Stan Lee, 1922-2018

This blog has been lying fallow for a while, but it seems appropriate to resurrect it to salute the passing of a great one.  Stan Lee, as just about everyone knows by now (even non-comic book nerds) was the genius behind The Avengers, Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, and so much more of what appears on our movie screens, on our televisions, and all through our popular culture.  It all began with comic books but became so much bigger. Yet, Lee himself was always a very human figure–a grandfatherly wise-cracking sort who seemed to relish the time spent at comic book conventions and was an unlikely candidate for the title of “pop culture icon.”

And so were his heroes.  What makes so many of Lee’s superheroes accessible is the fact that their lives aren’t so super.  His heroes aren’t un-waveringly moral aliens from another planet.  They’re ordinary, flawed people.  (Well, with the exception of the occasional Norse demigod.)  Their powers are both blessing and curse; a terrible privilege.  Like all of us, they worry about paying the rent on time (except for Tony Stark), wrestle with loneliness, and wonder whether they are doing the right thing.  They sometimes ask “why me?” and they struggle with the moral dilemmas, causes, and concerns that have always been with us.  Even though Lee’s creations weren’t as obvious a lesson as graphic novelists like Art Spiegelman’s work, they still addressed civil rights issues through the X-Men, Black Panther, and others.  Lee explored themes of justice, friendship, forgiveness, humility, religion, and the relationships that make us–and his superhero characters–human.

So, today, I remember Stan Lee.  He was a hero.