Stan Lee

commons.wikimedia.orgAbijithka [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]“With great power comes great responsibility” (Stan Lee). This quote gave millions the understanding that power and opportunity that you receive has to be supported by the power of responsibility. Stan Lee is an American writer, editor, publisher, voice actor, cartoonist, and director. He is most famous for publishing comics and character design for Marvel Comics. Unfortunately, Stan Lee recently died on November 12, 2018. His recent estate was in Hollywood, California. The most important people Lee admired were his wife Joan, his good friend Bob Kane, and the fiction character Lee created, the Amazing Spider Man. A person must possess certain characteristics to be able to be considered a hero. Stan Lee is considered a hero because he was caring, hardworking, and his determination pushed him to be the best he could be.

Stan Lee grew a worldwide empire from one idea. At seventeen, Stanley Lieber got his first job at Timely Comics as an assistant editor. For the first year, he didn't do anything but make coffee for cartoonists, editors, writers, and the boss. But, in the year of 1942, “When editors at Timely became aware of Lee's linguistic abilities, he was promoted to proofreader and then given the chance to make writing contributions to the firm's hit new superhero comic, Captain America, created by editor Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby” ("Stan Lee." Encyclopedia 3).This experience provided him a building block to the stairs of his success. This was his first opportunity to show off what he could do. Throughout his career, he got several challenges and opportunities that advanced his creations and his skill level. “After leaving the military in 1945, Lee returned to his editor's post and soon faced a series of changes in the comics world: superhero comics fell out of fashion, replaced temporarily by western-themed and romance comics, and in the 1950s the industry-created Comics Code, adopted in response to political pressure, restricted violence and other controversial elements in comics storylines” ("Stan Lee." Encyclopedia 4). Mostly men worked in the '40s and '50s. So when the war came along, it led to a drought of creativity in the comic business. After the war was over, it took several years for the spark of hope to ignite. This was a huge challenge for Stan Lee and his crew to overcome. Stan Lee is considered a hero because he is hardworking and determined, as shown in these quotes.

commons.wikimedia.orgSwordInTheBush [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]In his creations, he relates how superhumans can have mortal problems too. Before Stan Lee died, he developed many characters in his comics that have many human complications, such as Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk, and even Captain America. They were also based on political situations. “These stories were swashbuckling adventures with a human bent. The characters weren't all powerful; they felt pain, anguish, regret; they won, but also lost. And many of them were informed by the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s” (Ciampaglia 1).This quote shows the types of themes and characteristics he used for his characters. By doing this, people around the world started to relate to his comics and movies. No one realizes his little idea made a huge impact. “When news of Lee’s death spread across the Internet, it invariably drew remembrances from legions of comic book readers and celebrity fans. Most said the world had lost a titanic creator, which was true. But some, like Seth Rogen, went deeper. ‘Thank you Stan Lee for making people who feel different realize they are special’” (Ciampaglia 12).The quote stated showed how much people were touched by this idea. It is amazing to see people who think they are abnormal and different realize that they are special just because of him. Lee is a hero because his determination helped him throughout the hard moments in his life.

commons.wikimedia.orgGage Skidmore [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]Stan Lee is considered a hero because he’s patient, hardworking, and his determination pushed him to be the best he could be. Lee created a huge empire from a small idea. He used his determination to keep his idea alive and he worked hard to make the Marvel Universe happen. One feature of developing this world-wide company was by using relatable issues and situations that mortals have for his creations. Stan Lee is an inspirational person. He had a dream and he fulfilled it. He started his career at a young age, which led to an amazingly big, multi-million dollar company. Marvel is still growing to this day. Stan Lee was a kind and caring man and he loved everyone’s support for his creations in the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, Lee died at the age of 95 on November 12th of last year. After he passed away, everyone that was part of the Marvel community was heartbroken. But this incident didn't stop everyone’s love for Marvel and the characters created by him. It brought everyone together to continue his legacy. Stan Lee is truly a hero.

Works Consulted

Ciampaglia, Dante A. “How Stan Lee's X-Men Were Inspired by Real-Life Civil Rights Heroes.”

History.com, A&E Television Networks, 11 Mar. 2019,

www.history.com/news/stan-lee-x-men-civil-rights-inspiration.

"Stan Lee." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 30, Gale, 2010. Biography In Context,            

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1631009446/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=e5a2f0a2.Accessed 1 May 2019.