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:

The Comic Works of Stan Lee: