Why was Stan Lee Known as ‘The Marvel Legend’?
‘Keep Moving Forward, and If It’s Time To Go, It’s Time. Nothing Lasts forever‘ – Stan Lee
The man behind the creation of Spider-man, Avengers, X-Men, etc. passed away on 12 November, 2018, leaving his entire fan-clan and film fraternities in a state of mourning. Would the Thor, the Iron Man or the Incredible Hulk – be able to survive without him? Will there be an emergence of a new superhero again? It is more like an end of an era, and his death has sure left a void in the hearts of many.
Born in Manhattan, New York, on December 28, 1922, even as a kid Stan Lee had a keen interest in books and movies that had heroic characters, especially the roles that were played by Errol Flynn. In his youth, he had dreams of writing the ‘Great American Novel’ one day. How many would be able to believe that the comedy writer even worked on jobs where he put words into obituaries or news services. It was after he graduated from high school, that in 1939 he joined WPA Federal Theater Project. The same year, Stan Lee became an assistant at ‘Timely Comics’ – whose publisher was Martin Goodman.
There the young Stanley Lieber made his comic-book debut with the text filler in the third segment of Captain America Comics naming – ‘Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge’. He later went to co-create his first superhero the Destroyer, in Mystic Comics #6, released in August 1941. He moved from Mystic Comics, to Training Film division to Atlas Comics, and continued his artistic works.
In the 1950s, Martin Goodman assigned Lee to come up with a new superhero team. By then, he was married to wife Joan, who suggested that he experiments with the characters as he himself was frustrated with the stereotypes formed of the superheroes. He acted on it and gave the characters a flawed humanity. They were no more – Idealistically Perfect. He brought the comics out of childhood, and expanded the visionary for the adults. The first group he brought together – the Fantastic Four. And the immediate attention Lee and Marvel’s illustrators gained, was enough for them to bring out a whole league of new titles which included: the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, X-Men, Black Widow, Doctor Strange etc. Not to miss out the most famous of them all – ‘Spider-Man’.
These Marvel comics engaged readers of all ages. The kids and teenagers were not the only ones who fondled on the comics. Stan Lee even made appearances in several Comic-Con International events. He was more of a super-hero himself, as he indulged in great deal of charity work as well. The Stan Lee Foundation aimed to focus on literacy, education, and the arts. He gave away his earnings as donations at the University of Wyoming as well. Although, not much can be said about his elderly years. In April 2018, The Hollywood Reporter published a report that claimed Lee was a victim of elder abuse. He was even battling pneumonia and took his last breath at the age of 95, due to the same.
“I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing.” – Stan Lee, The Washington Post
Find 3 tables below which highlight the works of Stan Lee:
| S.N. | Stan Lee’s 15 Most Iconic Superhero Creations |
| 1 | Spider-Man |
| 2 | X-Men |
| 3 | Iron Man |
| 4 | Thor |
| 5 | The Hulk |
| 6 | Black Widow |
| 7 | Ant-man |
| 8 | Doctor Strange |
| 9 | Hawkeye |
| 10 | Black Panther |
| 11 | Nick Fury |
| 12 | Inhumans |
| 13 | Scarlet Witch |
| 14 | Daredevil |
| 15 | Fantastic Four |
| S.N. | The Best Comic Book Characters Created by Stan Lee | ||
| 1 | Spider-Man | 64 | Whiplash |
| 2 | Iron Man | 65 | Chameleon |
| 3 | The Avengers | 66 | Tigra |
| 4 | Hulk | 67 | MODOK |
| 5 | Magneto | 68 | Sharon Carter |
| 6 | Thor | 69 | Uatu |
| 7 | Professor X | 70 | Fin Fang Foom |
| 8 | Doctor Strange | 71 | Toad |
| 9 | Daredevil | 72 | Betty Ross Banner |
| 10 | Black Panther | 73 | Flash Thompson |
| 11 | Loki | 74 | Ego the Living Planet |
| 12 | Doctor Doom | 75 | Absorbing Man |
| 13 | Silver Surfer | 76 | Baron Strucker |
| 14 | Jean Grey | 77 | Annihilus |
| 15 | Black Widow | 78 | Thunderbolt Ross |
| 16 | Beast | 79 | Stripperella |
| 17 | Juggernaut | 80 | Foggy Nelson |
| 18 | Iceman | 81 | Franklin Richards |
| 19 | Cyclops | 82 | Purple Man |
| 20 | Scarlet Witch | 83 | Tinkerer |
| 21 | Galactus | 84 | Baron Mordo |
| 22 | Human Torch | 85 | Wrecker |
| 23 | Nick Fury | 86 | Mimic |
| 24 | Hawkeye | 87 | Joseph “Robbie” Robertson |
| 25 | Thing | 88 | Volstagg |
| 26 | Green Goblin | 89 | Molecule Man |
| 27 | Quicksilver | 90 | Crimson Dynamo |
| 28 | Dr. Otto Octavius | 91 | Mac Gargan |
| 29 | Henry Pym | 92 | Beetle |
| 30 | Angel | 93 | Klaw |
| 31 | Kingpin | 94 | Batroc the Leaper |
| 32 | Sentinel | 95 | Karen Page |
| 33 | Mary Jane Watson | 96 | Jackal |
| 34 | Odin | 97 | Happy Hogan |
| 35 | Falcon | 98 | Surtur |
| 36 | Gwen Stacy | 99 | Mole Man |
| 37 | J. Jonah Jameson | 100 | Prowler |
| 38 | Invisible Woman | 101 | Cobra |
| 39 | Black Bolt | 102 | Gorgon |
| 40 | She-Hulk | 103 | Bolivar Trask |
| 41 | Sandman | 104 | Swordsman |
| 42 | Wasp | 105 | Mister Hyde |
| 43 | Rhino | 106 | Whirlwind |
| 44 | Sif | 107 | Silvermane |
| 45 | Mister Fantastic | 108 | Boomerang |
| 46 | Mysterio | 109 | Dragon Man |
| 47 | Ronan the Accuser | 110 | Super-Adaptoid |
| 48 | Harry Osborn | 111 | Owl |
| 49 | Abomination | 112 | Grizzly |
| 50 | Adam Warlock | 113 | George Stacy |
| 51 | Pepper Potts | 114 | Tyrannus |
| 52 | Peggy Carter | 115 | Betty Brant |
| 53 | Electro | 116 | John Jameson |
| 54 | Ben Parker | 117 | Molten Man |
| 55 | Dormammu | 118 | Psycho-Man |
| 56 | Hercules | 119 | Hate-Monger |
| 57 | Super-Skrull | 120 | Unus the Untouchable |
| 58 | Baron Zemo | 121 | Spencer Smythe |
| 59 | Wonder Man | 122 | H.e.r.b.i.e. |
| 60 | Dum Dum Dugan | 123 | Liz Allen |
| 61 | Blob | 124 | Princess Python |
| 62 | Vulture | 125 | Mendel Stromm |
| 63 | Shocker | ||
The Comic Works of Stan Lee:
| 1 | DC Comics | ||
| Superman | |||
| Detective Comics | |||
| Just Imagine | |||
| Aquaman | |||
| Batman | |||
| Catwoman | |||
| Crisis | |||
| Flash | |||
| Green Lantern | |||
| JLA | |||
| Robin | |||
| Sandman | |||
| Secret Files and Origins | |||
| Shazam! | |||
| Superman | |||
| Wonder Woman | |||
| 2 | Marvel Comics | ||
| The Amazing Spider-Man | |||
| The Amazing Spider-Man | |||
| The Avengers | |||
| Captain America | |||
| Daredevil | |||
| Epic Illustrated | |||
| Fantastic Four | |||
| The Incredible Hulk | |||
| The Incredible Hulk, vol. 2 | |||
| Journey into Mystery (Thor) plotter | |||
| The Mighty Thor | |||
| Kissnation | |||
| Nightcat | |||
| Ravage | |||
| Savage She-Hulk | |||
| Savage Tales | |||
| Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos | |||
| Silver Surfer | |||
| Silver Surfer, vol. 2 | |||
| Silver Surfer: Judgment Day | |||
| Silver Surfer: Parable | |||
| Silver Surfer: The Enslavers | |||
| Solarman | |||
| The Spectacular Spider-Man (magazine) | |||
| The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual | |||
| Strange Tales (diverse stories); (Human Torch); (Doctor Strange); Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. | |||
| Tales to Astonish (diverse stories); Ant-Man/Giant Man; The Hulk; Sub-Mariner | |||
| Tales of Suspense (diverse stories); (Iron Man); (Captain America) | |||
| Web of Spider-Man | |||
| What If (Fantastic Four) | |||
| The X-Men | |||
| 3 | Simon & Schuster | ||
| The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience | |||
| 4 | Other | ||
| Heroman | |||
| How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way | |||
| Karakuri Dôji Ultimo |