History Creator / StanLee

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: He actually ''[[InvokedTrope caused]]'' this for another with an [[VerySpecialEpisode anti-drug comic]] (commissioned by the US Government) that UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode Authority refused to approve because they did not permit any portrayal of drugs, whether positive ''or'' negative. He ran it anyway. The CCA looked like fools, and very quickly rewrote the Code to allow negative or cautionary portrayals of drug use (among other things), but it was too late; people had already realised how restrictive and unnecessary the code really was. Partly thanks to this, the influence of the Code itself began to wane, and eventually Marvel -- among other companies - abandoned it altogether.

** His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmLFGWAyajU appearance on a show]] where he watched and commented on Todd [=MacFarlane=] and Creator/RobLiefeld designing a character he jokingly prompt-named "Overkill" doubles as him throwing mountains of {{Stealth Insult}}s at the conventions common within UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks as well as Liefeld's artistic abilities.

Bear in mind that in the context of the time, Lee was quite fair and generous to his fellow artists. He was quite open about promoting his colleagues and crew of talented artists (the Marvel Bullpen) in the vein of Creator/ECComics (who started the whole shtick). While there was an element of self-promotion in this (as in virtually everything Lee did), a major side-effect was that many of Lee's collaborators became famous and even household names by comics fans. Thanks to Lee, Jack "the King" Kirby, "Sturdy" Steve Ditko, and "Jazzy" Johnny Romita became famous among comics fans, and this fame ultimately benefited both Kirby and Ditko in what is a fairly tragic irony. Another thing that gets lost is that [[FairForItsDay Lee was one of the first]] to institute full credits on each and every Marvel issue. Not only did he put the name of the writer, publisher, artist, and editor, but also the inker and penciller at a time when DC Comics were notorious for denying the existence of a creative team. These have subsequently become standard issue for all comics ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Marvel, DC, and others]]). But at the same time, this has also raised issues, complicated by Lee's bigger public profile and his many interviews over the decades, the extent to which the many comics of the Marvel era were really his creations rather than that of his artist/co-writer collaborators, especially Creator/JackKirby and Creator/SteveDitko. Lee's own interviews in that era[[note]]At a time when such ill-treatment and neglect of artists were taken for granted and Lee believed himself, not without reason, to be fairer than others in the context of the time but which critics see as [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency wanting a prize for basic decency]], and take him to task for never really siding with his fellow artists against the management. After all, Lee was the nephew of Marvel's original publisher, Martin Goodman, and it has been viewed that treating Lee as the big-time comic book creator allowed the company to deflect claims by others to avoid rights challenges to their properties.[[/note]] had him remark that at times, he often left plotting entirely to Kirby and Ditko, which as confirmed by the latter two in interviews and also by later collaborators, indicate that many of the in-panel moments, character, and costume design and the famous action by which Marvel became proverbial, belongs more properly to his artists than to Lee himself.

Among his projects before his death, he hosted the RealityShow ''Series/WhoWantsToBeASuperhero'' and the documentary series ''Stan Lee's Superhumans'', and had a [[CreatorCameo cameo]] in almost every Marvel movie adaptation made prior to his passing - primarily those of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, but also films made by others - which, coincidentally, makes him the highest-grossing actor in history; his appearance in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' implied that Lee actually plays the ''same individual'' in all his film appearances (or, at least, those in the MCU). He has also gotten into the {{anime}} and {{manga}} business, and worked on three series, ''Manga/KarakuridoujiUltimo'' with ''Manga/ShamanKing'' creator, Hiroyuki Takei, ''Anime/{{Heroman}}'' with Creator/StudioBONES and ''Anime/TheReflection'' with Creator/StudioDeen. He also worked on ''WesternAnimation/TheGovernator'' with Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger.

** Before ''Mallrats'', he turned up briefly in the lesser-known 1990 film [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HsFBV9-umc "The Ambulance".]]

*** Technically, Lee ''was'' able to play the role of Jameson, if only as one of his signature cameos and with a single line of dialogue in TheStinger of ''Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' [[spoiler:as the JJJ of Earth-67 trying to convince a cop to arrest both the Spider-Man of that Earth and the recently arrived Miguel O'Hara during his attempted interdimensional jump.]]

Stan "The Man" Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was a ComicBook writer, editor, "Chairman Emeritus" of Creator/MarvelComics, and creator or co-creator of a large bunch of Marvel's most recognizable characters, with the major exceptions being ComicBook/CaptainAmerica[[note]]Created by Joe Simon & Creator/JackKirby[[/note]], ComicBook/ThePunisher[[note]]Created by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru & John Romita Sr.[[/note]], and ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}[[note]]Created by Len Wein, John Romita Sr. & Roy Thomas[[/note]]. He is without question the greatest editor in the history of Marvel comics and certainly the most famous and influential figure in superhero comics storytelling, having a profile, brand, and name recognition comparable to that of his famous creations, to the point where many see ''him'', not Franchise/SpiderMan, as Marvel's unofficial mascot.

** Done ''hilariously'' in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' season 13 episode "I Am Furious (Yellow)", where he plays a somewhat crazy version of himself. He won't leave Comic Book Guy's shop, breaks a toy [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Batmobile]] in an attempt to fit [[ComicBook/FantasticFour The Thing]] inside it, and even believes that he can turn into ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk.

** He claimed to have originally created [[Characters/SpiderManDailyBugle J. Jonah Jameson]] so there would be a character he could play in an adaptation, which ended up never happening despite the numerous adaptations featuring him (and hey, J.K. Simmons played such a ''good'' JJJ)

His involvement in regular and active comics writing lasted from the late fifties to the early seventies. It was in that era, as per legend, during a time when Timely Comics was facing dire straits, that he teamed up with Creator/JackKirby and launched the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' pulling the company, and superhero comics in general, BackFromTheBrink, starting a run of creative outpouring that saw Marvel start small, gather steam and eventually become such a major brand that it started outselling Creator/DCComics who until then had enjoyed uncontested monopoly on the superhero genre, especially after Creator/ECComics was driven out of business by the Comics Code. As per his own interviews and biographical anecdotes, while Lee had worked in the comics business since TheForties, his real ambition was to be a serious writer (writing the UsefulNotes/GreatAmericanNovel in particular) and he largely saw comics as kids stuff and particularly looked down upon the superhero genre, which he described in the captions of ''Amazing Fantasy #15'' ([[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko the debut of Spider-Man]]) as "long-underwear stories". He was 40 years old when he and Kirby launched ''Fantastic Four'' and was already feeling like a JadedWashout who didn't have much to show for his life. As such, in his entire time in the classic Marvel period, both in page and in person, he was insistent on making up for lost time. He did this by positioning Marvel as being different and better than DC, in a manner not dissimilar from Malcolm [=McLaren=]'s packaging of PunkRock and promotion of the Music/SexPistols. This also led him to position and differentiate his characters as apart from DC, which was aided by the GenreBusting sensibilities of Kirby and Ditko.

Stan Lee was proud to boast for most of TheSixties and TheSeventies that his comics were made in the distinctive Marvel Method by which he would describe a basic idea and pitch which it fell on the artists to develop into full plots complete with scene breakdowns, action and character blocking in each panel which they did entirely on their own, while Lee would come in and then fill in the dialogues based on how he interpreted the scene, and at times following the directions his artists left him. This allowed issues to come out at a faster rate and allow him to work on multiple titles at once. And of course artists like Kirby managed to work at [[AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder his famous rate]] of drawing an entire issue in a week!

Bear in mind that in the context of the time, Lee was quite fair and generous to his fellow artists. He was quite open about promoting his colleagues and crew of talented artists (the Marvel Bullpen) in the vein of Creator/ECComics (who started the whole shtick). While there was an element in self-promotion in this (as in virtually everything Lee did), a major side-effect was that many of Lee's collaborators became famous and even house-hold names by comics fans. Thanks to Lee, Jack "the King" Kirby, "Sturdy" Steve Ditko, and "Jazzy" Johnny Romita became famous among comics fans, and this fame ultimately benefited both Kirby and Ditko in what is a fairly tragic irony. Another thing that gets lost is that [[FairForItsDay Lee was one of the first]] to institute full credits on each and every Marvel issue. Not only did he put the name of the writer, publisher, artist and editor, but also the inker and penciller at a time when DC Comics were notorious about denying the existence of a creative team. These have subsequently become standard issue for all comics ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Marvel, DC, and others]]). But at the same time, this has also raised issues, complicated by Lee's bigger public profile and his many interviews over the decades, the extent to which the many comics of the Marvel era were really his creations rather than that of his artist/co-writer collaborators, especially Creator/JackKirby and Creator/SteveDitko. Lee's own interviews in that era[[note]]At a time when such ill-treatment and neglect of artists was taken for granted and Lee believed himself, not without reason, to be fairer than others in the context of the time but which critics see as [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency wanting a prize for basic decency]], and take him to task for never really siding with his fellow artists against the management. After all, Lee was the nephew of Marvel's original publisher, Martin Goodman, and its been viewed that treating Lee as the big time comic book creator allowed the company to deflect claims by others to avoid rights challenges to their properties.[[/note]] had him remark that at times, he often left plotting entirely to Kirby and Ditko, which as confirmed by the latter two in interviews and also by later collaborators, indicate that many of the in-panel moments, character and costume design and the famous action by which Marvel became proverbial, belongs more properly to his artists than to Lee himself.

The Marvel Method itself was slowly phased out once Marvel's success allowed Lee to hire other writers and up-and-comers (many of whom were Marvel fans who went from Letter column submissions to office interns to writing the stuff). After Lee stepped down from writing ''Spider-Man'' and others, writers played a bigger part in directing the collaboration, with Creator/GerryConway and Creator/ChrisClaremont insisting on a stronger hand in their collaborations with artists.

Lee was co-creator of many of the Marvel characters and few can deny that the general universal quality of Marvel under his tenure as editor and the coherence and sense of SharedUniverse from that era ("face front true believers", "Excelsior" and much PurpleProse) belongs to Lee and that he played a central role in making Marvel into the DC's major competitor, equal, and in the eyes of many of its most ardent fans, its superior. This is no mean feat considering that DC had a reputation for buying and swallowing all its competitors (such as Quality Comics, Creator/FawcettComics, and Creator/CharltonComics). For Marvel to not only resist but challenge DC, despite starting out with a weaker stable than its unfortunate peers was an incredible achievement. As an editor, Lee had a good sense of the zeitgeist, knowing that the teenagers of TheSixties were RebelliousRebel, college-going and in tune to anti-establishment attitudes, which he leaned into with his more flawed and relatable characters who were also constrained by society and other institutions. In spite of that, Lee was [[https://www.thedailybeast.com/rip-stan-lee-the-man-who-sold-the-world studiously apolitical]] in the pages of Marvel, and he avoided taking explicit anti-war stances on Vietnam (as opposed to Creator/JackKirby who protested it) while voicing general anti-racist statements in his letters' pages. Most notably after ''ComicBook/BlackPanther's'' first appearance, and the appearance of the Black Panther Party a few months later in an entirely unrelated coincidence, Lee briefly renamed the character "Black Leopard" to avoid association with the Party's more controversial statements and attitudes later. On the other hand, Lee played a major part in discrediting the authority of the Comics' Code as a result of the famous drug issue of ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' where Harry Osborn becomes an addict.

Lee spent much of his time trying to interest Hollywood in Marvel projects and playing a role in getting the comics adapted into animated versions and movie versions which generally didn't come out until much later in TheNineties, but he deserves credit for making Marvel into a Multi-Media brand. From very early on, Lee made it a point to appear in TheCameo in many cartoon adaptations, either in a small role or as narrator, which started from comics, went into cartoons, and later games and then movies. Lee's intimate and grandstanding approach built a bond between readers and the company, creating and nurturing a fan culture that made Marvel the "cool" alternative to the staid and remote DC, and played no small part in nurturing and building comics fandom.

** ComicBook/BlackBolt (with Jack Kirby)
** ComicBook/{{Medusa|MarvelComics}} (with Jack Kirby)
** ComicBook/{{Karnak}} (with Jack Kirby)

* Radio/MyFriendIrma (created for radio by Cy Howard and Marie Wilson; Lee wrote the comic book adaptation.)

** Lee [[JustifiedTrope justified]] it, by saying that he was working on more than a dozen comics at any given time when he created those names, and the alliteration served as a mnemonic device, not only for him but also for readers. (Alliteration as a trope dates back to Siegel and Shuster and their love affair with the initials LL and it was a popular comics convention.) Sometimes it didn't work, which is why the Hulk's full name is "Robert Bruce Banner" (one issue called him "''Bob'' Banner" over and over), and why an early issue of ''Amazing Spider-Man'' listed Peter Parker as "Peter Palmer".

** He even had this in real life with his brother Larry Lieber. He also ended up giving his co-workers alliterative nicknames -- in addition to his own "Smilin' Stan," there was "Jazzin' Johnny Romita," "Adorable Artie Simek," and others.
* ApatheticCitizens: Stan uses these ''a lot''. If something weird is going on in midtown Manhattan, count on seeing a jaded New Yorker who's certain that it's someone filming a movie or "SomeNuttyPublicityStunt." He even played one of those in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''!

* BigApplesauce: He's a native, and it definitely shows. ("Excelsior!" is also the New York State motto.)

** He appears as himself in ''Film/{{Mallrats}}'', and gives Brodie romantic advice (though the latter keep trying to ask about superhero sex organs), and it turns out that TS went to him in secret to help Brodie win back Rene. (This is also somewhat bizarre in that ''Mallrats'' is an original story, but in this case Brodie is a comics super-geek and it was mentioned earlier in the film that he had been visiting a comic shop in the mall, so it makes sense.)

** ComicBook/HumanTorch

Not long after Stan passed away, as a tribute to his death, an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYZ9obDJJtU&ab_channel=SpectrumCinema edited version]] of the Marvel Studios logo was used at the start of the theatrical ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'', which featured every cameo he's ever had in the [=MCU=].

-->'''Stan''': Looks like you've been learning how to draw with your eyes shut!
-->'''Steve Ditko''': You should talk after that corny script you wrote!
-->'''Stan''': What do you mean, corny? I copied it from one of the best classics I could find!

** He appears in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' as a Xandarian ladies' man. Not a CreatorCameo in this case, as he was not one of the creators of that comic. Though he did create Groot.

* TheCasanova: His Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse persona seems to be one of these: In his ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' appearance, he has two very lovely ladies with him when he stops to give Coulson crap for being a bad father ([[ItMakesSenseInContext It's part of Coulson's cover]]), in ''Film/IronMan'' he's again got two ladies and is mistaken by Stark for Hugh Hefner, and he's seen hitting on a Xandarian in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''.

-->-- '''Stan Lee''', ''[[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumber15 Amazing Fantasy #15]]'', Aug. 1962

-->-- '''Stan Lee''', ''[[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumberFifteen Amazing Fantasy #15]]'', Aug. 1962

* CoolOldGuy: So much so that he is the page's image.

* NiceGuy: His public persona was larger than life, cool, and incredibly friendly.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Let's be honest, his own name actually sounds like a superhero. Of course, he originally intended it as a pseudonym in the hopes that when he finally made it big as a novelist, he would use his real name (Stanley Leiber) for his work as a writer.