While my grandma always encouraged me to go outside and play while babysitting me throughout my childhood, I was always fixated to the television when the 1990s Batman series (the one with the un-scantly clad Harley Quinn and Mark Hamill's Joker) always reran in the early morning hours upon me being dropped off at her home. Now, while Batman was not a character of this genius person's creative universe, Batman was the reason Stan Lee and I ever intertwined.
DC comics was where it all started. They were the masterminds that introduced me to and made me love comics and superheroes for the rest of my life. I looked up to Wonder Woman as a role model. I lived for DC's strong line of otherwise powerful women...that unfortunately and to my dislike, were always seemingly the villains. Once you grow up and realize the hardships your gender or identity might face in a male-dominated, you begin to realize how villainized and "evil" stigmas become attached to you. Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Catwoman - I never knew a real woman that would save the day unless she wore her panties and used her golden lasso to attack a bad guy. DC, while it still has my heart, lacked that or any other diverse characters within its pages.
Marvel gave me that, and that's all thanks to Stan Lee.
Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Wasp, Gamora, Storm, Jessica Jones - these were the girls I wished for and got with a punch. Finally, I got some badass female characters that didn't have to show off their bodies and could still get the job done without being behind a man.
Not only did he give me the women I wanted, but also allowed for diversity to flourish within his pages. He revolutionized Marvel and allowed people of color a voice otherwise unknown within comics. Black Panther, specifically, has been a complete knockout since it's movie release. One of my all-time favorite girls in superhero history is Storm, and she's portrayed by a black woman. Stan Lee left to race and gender rules out of his comics and only focused on how well each individual could use their unique qualities and identifying characteristics to save the world and empower themselves.
Stan Lee taught me the value of self-empowerment and justice, even when times get tough. He taught me perseverance and strength can carry on even in the most deceiving and melancholy times. His comics brought me comfort, an escape from the world, and a good adventure.
Thank you, Stan Lee, for creating and allowing me to know characters as funny and fourth-wall-breaking as Deadpool, headstrong badasses like Tony, as naive as Peter Parker, and as daring as Thanos. Your presence in your long lifetime leaves a gaping, and irreplaceable void in history and pop culture alike.
Excelsior!
