[dropcap]L[dropcap]egendary comic book writer Stan Lee passed away at the age of 95 in Los Angeles on November 12. He is leaving behind a legacy that will continue to live on even after his death.
Stan Lee started his comic book career in 1939 with Timely Comics doing smaller jobs, and within two years at this company he started getting opportunities to do actual comics. His comic book debut was a text filler called Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge.
At the age of 19 Lee was made interim editor of the company and continued to work for there for 31 years. For a lot of his time working at the company he was the editor-in-chief.
In the late 1950s, Lee’s publisher asked him to create a new group of superheroes to compete with rival comic-book publishers DC Comics. He began working on this assignment with Jack Kirby. The first group of superheroes they created was The Fantastic Four in the 1960s. This was the official beginning of the Marvel universe.
Even today there are writers, such as Ed Brubaker who writes Captain America comics, still releasing their own version of the characters. They are writing them in new stories and scenarios, which may be used in the future for movies and television shows.
Though previous movies and television shows have been created based around the Marvel Comics, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is the largest franchise in Marvel and is a global phenomenon. It started in 2008 with the release of Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr as the titular character.
The MCU has now expanded over 20 movies and multiple television shows. All these are set in the same universe, which has led to many crossovers during the years.
The first being The Avengers (2012), a movie so momentous to the franchise. It was so pivotal that the majority of the actors who played the ‘original Avengers’ have matching tattoos that are made up of symbols about each character.
The last crossover movie in the MCU was Avengers: Infinity War, which starred nearly all the superheroes that have been in the franchise so far although some characters did not appear. The sequel to this movie is due to be released next year.
Stan Lee was notorious for making cameos in the movies based on his comics. His first appearance in a Marvel was in The Trial of the Incredible Hulk in 1989. His cameos have become an iconic feature in Marvel movies, a feature that fans of the movies look out for. He has had some memorable lines such as “Are you Tony Stank?” in Captain America: Civil War (2016).
After Lee’s death there were concerns about what is going to happen with his cameos in future movies. Some fans of the franchise want the Marvel character of Deadpool from the Marvel X-Men universe to stand in for Lee’s cameos, most people are against this idea as “there’s nobody that can replace him”.
Following his death the Russo Brothers, who have directed multiple movies in the MCU, have confirmed that Lee had filmed his cameo for upcoming movie Avengers 4 . He filmed this cameo on the same day he filmed his latest cameo which was in Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018).
Stan Lee is a person who will be missed by many people from all generations, from those who have grown up as the comics were being released to the kids of today who are fans of the movies based around the characters that Lee has created throughout his lifetime. His memory will be forever kept alive by his works and his characters.
Rachel Halpin
Image Credit: Flickr