The best superhero movie of all time? Easy. That’s the 2002 Spiderman with Tobey Maguire in the title role. The best line? That came from Aunt May, who cautioned her nephew about pushing himself too hard: “You’re not Superman, you know.”
Big laughs from the audience. But I didn’t laugh. To me, that line summarized what made the classic Marvel brand of the 60’s and 70’s better than all the other comics. No, Spiderman was not Superman — he was way cooler. Superman and Batman bored me. Too goody-goody. Too full of their supposed goodness. The bad guys they fought were just — bad. Bad for the hell of it.
Marvel, on the other hand, offered flawed heroes, men and women racked with self-doubt who often got mad at each other. Sometimes the good guys fought with other good guys. Reading Marvel comics as a kid and teen, I thought, wow, these superheroes are like my family. They have faults. They bicker.
And Marvel’s bad guys were more realistic, too, with understandable motivations for their actions, just like other famous bad guys, such as Shylock and Macbeth. In fact, young Stanley Martin Lieber changed his pen name to “Stan Lee” because he had dreams of becoming a famous novelist, and didn’t want potential publishers to associate him with comic books, which many regarded as pedestrian trash.
Guess he showed them, huh?
So it is with great sorrow we say goodbye to Stan Lee, the man who made it all happen. Stan Lee has passed away at the tender age of 95. Thanks for the memories — and the inspiration.
photo by Alan Light
😢 Rest in peace, Mr. Lee. You were and remain an inspiration to us all.
Caroline,
Amen to that.
Beautifully written Mike and I loved the way you brought it in
as comaprison to a normal family. I also like your ending …’ at the tender age of 95…..
Miriam
Miriam,
Thank you. I owe a lot to Stan.
By bringing complexity and nuance to comic books, Stan Lee made them deeper, more relatable, more exciting, and more entertaining. Thank you for all your contributions, Mr. Lee! Excelsior!
Robert,
He certainly did.
An absolute legend. I just finished writing my blog post in honor of him. Thank you for sharing. I too am thankful for his creativity and work. 🙂 – Letstalkaboutpersonaldevelopment.blog
Nathan,
I’m sure there are many who found deep inspiration from him.
Absolutely, he was a visionary. His characters inspired the ‘Little Guy.’
So it wasn’t just me who prefered the Toby Maguire Spiderman?
Thinking Moon,
Oh. no. Still the best.
Excellent. However yes Stan Lee even for someone who wasn’t into comic books, his participation in the Marvel movies even at his age was inspiring.
An amazing guy. One of a kind.
Yeah, Another Blogger,
No doubt about that.
Ten years ago I sold comics at conventions, and Stan Lee was at one of them. Wizard World Chicago I think. I only had a short break and the line to see him was hours long, so I walked around the edge of the signing area and managed to catch a glimpse of his profile almost completely hidden behind big screens emblazoned with the Marvel logo. That was the closest I ever came to meeting him.
Timothy,
I’ll bet it was hard to get close. Stan was in his heyday then.
RIP Real Hero! Legends Never Die!
LOVstay,
Stan Lee will not be forgotten!
he was not a superhero, he created Super heroes.
He was the God of superheroes.
Rest In Peace, Excelsior!!!!