RIP: Stan Lee – Comic Book Legend and Marvel Superhero

Stan Lee, 95, passed away November 12, 2018.
Image: https://en.wikipedia.org
Stan Lee, 95, passed away November 12, 2018 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after being taken there due to a medical emergency. Stan Lee is best remembered as a comic book writer, editor, and publisher, taking Marvel Comics from obscurity to the major powerhouse it is today. He co-created beloved characters, such as, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Black Panther, the X-Men, Ant-Man, Iron Man, and Thor. For many, he has been the embodiment of Marvel Comics.
Lee was born Stanley Lieber in New York City in 1922. Lee got his first step into comics with Timely Comics, which would eventually become Marvel Comics, as errand boy, filling ink wells, getting lunches, and erasing penciling lines on the comics. He got his first chance to write working on a filler comic of Captain America, “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge” for Captain America Comics #3 for the first time using the name Stan Lee. He quickly graduated from fillers to comics and then to creating his first super-hero, the Destroyer. When Jack Kirby and Joe Simon left Timely, he took over as interim editor, which then lead to his place as editor-in-chief until 1972, when he took over as publisher.
In 1942, Lee enlisted in the United States Army, joining the Army Signal Corps where he repaired telephone poles and communication equipment until he transferred to the Training Film Division where he worked on writing manuals, training films, slogans, and occasionally cartooning. He held the military classification of “playwright” one of only nine men in the U. S. Army given that designation.
Thank you to all of America’s veterans for your service. Fun fact: Stan’s official US Army title during WW2 was ‘Playwright.’ #VeteransDay pic.twitter.com/limi6CWzsL
— stan lee (@TheRealStanLee) November 11, 2018
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Returning from his service, he took back control of what was now known as Atlas Comics. Dissatisfied with the way comic books were going, he was considering leaving the field. On advice from his wife, who suggested he write what he wanted since he was planning on leaving anyways, he took a new slant on the super-hero archetype and made them a little more human. Flawed and complex, he took them from the realm of the gods and brought them down to earth as mortal men with amazing gifts and amazing flaws and the same worries and foibles as the rest of us; and with that, he created to wonderful characters that made Marvel what it was. His creations working with a group of amazing artists such as Jack Kirby brought us the Fantastic Four and their complex interpersonal relations and relationships, the foul tempered Hulk and his mild mannered alter-ego Banner, the alien Norse god Thor, the egotistical Iron Man, and the cavalcade of complexities that were the X-Men. He and Bill Everett created the unlikely hero of Hell’s Kitchen with all the problems of the inner city, Daredevil. With Steve Ditko, he created another egotist, but one far more unique and complex, Doctor Strange, and with Ditko, his most popular and endearing superhero: Spiderman. His work with John Romita Sr. changed not just the type of stories, but the colors of the faces in the stories with the introduction of the Inhumans and Black Panther. So many of these characters have inspired so many that we will never know.
Lee didn’t stop with just the comic book page, but so many of his works have come to the screen, starting in the Saturday morning cartoons to live action versions of Spiderman and The Hulk to films with Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. and now to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that we all know and love.
We all have our stories of the first time we realized who the man behind the images was, and the first of those images that grabbed our imagination. As a little girl, I watched in awe as the mild mannered Bill Bixby turned into the huge green Lue Ferrigno and got lost in the pages of the first couple issues of New Mutants (before my mom found them and threw them out!). Again in my late teens, I found him again in the pages of X-Men and got lost month after month in X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, braving the male dominated comic book stores to get my comic fix. My life, for one, would be a little less if it were not for his vision.
Lee, though larger-than-life, touched people in individual ways, as you can read in Gail Simone’s thread starting here:
I am not going to be able to speak about this this morning, I can see that.
But under the persona, Stan Lee was a real human being. I met him three times and three times he told me something literally life-changing.
I hope everyone knows, he cared about us. That was no act.
— GAIL SIMONE (@GailSimone) November 12, 2018
“No one has had more of an impact on my career and everything we do at Marvel Studios than Stan Lee. Stan leaves an extraordinary legacy that will outlive us all. Our thoughts are with his daughter, his family, and his millions of fans. #ThankYouStan #Excelsior!”
–@Kevfeige pic.twitter.com/s4Kmt6Rn5J— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) November 12, 2018
Marina Sirtis retweeted
this is such sad news. 😢 this photo brings a tear to my eye but it’s so special. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Vwovp414mA
— Louise 💛 (@louise_voyager) November 12, 2018
DC Comics
He changed the way we look at heroes, and modern comics will always bear his indelible mark. His infectious enthusiasm reminded us why we all fell in love with these stories in the first place. Excelsior, Stan.
— DC (@DCComics) November 12, 2018
NASA
We’re saddened by the loss of @TheRealStanLee, a visionary who created a universe of superheroes and comics. In his honor, here’s a deep-field look into the universe from our @NASAHubble Space Telescope. #Excelsior pic.twitter.com/9UHjyXwIkh
— NASA (@NASA) November 12, 2018
Russo Brothers
Thank you for filling our childhoods with such joy. You will be dearly, dearly missed… pic.twitter.com/Qt2sZqaNlc
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) November 12, 2018
Jeremy Kirby
Stan Lee was an icon and for many people, the face of comic books. His passing brings great sadness, but I take solace in knowing that what my grandfather, Stan and so many others like them gave us, will continue to inspire both young and old across the globe! RIP Stan. pic.twitter.com/b41IRBU3lY
— Jeremy Kirby (@jackkirbycomics) November 12, 2018
“You know, my motto is ‘Excelsior.’ That’s an old word that means ‘upward and onward to greater glory.’ It’s on the seal of the state of New York. Keep moving forward, and if it’s time to go, it’s time. Nothing lasts forever.” – Stan Lee #RIPStanLee #ThankYouStan #Excelsior pic.twitter.com/ciCOVkCPfG
— William Skyles (@WSkyles) November 12, 2018
Our hearts go out to his family and friends. Excelsior, Mr. Lee.