The Creator of Superheroes
Stan Lee, the legendary writer, editor, and publisher of Marvel Comics, died on November 12,
2018, at the age of 95. During his career, he created many superheroes that brought excitement
to people around the world, such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men,
and the Fantastic Four. Many of Lee’s superheroes first appeared in the early 1960s, and some of
them were gathered together by Lee and artist Jack Kirby into the team called The Avengers.
Even after half a century has passed, it is not uncommon to hear people talk about Lee’s
superheroes, especially about their astonishing stories. For example, the Incredible Hulk was not
actually green at first. Instead, Lee had chosen gray because he had wanted a color that did not
suggest any specific group of people. However, problems with the coloring made the Hulk show
up in different shades of gray. In the end, Lee went with green because it was easier to keep the
same during printing. Spider-Man also had an interesting story. One day in 1962, while Lee was
thinking about a new superhero at Marvel Comics’ office, a fly flew in and landed on a wall. He was
watching it crawling around when the idea for a hero who could climb walls hit him. Then, he
thought of names like Fly-Man, Insect-Man, Stick-to-Wall Man, and Mosquito-Man before he came
up with Spider-Man.
If you think Lee only created superheroes, you are totally wrong. He surprised the world with
his many acting cameos in Marvel movies, television shows, and video games. For instance, in
Avengers: Infinity War, he appeared as Peter Parker’s school bus driver. In fact, Lee made a total of
57 cameos in the Marvel universe. The next time you watch a Marvel superhero movie, see if you
can spot the legend that was Stan Lee.
(Adopted from KNSH)