Today marks the second year anniversary of the death of Stan Lee. How many words can I use to possibly describe him? Legend. Storytelling Icon. Creative Genius. Mr. Lee has done far more than just create amazing fictional tales. That’s something many artists can do, or at least think they can do. What Stan Lee did was far greater than that. He laid the foundations for what is one of the biggest and most diverse fictional universes ever. The incredible world of Marvel Comics is his baby. Did he create every character? Actually no. Just a small example, he created the original line of X-Men, but not Wolverine, the most popular X-Man. The thing is, that doesn’t really matter.
Now that he’s gone, we should now, more than ever, appreciate what he’s done for the arts. What exactly do I mean when I refer to the “arts”? For starters, the obvious answer would be comics. However, the influence of Marvel has expanded to all kinds of forms of entertainment. From cartoons, to live-action television shows, then to blockbuster movies, there’s just no stopping the power of Marvel. Okay, now the live-action movies didn’t exactly have the best start, but before the MCU started, they had some pretty big hits. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies, to Bryan Singer’s X-Men movies, and even Wesley Snipes as Blade, they all originated from somewhere.
At the time, we never would’ve expected all the Marvel characters to come together in one movie. Well, the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was the beginning of something new. Not only did it give some big Marvel heroes their own solo movies, but they all lead to an Avengers movie. I still remember when we all thought they could never pull that off. Well, Marvel got the last laugh, rightfully so. More importantly, Stan Lee got to see one of his greatest creations come to the big-screen. All of those Avengers were his creations. The most intriguing thing about each of them wasn’t their extraordinary abilities, but how human he made them.
Yes, that includes Thor. Stan Lee himself said that if he wanted to make the most powerful character ever, the answer was simple: make him a god. So how did he humanize the God of Thunder? In his first Thor story, he had the all-powerful god exiled to Earth by his father, Odin, in order to teach him a lesson in humility. He became vulnerable for the first time and his time among the humans made him a better man. Same goes with the famous Tony Stark. When he arrived on the pages of Marvel Comics, he was a weapons entrepreneur. When he saw firsthand what his weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, he dedicated his life to creating things that weren’t weapons.
Just think about the time period when Stan Lee created Tony Stark/Iron Man. His first appearance was in March of 1963. That was a controversial time to especially have a superhero that began as a weapons manufacturer, because the Cold War was happening at that time. Stan Lee knew this, and wanted to make the most controversial figure a real hero. Heck, he even added more human levels to Tony Stark by making him an alcoholic. To this day, in the world of Marvel Comics, alcoholism is one of Tony Stark’s greatest personal demons that he struggles to fight against.
One of his most greatest characters is Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk. Now there was a character that more regular people could relate to. He wasn’t a big, beefy man, he was a geeky scientist. After being exposed to gamma radiation, he would turn into the big, green monster whenever he got angry. A superhero who was created by gamma radiation during a time when everyone feared nuclear war? With one hero who was a former weapons manufacturer and one who tested the weapons that everyone feared during the Cold War, Stan Lee had no problem tackling the controversial. The thing is, he was well aware of it and made it work.
These two heroes originally represented something that the general public hated, but Stan Lee made them relatable and likable. If you had anger issues, you could relate to Bruce Banner, if you had problems with alcohol, you could relate to Tony Stark. Stan Lee gave them redemption and turned them into some of Marvel’s most popular heroes. Even with Black Widow and Hawkeye, two former criminals who seemed irredeemable, got their chances at redemption and became Avengers. Stan Lee was just an expert at giving characters with shady backgrounds a chance for redemption.
As for Captain America, he really wasn’t a Stan Lee creation. That credit belongs to Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. However, he did help launch the character’s popularity by writing several comics. These comics helped give the people of America a hero to really rally behind. Steve Rogers is a patriot and a hero who stands up for the little guy. During World War II, he was a true symbol of American strength and patriotism, something that was desperately needed for all Americans. We have Stan Lee to thank for that.
So Stan Lee made some relatable characters with good redemption arcs. That’s cool, but he’s not the only artist who’s done that before. His most inspiring characters are actually the ones who have yet to appear in the MCU. I’m speaking, of course, about the X-Men. I’ve always thought of them as the ugly stepchildren of the Avengers. While the Avengers are considered Earth’s mightiest heroes, the X-Men are feared and hated by nearly all humans. Yet, they protect the humans in order to build a word where mutants and humans can live together in peace. That’s what they’re all about. They don’t just see a threat to the world and fight it, they fight against persecution and discrimination.
That’s the difference between them and the Avengers. Characters like Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beasts, all considered freaks by the humans because they were different. Over time, the X-Men became the most diverse superhero team ever. Characters like Wolverine, a Canadian, Colossus, a Russian, Storm, an African woman, or Nightcrawler, a half-demon, half-mutant, German-raised creature, makes the team about as diverse as they come. Even at the time of their creation, literally everyone could relate to them. If you were gay, you were an X-Men, if you were a different religion, you were an X-Men, or if you were just someone who felt like an outsider, you were an X-Men. That’s the true power of the team and what they stand for. Stan Lee emphasized on diversity during a time when it was seriously lacking in our society.
Speaking of which, how can we talk about diversity in Marvel Comics without mentioning Black Panther? Stan Lee gave us the fist black superhero in mainstream heroes and in doing so, he opened the door of diversity even wider. T’Challa, aka Black Panther debuted in July of 1966. Not only was he a black man, but an African king. He had a very high position of power, he was a scientific genius, an incredible fighter, and was fiercely devoted to protecting his people. It didn’t take long for him to become a hero for all people, Wakandan or not. T’Challa made the Black Panther title more than a king’s mantle, he made it a title for a champion of the world.
This gave African-Americans a hero to look up to, as T’Challa was a man of many talents, but also a still a flawed man. He was a king, but couldn’t always protect his people. He failed many times, but each time, he learned from his mistakes and came back even stronger. This is the kind of hero he is and to the black community, he’s more than a superhero. Just look at when the movie came out back in 2018. It represented how far superhero movies have come and finally brought that long overdue diversity to the table. That’s the impact Black Panther has on the world. Once again, we owe it all to Stan Lee.
Diversity. Creativity. Great storytelling. This is just a fraction of what Stan Lee has brought to the arts. The influence his characters have on the world expand so far from the pages. The movies, the video games, the television shows, they all show it. Heck, Stan Lee even made Matt Murdock, a blind guy, a great superhero in the form of Daredevil. The diversity just has no limits and now the MCU is taking the chance to hone that. Stan Lee did more than just give us a great fictional world, his work has changed the arts forever by letting everyone know that everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from, can be a hero. That will forever be his legacy. As one of my personal heroes and one of my greatest inspirations, I salute and thank Stan Lee for his work.
Excelsior, true believers!
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