As most of the world has discovered by now, entertainment and comic book legend Stan Lee has passed away at the age of 95 years. For Marvel fans everywhere, including myself, it was really devastating news since this man has created a whole universe for people to enjoy in the comic book and movie worlds as well as inspired more than one generation of creators. But when I actually paused for a moment to really think about this great creator is when I really realized how full of a life he lived and that no one else could ever do what he has done for the world.
Since his passing, most fans have gone to YouTube or their Marvel movie collections to scope out the best Stan Lee cameos. No matter what property it was (MCU, X-Men, even the old Fantastic 4 movies), if it had to do with Marvel, Lee had to make a small cameo in the film and this became a tradition for superhero fans to look forward to with each movie that came along. With that being said, I knew I wanted to write something in honor of Mr. Lee, and what better way is there to have my top favorites list for his cameos in these movies?
To this, I say only one appropriate word: Excelsior!
"Spider-Man 3" (2007): "'Nuff Said"
My number one pick on this list has to go to this super simple but very effective line that Lee says to Peter Parker (played here by Tobey McGuire). When a random exchange is made between a passerby and the man who actually is Spider-Man about the great deeds the hero makes in the city, it strikes a cord in Peter and the line always strikes a chord in me because it really brings Lee's creation full circle. Not only has Spider-Man made a difference in this NYC, but Lee even references himself in a way because he has created this super special character that has inspired so many people around the world- inside and outside of the film.
"Marvel's The Avengers" (2012): "Superheroes in New York?"
Set at the end of the first Avengers film, various clips from the news cycle play out as people thank the team of heroes who defeated an alien invasion. There are also some people questioning their true identities and the whole circumstance of the events that just happened. Then, of course, cut to an elderly man who scoffs at the idea of superheroes in New York, and what makes it so funny is that it's Lee saying this out of anyone in the world. For the man who's created countless heroes and based his entire career on them to say that it's blasphemy that his creations have become real-life heroes in his home city is simply chuckle-worthy.
"Captain America: Civil War" (2016): "Are You Tony Stank?"
This movie's cameo was actually a worrisome one since Lee didn't show up until towards the end of the film. In one of Marvel's heaviest films to date, an iconic line from Lee playing a FedEx employee who mispronounces Iron Man's real name in the funniest way is the kind of comedy relief that was desperately needed. This has probably become a fan favorite line among MCU fans, and honestly, how could you blame us? The only man who could pronounce Tony Stark's name wrong and truly get away with it... Stan the Man himself.
"The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012): Library Scene
I remember watching this movie for the first time when I was younger and thinking how great of an actor this man was and had a little inkling that he may have been a big-named actor or someone important... little did I know he was the man who co-created the hero fighting a giant lizard behind him. In this perfectly timed and visually entertaining scene, Lee is a librarian who is just minding his own business and listening to his classical music while Spidey is fighting The Lizard and even saves the man at one point from a table being thrown at him. Maybe wearing headphones in a school library in an NYC high school should be banned from now on?
"Thor: Ragnarok" (2017): Thor Gets a Hair-Cut
Not only is it great that we get to see Lee play a character more on the bad side of things, but he's the one to do something no one thought would ever happen in the MCU. Cutting Thor's hair is a massive deal (at least how I see it) because it marks a new chapter in Thor's journey of life, and for Lee to be the one to initiate that change for one of his beloved characters is such a special- and still funny within the scene- thing to be done.
*BONUS: Deadpool (2016): Strip Club Scene
Surprise! I just couldn't leave this cameo out of my list, and not just because it's from Deadpool (OK, maybe that does have to do with it). When Wade Wilson — aka Deadpool — goes to the strip club with his friend to seek out his girlfriend, we see none other than Lee behind a DJ booth introducing the next lady to go on stage. If this isn't funny enough, he has a line that is heard in the background that makes this cameo all the more perfect: "You can't buy love, but you can rent it for three minutes." Anyone could have delivered this line or played this small role, but the fact that it's Lee makes it all the more hilarious.*
*I couldn't post the video of the cameo due to R-rated content featured in the clip, but you can easily find it on YouTube nonetheless.
