Today we all have had to face the unfortunate event, which was the death of Stan Lee. We knew this day was coming sooner or later, but we sure weren’t ready to face it. A world without Stan Lee is not a world we’d certainly wanna be in. Stan’s the man who has made the entire world believe in & fall in love with Superheroes.
He started his career in comic books in 1940, and then 20 years later, in 1960, he along with Jack Kirby established Marvel Comics. That is where the fun ride began!
Lee died on Monday, November 12 as he was battling with illness. According to a report by TMZ, Lee was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the early hours of Monday morning, and that is where he later died.
We loved Stan Lee for what he did throughout his life, but apart from being the co-creator of Marvel comics and making cameos in Marvel movies, Stan Lee actually has another peculiar aspect which is pretty popular amongst the fan base, and that is his catchphrase, “Excelsior!”
Lee was pretty dominant on becoming a pop culture icon as he understood the need of people very well and as a writer, producer, actor he did become one. He was playing in his own league and among all that he did, people actually knew him as the one who shouted “Excelsior!” to crowds at conventions or on TV and radio appearances.
This little word actually has a very special meaning for Uncle Stan as he did reveal the true meaning of it to the reporters of io9 in 2007. Here’s what he said:
“I used to have a lot of expressions that I would end my comic book columns with: ‘Hang Loose,’ ‘Face Front,’ ‘Nuff Said,’ and I found that the competition was always imitating them and using them. So, I said I’m going to get one expression that they’re not going to know what it means, and they won’t know how to spell it. And that’s where excelsior came from, and they never did take up on it, thank goodness.”
So that’s where it came from. Stan Lee may be gone, but we know it for a fact that we will get some more cameos from Stan Lee. He will have at least 3 more of those. Joe Russo already confirmed that Lee has shot his cameo for Avengers 4:
“He’s the godfather of a lot of these stories, him and Jack Kirby… So, Stan, typically we try to get him out — he doesn’t love to fly — so we try to get him out for his cameos around the same time. So if we have other movies shooting on the same lot that we’re on, for instance, Ant-Man [and the Wasp] or Avengers 4, we group his cameos together and then move him from one set to the next and get him through his cameos in one day.”
Kevin Feige also had something special about Stan Lee.
“The amazing thing to be thankful for is that Stan got to see it all happen. Stan dominated pop culture. He saw it and was aware and he loved it. I’ve been saying for years that the characters he created will outlive all of us making the movies, and enter the pantheon of myth which he read and was inspired by as a kid.
Stan was always very gracious with all of us at Marvel Studios and very encouraging. Despite his persona on stage, Stan was very humble. He was not the type to come in and tell us how to be, but he encouraged us to follow his lead. Take Black Panther — people would talk about the importance of the movie and what a brave thing it was for Walt Disney Studios to spend this kind of money on an almost entirely African-American cast — which is entirely true. But look at what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did in the 1960s, creating that character in the center of the Civil Rights movement. At many turns, as we work on the movies and aim to do justice, part of that is in taking those kinds of risks. And recognizing the important thematics that Stan did.”
RIP Stan Lee 1922-2018.
