This past Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, we lost a living legend. When my little brother told me that Stan Lee had passed away at 95 years old, I teared up. The past 10 years have been rough for me and my family, and the Marvel Universe has always given us hope. Whether it’s Iron Man’s snarky, playboy vibes, Loki’s dark charisma or Groot’s ability to say so much in just one word – Marvel’s always sure to make me laugh, or if you’ve seen Avengers: Infinite War, cry. He’s given us the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Strange, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Black Panther and so many more. Marvel’s a constant in our very inconstant world, and that’s all thanks to Stan Lee. Even after they sold to Disney, Stan Lee was still there, making his cameos. You knew he’d be there, but it still surprised the audience every time. You looked for him. Even though I know he’s gone, I don’t think I’ll ever stop looking.
When I got the news, I wanted to know more about the man behind the myths. Lee got his big break writing on Captain America comics in 1941. And speaking of World War II, he served with none other than Dr. Seuss in his unit. His famous acquaintances didn’t end there though. Gene Simmons (from KISS) was such a big fan that there was A Marvel Comics Super Special!: Kiss in which KISS were superheroes. Stan Lee even had Simmons bleed into the ink, so they could say that the comics were printed in Simmons’ blood. Another famous admirer was Federico Fellini, the Academy Award-winning Italian filmmaker who was obsessed with Spider-Man.
While it’s fun to find out more about his life, it doesn’t stop the nagging sting that things won’t be the same. I’ll miss him . . . just like Marvel fans everywhere.
Excelsior, Stan. Excelsior.