December 28, 1922: Many babies were born, but the world wasn’t aware that a legend was among them.
November 12, 2018: The world mourned the loss of that legend. And by ‘world,’ I mean those of us who wished we were part of the Marvel universe instead of this universe.
For us Marvel heads, Stan Lee was like a god—a god that actually made cameos in the movies and comics that we so loved. He gave us the universe with Spider-man, Iron man, Captain America, Thor and the Hulk. He gave us female icons like Black Widow (a.k.a. Natasha Romanova), Peggy Carter, Pepper Potts, Melinda May and so many more.
He showed us that anyone could become a hero if they have the right intentions and a good heart, and that to be a hero you don’t have to save an entire city—all it takes is just one.
He showed us that mental health is just as important as physical health; that even superheroes are humans. And that admitting your faults is not a weakness but rather a sign of great character.
He made us realize that second chances (or, in Loki’s case, multiple chances) can mean the biggest difference and the smallest action could alter the fate of the universe—for good or bad.
The Marvel universe has had a huge impact on my life—an impact that is hard to put into words. In high school, when I was struggling with my social and academic life, one of the things that kept me going through the day was waiting for the 8P.M. reruns of the Ultimate Spider-man series on Disney channel. I have lost count of the number of times I have re-watched every single Marvel movie. Whenever I feel like I need a mood lift, my first choice is an MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movie because they’re not only funny and amazing but they always leave me with a sense of heroism. I feel like I can handle anything. I don’t know where I would be if Stan Lee hadn’t come up with the idea of all my heroes, my idols and the Marvel universe. How different would the world be without the extremely relatable teenage hero Spider-man or the no-filter Deadpool?
Since the passing of Stan Lee, I have seen multitudes of posts from celebrities and fans alike remembering him, but one stuck with me and made me tear up:
Courtesy of Instagram user @pinniped_love
Here you see Stan Lee entering heaven and God comes to receive him, complimenting his life’s work. I don’t think there is any better way to pay tribute to the legend we lost.
This generation will never forget Stan Lee and I hope the coming generation wishes they lived at a time when he was alive.
Thanks for giving us so much.
Rest In Peace, Stan Lee.
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