Stan Lee leaves behind Marvelous legacy

There have been many influential figures in the world of entertainment -- people who have created the cultural milestones that have shaped entire generations. However, none quite compare to Stan Lee, the co-creator of such beloved superheroes as Spider-Man, Captain America and Thor, who died Nov. 12 at 95. As the man who captured the imagination of countless individuals, Lee’s works will live on far into the future, and the foundation he provided for the future of comics is as unshakable as his legacy itself.

Born to Romanian-Jewish immigrants on Dec. 28, 1922 in New York City, the man who would one day reign as the face of Marvel Comics began his life as Stanley Martin Lieber and spent his childhood living in Manhattan. After graduating high school in 1939, Lee began working as an assistant for the newly established Timely Comics, which wouldn’t become Marvel Comics until the 1960s. While this job consisted of little more than fetching ink for writers, Lee’s slow rise to fame would begin in 1941, when he published the text story “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge,” which ran in "Captain America Comics" No. 3. This was the first time he used the name Stan Lee, which he would eventually make his legal name years later.

“I was a little embarrassed to be doing the work I did, and I figured someday I'll write the Great American Novel and I don't want to ruin my possibilities by having my name disliked this way. And I became Stan Lee,” Lee wrote in his memoir.

While he may have never published the next Great American Novel, Lee’s greatness had only begun to blossom. Lee served in World War Two before returning to America, where he wrote a wide variety of stories without much focus on the superhero genre. Furthermore, his comic book stories thus far had been entirely focused on action and grandeur, with little else defining them. In fact, by the 1950s, Lee had grown disillusioned with his work and was strongly considering quitting his job as a writer.

However, this would all change in the late '50s, thanks in part to rival DC Comics, which began a revival of the superhero genre with their creation of the Justice League. Alongside his wife’s suggestion that he experiment with stories he actually wanted to write, Lee and Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four, followed by Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and the X-Men. Their creative renaissance lasted decades, and a closer look at Lee’s creations reveals why he found so much success.

Prior to Lee’s meteoric rise to popularity, the superhero genre was saturated with unrealistic, god-like protagonists. Heroes such as Superman were portrayed as one-dimensional, with perfect lives and no real problems outside of fighting supervillains. Lee’s creations were far more complex. He gave his heroes painful backstories, personality flaws and trivial problems, making his characters not only human, but relatable as well. Spider-Man epitomized the human aspect behind Lee’s superheroes: a scrawny nerd from New York who must deal with new superpowers along with crushes, homework and fitting in. This novel concept was ultimately what led to Lee’s success and his popularity among readers young and old, and his devotion to characterization can still be seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe of today.

MCU's concept for interconnected stories had its roots with Lee's original comics, as well. Instead of writing disjointed and separate stories, Lee envisioned all of his stories being part a singular universe of intrigue and danger. The resulting mythos was well-defined and expansive, allowing readers to become immersed in stories that were greater than the sum of their parts. Lee gave people a world they could inhabit along with their favorite heroes, and by the 1960s, the newly establishedMarvel Comics was well on its way to the forefront of the comic book industry.

However, eclipsing even his creations was Lee’s positivity and dedication to fairness. Many of his projects revolved around combatting discrimination, including his famous column, fittingly titled “Stan’s Soapbox”where he frequently spoke out against bigotry and racism, or "The Amazing Spider-Man" Nos. 96 to 98, where one of Peter Parker’s friends becomes addicted to prescription drugs. Just as his superheroes were complex characters, Lee’s recognized that real-world problems were just as nuanced, but he did his best to use his position to incite positive change in the social fabric of the late 20th century.

While Lee’s story has far more depth than the amount presented here, considering his passing, it is fitting to look at the big picture. The work he did captured the imagination of both children and adults across the world, and for this, he will never be forgotten.

When asked if he feels his creations around him, Lee had this to say: “I love those characters I've done. But I've moved on to other things. I love talking about them, I love people being interested in them. And I'm interested in them too. But as I say, they're things that I had written. I'm glad they turned out to be successful. But today is another day.”

No doubt, Lee has left his superheroes behind to continue to guide, shape and protect the world.