them!

He was an incredibly prolific creative soul, with so many ideas - Spider-Man, The Hulk, Iron Man, Black Panther, The X-Men, The Fantastic 4, and even recently creating things such as the television series Lucky Man.

The incomparable Stan Lee cameos everywhere!
(from my own collection)

His cameos in films (and other media) are the thing of legend, and there are some pre-filmed cameos for future films, so when they come out, we fans will be smiling, but yet with a few tears at the same time.
He seemingly always had a smile, and that joy came through his work, and gave so many of us that joy.

Thank you Stan, for all that you gave us. To me, and others like me, you were a hero. #excelsior #withgreatpowercomesgreatresponsibility

November 13th 2018 (47 years, 11 months, and 18 days old).

Doc Savage was, according
to Stan, the first of the
superheroes, originally created
in 1933, which was brought
back by Stan when he was in
 charge of Marvel
(from my own collection)

Stan with Scarlett Johansson

Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Stan Lee, and Sebastian Stan (Bucky)