Initially, it might sounds as though Marvel isn’t being entirely fair to tell the Simpsons that they can’t use a Stan Lee cameo in their Loki parody, but after further consideration, it’s easier to see why this would be the case. Since his passing in 2018, there have been no other Stan Lee cameos and this is how Marvel has wanted it. Considering how much Lee meant to the company the Simpsons creators didn’t argue the point and decided to go ahead without the cameo. It became so common to see Stan Lee cameo in one Marvel movie after another that’s been kind of missing since he passed away. But there have been moments that reference him throughout the movies and the shows, which means that there are still ways that can be used to pay respect. But seeing him show up in the movies was a lot of fun since it was done in a way that was definitely amusing and in some cases just kind of out of the blue. But the fact is that if Marvel says no more cameos for someone it’s going to happen since thems the brakes.
Stan Lee did a cameo on the Simpsons in the past, so it’s not exactly as though people are missing out on something that might have otherwise been awesome but will never happen. It’s still kind of hard to think that he’s been gone for this long already, but the fact is that the MCU has kept rolling on in his stead and has had plenty of Easter eggs that many people have noticed, but haven’t gone into great detail about it. At this point, it feels as though it’s best to just let the matter die out on its own and honor the man that was seen as the godfather of the Marvel universe since it’s very easy to pay respects, but it’s much harder to take back a slight that could have easily been avoided.
The thankful part is that despite the clout and the size of the Simpsons, the creators do have the respect needed to understand that this is the way that Marvel wants it to be and this is how it’s going to happen. It’s likely that we’ll continue to see references and pictures now and again throughout the years that will be granted permission for their use, but there are likely plenty of guidelines on how to use certain material so that it’s not seen as breaking the established rules or offending anyone. Since the Simpsons became a part of the Mouse House it’s been easy to think that they’ll take full advantage of this and just go for broke. But like everyone else they still have their marching orders from time to time and need to pay attention to what the head office has to say. The fact is that Stan Lee was one of the guys that changed a lot of things when it came to pop culture and introduced a wide variety of new additions to Marvel throughout his time, and the kind of respect he was due during his lifetime is simply enormous.
It is kind of interesting to think of what he would have to say if he were here and was asked to comment on this matter. But then again, if he were here then the cameo issue wouldn’t exist since he’d be in the sound studio lending his voice to his own character. But all in all, it does feel as though his likeness should be okay to use with permission, while his imitating his voice wouldn’t be all that great since the man had a way about him that a lot of people just couldn’t match. The Simpsons won’t miss out on using his voice this time around, well, not entirely anyway, since there are plenty of ways to get around this and definitely ways to remind the fans of why it has to happen this way. Some folks probably won’t understand or care to hear the explanation, but others might be well aware of how this works and why it had to be done. Sometimes it’s just best to let things be since there’s no point in upsetting the wrong company, especially when both companies in the discussion are under the same umbrella.
So really, the issue of the Stan Lee cameo in The Simpsons isn’t much of an issue so much as an explanation of why it wasn’t added in. After reading it a couple of times and seeing it from the different points of view that are offered it’s not hard to agree with since the whole idea of showing the man over and over after his passing does feel kind of disrespectful. The cameos he gave were always a lot of fun, but we have plenty to remember him by.
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