30 Greatest Stan Lee Moments
Parkour Master (2013)
The Moment: This odd YouTube video sees Stan Lee - or someone who looks suspiciously like him - leaping through the streets with Spider-Man-like agility.
Why It’s Special: The execution of this video is spot on, from the bespoke soundtrack to the clever editing, which could almost leave us believing that the 90-year-old is more spry than he looks.
Classic Lee Quote: “Car? Who needs a car? I’m gonna parkour.”
Parkour Master (2013)
The Moment: This odd YouTube video sees Stan Lee - or someone who looks suspiciously like him - leaping through the streets with Spider-Man-like agility.
Why It’s Special: The execution of this video is spot on, from the bespoke soundtrack to the clever editing, which could almost leave us believing that the 90-year-old is more spry than he looks.
Classic Lee Quote: “Car? Who needs a car? I’m gonna parkour.”
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The Moment: In Marc Webb’s reboot, Stan Lee plays an oblivious librarian who doesn’t have a clue that Spider-Man and the Lizard are demolishing the room behind him.
Why It’s Special: As with so many of his cameos, it’s impossible not to crack a smile as Lee comes within an inch of getting pasted without even noticing. It leaves us wondering whether he isn’t secretly the most powerful hero of them all.
Classic Lee Quote: “I guarantee the Spider-Man [cameo] is the funniest one you will ever see... None of these are my idea, they tell me what to do. So there you go... but this one is genius.”
The Galactus Trilogy (1966)
The Moment: In Stan Lee’s early years at Marvel he worked with Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko on some of the most memorable characters and storylines the company would ever produce. The Fantastic Four ’s ‘Galactus Trilogy’ is still widely regarded as one of the best.
The story introduced the fan-favourite Silver Surfer and his unstoppable, insatiable master Galactus, who had marked the Earth out as lunch.
Why It’s Special: In three issues, Lee and Kirby spun an epic story that was so enthralling you’re likely to forget that the titular, planet-devouring being appears to be wearing a pink drinking beaker on his head.
Classic Lee Quote: “A demi-god should be beyond mere good and evil.”
Mallrats (1995)
The Moment: In Kevin Smith’s cult classic, a troubled Jason Lee has been driven to the edge by the loss of his girlfriend and an all-round terrible day. Who better to offer a pep talk that Stan Lee?
Why It’s Special: The younger Lee got to ask the comic legend all those questions you’ve always wondered about.
Classic Lee Quote: “I think you ought to get him some help. He seems to be really hung-up on superhero sex organs.”
Pacemaker (2012)
The Moment: When the then 89-year-old cancelled a string of appearances, fans feared the worst. But after announcing that he had been fitted with a pacemaker, Lee bounced back with typical aplomb.
Why It’s Special: No one could approach serious health issues with as much good humour as Stan Lee.
Classic Lee Quote: “Your leader hath not deserted thee! In an effort to be more like my fellow Avenger, Tony Stark, I have had an electronic pace-maker placed near my heart to insure that I’ll be able to lead thee for another 90 years.
Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962)
The Moment: It’s impossible to know whether Stan Lee and Steve Ditko knew they were making history with the final issue of Marvel Comics anthology series Amazing Fantasy . And so Spider-Man appeared for the first time, and the rest is history.
Why It’s Special: Comics might be overwhelmed with troubled teenage tearaways in 2013, but at the time Spider-Man was something new. Unlike the invincible aliens and secretive millionaires that came before him, Peter Parker was a man of the people, facing financial, romantic and school troubles as much as oddly dressed supervillains.
Classic Lee Quote: “With great power there must also come... great responsibility.”
Doctor Strange (1963)
The Moment: Hot on the heels of Spider-Man, Lee and Ditko introduced a hero of a very different kind. Drawing on an interest in the occult, they created Stephen Strange, the master of the mystic arts, with a hundred spells and alliterative incantations
Why It’s Special: Densely written and often more than a little corny, the original stories are still fantastically inventive, with some unforgettable visuals of strange and distant dimensions.
Classic Lee Quote: “Mine is the basic power of the imagination - the gossamer thread of which dreams are woven!”
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
The Moment: Tobey Maguire’s troubled Peter Parker receives a few words of wisdom from the man himself.
Why It’s Special: Stan Lee putting Spider-Man back on track with a few choice words? It’s so meta, our brains might explode.
Classic Lee Quote: “Y’know - I guess one person can make a difference. ‘Nuff said.”
Excelsior!
The Moment: At the height of his reign at Marvel Comics in the 1960s, Stan Lee became synonymous with his trademark signoff: ‘Excelsior!’
Why It’s Special: Shout this out among comic book geeks the world over and see if anyone doesn’t know what you mean.
You May Not Know: ‘Excelsior’ is a Latin word meaning ‘higher’ or ‘loftier’, and is often used to mean ‘ever upward’.
The Fantastic Four (1961)
The Moment: The Fantastic Four became Marvel Comics’ first superhero property shortly after the rebranding of its precursor Atlas Comics, introducing a new level of realism (relatively speaking) to the genre.
Why It’s Special: While not quite as relatable as their long-term pal Spider-Man, Fantastic Four was the first attempt to introduce real human emotion in superhero comics. And fans the world over were united by a desire to punch Johnny Storm in the face.
The early issues of Fantastic Four were a creative goldmine, introducing character every month that would endure for the next 50 years and more.
Classic Lee Quote: “We tried to make our characters as human and empathetic as possible. Instead of merely emphasising their super feats, we attempted to make their personal life and personal problems as realistic and as interesting as possible.”
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
The Moment: Stan Lee is ejected from the wedding of Mr Fantastic and the Invisible Woman.
Why It’s Special: Just try not to feel a bit outraged that the happy couple’s own creator wasn’t invited.
Classic Lee Quote: “I should be on that list.
The Avengers (1963)
The Moment: Following the long tradition of Justice League of America , Stan Lee and Jack Kirby formed a group from their various superhero creations including Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, Wasp and the Hulk.
Why It’s Special: Originally viewed as a takeoff of DC's team, The Avengers would grow become the quintessential superhero team book. Introducing Captain America to the Marvel Universe shortly after its inception, the title soon became one of the central pillar of the publisher’s share world.
Avengers #1 also saw the Hulk disguised as a elephant-juggling robot clown. Worth the price of admission alone, we think.
Classic Lee Quote: “We wanted something like the Justice League that DC had.”
Iron Man (2008)/Iron Man 2 (2010)
The Moment: Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark has a mental block when it comes to his creator, mistaking Stan Lee for both Hugh Hefner and Larry King.
Why It’s Special: The tradition for maltreating Marvel most prolific creator continues. The confusion of Lee for Playboy lothario Hefner is particularly unlikely and hilarious.
Classic Lee Quote: “I'm standing with my arms around three beautiful blond girls... We did a thousand takes. I kept making a mistake on purpose each time.”
Superhero body parts (2011)
The Moment: Stan Lee may have dodged the question in Mallrats , but 16 years later he finally opened up the Thing’s blue clad package.
Why It’s Special: Lee surprised everyone by suggesting that Benjamin Grim might not have the most interesting privates of the Fantastic Four.
Classic Lee Quote: “I always thought it was more interesting to think about Reed Richards. As you know, he had the ability to stretch, and sexually, that would seem to be a great asset in many areas.”
Thor (2009)
The Moment: Stan Lee gets involved in the local effort to shift Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, demolishing his truck in the process.
Why It’s Special: Lee’s absolute obliviousness to the carnage around him, as half his truck flips up in the air.
Classic Lee Quote: “Did it work?”
Silver Surfer: Parable (1988)
The Moment: Stan Lee united with French comics artist Jean Giraud - best-known as Moebius - on a story of fan favourite the Silver Surfer and his master, Galactus.
Why It’s Special: The legends of US and French comics came together on the Eisner Award-winning miniseries, combining Lee’s bombastic writing with Moebius’s beautifully detailed artwork for an unforgettable moment in Marvel Comics history.
Classic Lee Quote: “They were very easy to write... though ironically, they took about three times longer to write than normal - I was such a nervous wreck about doing justice to the work!”
X-Men (1963)
The Moment: Another classic creation from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the mutant superhero team was far from the most popular of Marvel’s titles but would go on to become its most successful franchise.
Why It’s Special: More than any other classic comics title, X-Men was an issues-based comic that represented anyone who had ever felt persecuted for being different from the majority.
Classic Lee Quote: "I wanted them to be diverse. The whole underlying principle of the X-Men was to try to be an anti-bigotry story to show there's good in every person."
The Inhumans (1965)
The Moment: A lesser known Stan Lee and Jack Kirby creation, the Inhumans debuted shortly before Galactus in Fantastic Four #45. The superpowered offshoot of mankind has played a small but significant part in many major storylines since.
Why It’s Special: The monarchical society is one of Lee and Kirby’s most interesting, high-concept creations, from fiery and forceful queen Medusa, sympathetic Crystal, silent king Blackbolt and... er... giant teleporting dog Lockjaw.
Classic Lee Quote: “One of the strangest groups of superpowered characters ever to grace a comics page.
The Night Before Christmas (2012)
The Moment: Stan Lee gets festive with a reading of the classic festive poem The Night Before Christmas .
Why It’s Special: We can’t quite say why Lee and the holidays seem to fit so well together. Perhaps it’s from many years of reading Christmas-themed Marvel Comics.
Classic Lee Quote: “Excelsior! True Believers! Happy holidays from Stan Lee.”
Black Widow (1964)
The Moment: Debuting as an Iron Man antagonist, Russian spy Natasha Romanova was soon deemed popular enough to defect and become a long-time member of the Avengers.
Why It’s Special: In a list dominated by male superheroes, Black Widow has always remained a smart, independent and capable woman and a great creation of Stan Lee’s.
You May Not Know: Like Stan Lee himself, Scarlett Johansson’s turn as Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers has inspired a cologne at JADS International.
The Incredible Hulk (1962)
The Moment: After Spider-Man, the Hulk must be Stan Lee’s best-known creation. The original series only ran for six issues, but Lee and Jack Kirby soon discovered a market for the Hulk, who has starred in an ongoing comic ever since.
Why It’s Special: Like his fellow green giant Godzilla, Bruce Banner’s irradiated counterpart was a fascinating response to Cold War paranoia and the fear of the Bomb. Decades later, he still embodies the secret, savage side that we try to hide from the world.
Classic Lee Quote: “The Hulk became the first popular superhero who was really a monster.”
Stan Lee on Kevin Smith (2012)
The Moment: Stan Lee expresses his disappointment that Kevin Smith hasn’t asked him back since his popular Mallrats appearance.
Why It’s Special: It seems that fans weren’t the only ones keen to see Lee return to the writer-director’s films.
Classic Lee Quote: “Even though I like Kevin Smith, I'm very disappointed that he hasn't asked me back to cameo for any films since Mallrats . To incur the wrath of Stan Lee is not something one wants to do. So watch out Mr Kevin Smith!"
Doctor Doom (1962)
The Moment: Victor Von Doom debuted in Fantastic Four #5 and was clearly one of Stan Lee’s favourites from the beginning. Whether lost in space ‘forever’ or shrunk into oblivion, it was never long before he was back for more.
Why It’s Special: Doom has it all - he’s a king, scientific genius and sorcerer with a scarred face and a habit of talking in the third person. He is the quintessential supervillain.
Classic Lee Quote: “I loved the fact that he was king of his own country, so if he went somewhere else he couldn’t be arrested if he committed a crime because he had diplomatic immunity.”
Daredevil (1964)
The Moment: Teaming with artist Bill Everett, Stan Lee created a character unlike any he had done before. Blind lawyer Matt Murdock and his radar-sensing alter ego Daredevil took a while to establish himself but became one of Marvel’s most unique heroes.
Why It’s Important: As capable and fearless as he is, it’s easy to forget that Daredevil is still one of the most high-profile characters with a disability in comics today.
Classic Lee Quote: “Everybody’s handicapped in some way.”
Big Bang Theory (2010)
The Moment: In the hit CBS comedy series’ episode ‘The Excelsior Acquisition’, stars Penny and Sheldon make an unwelcomed visit to Stan Lee’s home.
Why It’s Special: It’s great to see Lee playing against type as a gruff and private man who calls the police on the trespassers.
Classic Lee Quote: “You fanboys are unbelievable. Do you think you can just ring my doorbell anytime you want?”
Just Imagine Stan Lees DC Comics (2001)
The Moment: After years as the co-creator behind Marvel’s greatest creations, Stan Lee finally got to offer his own take on rival publisher DC Comics’ legendary heroes.
Why It’s Special: Lee brought his love of alliteration to a masked wrestler Batman Wayne Williams, activist Wonder Woman Maria Mendoza and female, humming-bird powered Flash Mary Maxwell.
It also boasted some top artistic talent, teaming Lee with Dave Gibbons, John Cassaday, John Byrne and Chris Bachalo.
Classic Lee Quote: “And I said, ‘Hell, of course it would be interesting to do, but I have as much chance of doing those characters as a snowball in hell.’"
How it Should Have Ended - Stans Rants (2013)
The Moment: Stan Lee teamed with the popular online video series to offer his own take on A New Hope , Inception , Batman and George Lucas’s Star Wars prequels.
Why It’s Special: This team-up promises some good laughs and doesn’t disappoint. Lee manages to casually demolish some classic cinematic moments in this video, not to mention Batman’s entire history.
Classic Lee Quote: “Now that I’ve done so many unforgettable cameos, I have become an expert at all kinds of movies."
Journey into Mystery #83 (1962)
The Moment: The long-running anthology comic was given a shakeup when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced Thor, the Norse god of thunder, to its pages, equipped with an overblown, Shakespearean-influenced ‘ye olde’ accent.
Why It’s Special: Lee, Kirby and Larry Lieber created a dynamic fusion that was part Norse mythology, part original creation to bring a sense of ancient legend and adventure to the modern world.
Classic Lee Quote: “I dreamed up Thor years ago because I wanted to create the biggest, most powerful superhero of all and I figured who can be bigger than a god?”
Tales of Suspense #39
The Moment: In a crowded collaboration between Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Larry Lieber and Don Heck, playboy industrialist Tony Stark and his armoured superhero persona Iron Man were born.
Why It’s Special: Against all odds, Lee created a smug, rich, arrogant braggart and then forced us to be utterly charmed by him (apart from in the Civil War event) for the next 50 years.
Classic Lee Quote: “I thought it would be fun to take the kind of character that nobody would like, none of our readers would like, and shove him down their throats and make them like him... And he became very popular.”
Nuff said
The Moment: Another classic Stan Lee catch phrase from ‘Stan Lee’s Soapbox’.
Why It’s Special: It’s the ‘QED’ of Marvel Comics.
You May Not Know: ‘Nuff Said was also the name of a series of worldess Marvel Comics issues released in February 2002.
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