Rest in power, Stan Lee, the man who spun whole multiverses and a comic book (and now cinematic) empire from his fingertips. May his legacy live forevermore in the pages of his globally beloved stories, timeless characters and hilarious cameos in films.
His passing on Monday undoubtedly shook the world, with thousands of tributes continuing to pour in through words, pictures, videos, and art. Even his age-old rivals at DC Comics — who Lee used to refer to as the “Distinguished Competition” in Marvel Bullpen Bulletins — laid down their arms to commemorate the man.
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
The same goes for his fans right here — a portion of which are planning to pay homage to the pop culture icon next month, during Anime Festival Asia at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Center.
Local cosplay collective SG Cosplay Alliance are inviting all to participate in an unofficial memorial by dressing up as various Marvel Comics characters and assemble together during the festival. The date to hold the event is unconfirmed for now, but as of writing, over 130 people on Facebook have indicated their interest to attend.
Stan “The Man” Lee
Born Stanley Martin Lieber in 1922, he held ambitions to be a writer from a young age and in 1939, joined Timely Comics, which would later evolve into Marvel Comics. During World War II, he served as a “playwright” in the United States military and continued his career in comics after he left. In response to DC Comics own superhero team-up Justice League of America, Lee went against the grain of typical superhero archetypes (they were perfect, God-like even) and gave his creations flawed, complex personalities and relatable problems.
Together with iconic comics artist Jack Kirby, he created the likes of the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, and the X-Men. Doctor Strange and Spider-Man were products of Lee’s collaboration with artist Steve Ditko.
Like his characters, Lee too was a flawed man. Though he would be largely credited as the genius behind the comics, it was collaborators such as Ditko and Kirby who did the bulk of the work. Lee would simply hand them a brief synopsis of the story, and the artists would be the ones in charge of filling in other elements on top of illustrating the comic. Lee’s process would be known as The Marvel Method.
He famously used his platform to rally against racism and often spoke about the importance of inclusion during his time as the editor-in-chief and figurehead of Marvel Comics, making appearances at comic book conventions across the country. Even after he stepped down from the role, Lee continued to be the face of Marvel and made numerous cameo appearances in movies, TV shows, and comics.
It’ll be sad to know that one day there’ll be a Marvel Cinematic Universe film without Lee’s appearance, but the empire’s head honcho Kevin Feige assured that the late great wrapped four more cameos for upcoming projects, including the next Infinity War flick next year.
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