Members of Team Newplex share some thoughts of Stan Lee, a true legend to whom we will forever be grateful
Stan Lee’s legacy is creating superheroes and stories that will last forever. That’s just a fact. Homer’s Odyssey, Spider-Man’s origin – human stories that will last as long as our species. But Stan Lee’s true gift to the world was not in the fictional superheroes he wrote, but the heroes he inspires in all of us.
For so many, Captain America’s shield isn’t just a logo on a t-shirt, or ‘mutant and proud’ isn’t just a catchphrase devoid of any possible real-life meaning.
Be it Iron Man’s ingenuity, Spider-Man’s heart, Captain America’s courage, the X-Men’s drive to do good even as they are marginalised and despised. All of us can relate to a time when we worked a little bit harder, showed a little more compassion, or refused to give in because we knew our favourite superhero wouldn’t.
For that and everything else, thank you, Stan.
He was Marvel
Stan Lee didn’t just make Marvel, he was Marvel. You get companies and organisations where you don’t know who runs it, or you don’t see their face, or they simply trot along to make a quick appearance.
Stan was passionate about all Marvel media, including the movies he committed himself in, never losing touch with his creations. Whether it was playing a postman, a pedestrian, a scientist, a janitor, a dirty old man, a DJ at a strip club, or indeed one of the Watchers, Stan Lee lived and breathed the company he helped create.
That kind of loyalty and passion is one of a kind. Just like the man himself.
A visionary
I sit at my desk in utter shock and sadness. I have loved the work of Stan Lee since I was five years old. I was living in Holdrege, Nebraska when I read my first comic book. It was a Spider-Man book and since that day, I have loved everything Marvel. The X-Men, The Avengers, Fantastic Four, Moon Knight, Daredevil, and so many more.
Marvel has always been my favorite of the big two. I have always loved the flaws of the characters in the Marvel Universe. Spider-Man, the nerd that could never catch a break. The X-Men, hated and feared by a world they have sworn to protect. Ben Grimm, I loved him because he had my name, and was a rock monster with a heart of gold. I loved it all.
I have owned thousands of comics, watched countless hours of cartoons, and I’ve seen all the movies – even Spider-Man 3. Stan Lee was a genius, a visionary that gave the entire world icons that will live on to entertain my great, great, great grandchildren.
Thank you Stan. Thank you for giving me so much joy, so much love, and so many memories. Rest In Power, Sir… EXCELSIOR!
The face of comics
When I think of comics, an image of Stan Lee pops into my mind. The same also goes for the millions of people that don’t know much about comics – and it always will.
The great Stan Lee has transformed the landscape of media with the creation of Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Magneto, Iron Man and a myriad more classics. Stan Lee is the reason why we can get five super hero films in one year. Every nerd knows his inspiring story as to how he had to sell the movie rights to many of his characters to keep his dream of comic book writing afloat.
My first memory of Stan Lee was when my dad took me to see Fantastic Four and Stan Lee cameos as a the post man, my dad snickered and I didn’t understand why. “That’s Stan Lee” he said, “yer?” I replied. “He pretty much created Marvel”. From then on, a Stan Lee cameo was huge to me. Excelsior.