Goodbye Stan Lee

Even before I learned how to read, I remember spending hours going through my brother’s boxes of comic books, full of mystery and fantasy and where everything was possible. Both my dad and brother were also superhero lovers and for me, Sunday mornings were synonym of countless hours of being immersed into a larger, better world than the one I could see around me in the Colombia of the late 1980’s. Stan Lee, also known as Excelsior!, was the genius behind Marvel’s comics and the superheroes of my childhood. His characters, however, did not evolve into a formidable Hollywood empire until many decades after they were created.

In my view, what makes them so great is the idea that people otherwise common and sometimes awkward could become superheroes. Beyond the fistfights on tall buildings, the ability to fly or run at incredible speeds, Stan Lee’s stories sent a far more humble message:

“Maybe you could feel a little bit like an outsider, and still end up OK”.

This month, with great sadness, we lost an irrefutable prodigy. The 95 year old Marvel legend, Stan Lee, whose creations touched so many lives passed away.

With this newsletter I wanted to pay a small tribute to this great man by presenting a couple of my works from the series “Stars and Superheroes”.

We all Have Secrets Oil on Canvas

40 IN × 40 IN

Spider Man struggled with the life of a teenage boy who was broke, taunted at school, unnoticed by the girls he revered, and who made more mistakes than those his family could endure. But throughout the magic of his character in the Marvel World he learned to pick himself back up after every setback and keep fighting even when there seemed little incentive to do so…a familiar teaching in our day to day lives.

The Face of Love Oil and Diamond Dust on Canvas

40 IN × 40 IN

Captain America is another of my Marvel’s favourites. As a mortal, he had limited abilities but in spite of his limitations, he never stopped trying on his quest to help others and to stand up to those who prey on the weak.

Finally he gets an opportunity when his mortal self gets injected with the Super Soldier Serum and becomes Captain America. But beyond getting a man with the body of a god, humanity gets a one man army with the moral certitude that is always needed and that would become his greatest superpower. It is like this, that Captain America became a moral compass for the world, one that even gods will follow into battle.

His Legacy

The origin stories of the Marvel heroes remain in my head reminding me, even to this day, that common people with common lives, with financial difficulties and everyday problems can make a difference in the world.

I leave you with one of my favourite quotes:

“That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt, a real superhero." - Stan Lee

post·script

Stan Lee created all these characters:

A Abomination (comics) Absorbing Man Acrobat (comics) Actor (comics) Adria (comics) Aged Genghis Agent X (Jim Burley) Agon (comics) Air-Walker Liz Allan Amphibion Ancient One Annihilus Ant-Man Ape-Man Ares (Marvel Comics) Asbestos Man Athena (Marvel Comics) Attuma Avengers (comics) Awesome Android B Balder (comics) Batroc the Leaper Beast (comics) Beetle (comics) Billy Connors (comics) Black Bolt Black Knight (comics) Black Knight (Nathan Garrett) Black Knight (Sir Percy) Black Panther (comics) Black Widow (Marvel Comics) Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) Blastaar Blizzard (comics) Blob (comics) Bluebird (Marvel Comics) Boomerang (comics) Bor (Marvel Comics) Betty Brant Brother Voodoo Brotherhood of Mutants Burglar (comics) C Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics) Peggy Carter Sharon Carter Cat-Man (Marvel Comics) Chameleon (comics) Circus of Crime Clea Clown (comics) Cobra (Marvel Comics) Izzy Cohen Collector (comics) Crime Master Crimson Dynamo Crystal (comics) Cyclops (Marvel Comics) Cyttorak D Daily Bugle Daredevil (Marvel Comics character) Death-Stalker Destroyer (Marvel Comics) Diablo (Marvel Comics) Doctor Strange Doctor Doom Doomsday Man Dormammu Dorrek VII Dragon Man Dredmund the Druid Doctor Druid Dum Dum Dugan E Eel (comics) Egghead (Marvel Comics) Ego the Living Planet Electro (Marvel Comics) Elektro (comics) Enchantress (Marvel Comics) Enclave (comics) Enforcers (comics) Eternity (comics) Executioner (comics) F Fafnir (Marvel Comics) Falcon (comics) Fancy Dan Fandral Fantastic Four Farley Stillwell Doctor Faustus (comics) Femizons Fenris Wolf (Marvel Comics) Fin Fang Foom Richard Fisk Vanessa Fisk Fixer (comics) Funky Flashman Forbush Man Bill Foster (comics) Jane Foster (comics) Frederick Foswell Frankenstein's Monster (Marvel Comics) Freak (Marvel Comics) Frigga (comics) Frightful Four Nick Fury G Galactus Galaxy Master Mac Gargan Gargoyle (comics) Giant-Man Gibbon (comics) Gladiator (Melvin Potter) Goliath (Marvel Comics) Googam Goom Gorgilla Gorgon (Inhuman) The Governator Gregory Gideon Grey Gargoyle Jean Grey Dr. John Grey (comics) Grizzly (comics) Groot Growing Man The Guardian Project (comics) H H.E.R.B.I.E. Agatha Harkness Hate-Monger Hawkeye (comics) Heimdall (comics) Hela (comics) Hera (Marvel Comics) Hercules (Marvel Comics) Hermes (Marvel Comics) High Evolutionary Hippolyta (Marvel Comics) Happy Hogan (comics) Hogun Hulk (comics) Human Cannonball (Marvel Comics) Human Torch I Iceman (Marvel Comics) Idunn (comics) Immortus Impossible Man Inhumans Invisible Woman Iron Man J Jack Frost (Marvel Comics) Jack Murdock (comics) Jackal (Marvel Comics) J. Jonah Jameson John Jameson (comics) Edwin Jarvis Abner Jenkins Jester (Marvel Comics) Gabe Jones Rick Jones (comics) Erik Josten Juggernaut (comics) Junior Juniper K Ka-Zar (comics) Kaecilius Kala (comics) Kaluu Kang the Conqueror Kangaroo (comics) Karnak (comics) Karnilla Master Khan Kid Colt Kingpin (character) Klaw (Marvel Comics) Eric Koenig Krang (Marvel Comics) Kraven the Hunter Kree L Laufey (comics) Leader (comics) Leap-Frog (comics) Ned Leeds Living Brain Living Laser Living Tribunal Lizard (comics) Lockjaw (comics) Loki (comics) Looter (comics) Lucifer (Marvel Comics) Willie Lumpkin M Machinesmith Mad Thinker Madame Masque Magneto (comics) Man Mountain Marko Man-Beast Man-Thing Mandarin (comics) Dino Manelli Mangog Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) Martha Connors Marvel Boy Marvel Boy (Robert Grayson) Masked Marauder Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde) Alicia Masters Matador (Marvel Comics) Maximus (comics) Aunt May Medusa (comics) Melter Mentallo Mephisto (comics) Merlin (Marvel Comics) Metal Master (comics) Midgard Serpent (Marvel Comics) Millie the Model Mimic (comics) Mindless Ones Miracle Man Mister Fantastic Mister Fear Mister Hyde (comics) MODOK Mole Man Molecule Man Molten Man Monsteroso Montana (comics) Baron Mordo Mordred (comics) Morgan le Fay (Marvel Comics) Morrat Mother Night (comics) Mysterio N Count Nefaria Foggy Nelson Night Nurse (comics) Nightmare (Marvel Comics) O Doctor Octopus Odin (comics) Olympians (Marvel Comics) Harry Osborn Norman Osborn Overmind (comics) Owl (Marvel Comics) Ox (comics) P Karen Page Painter (comics) Richard and Mary Parker Pinky Pinkerton Plantman Plunderer (comics) Pluto (Marvel Comics) Porcupine (comics) Pepper Potts Princess Python Prowler (comics) Psycho-Man Puppet Master (Marvel Comics) Purple Man Hank Pym Q Quasimodo (comics) Quicksilver (comics) R Radioactive Man (comics) Rebel Ralston Rattler (comics) Ravage 2099 Ravonna Rawhide Kid Red Barbarian Red Ghost Redwing (Marvel Comics) Rhino (comics) Franklin Richards (comics) Ringmaster (comics) Randy Robertson Robbie Robertson (comics) Ronan the Accuser Betty Ross Thunderbolt Ross S Sandman (Marvel Comics) Happy Sam Sawyer Scarecrow (Marvel Comics) Scarlet Witch Scorpion (Marvel Comics) Sentinel (comics) Sentry (Kree) Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Shalla-Bal She-Hulk Shocker (comics) Sif (comics) Silver Surfer Silvermane Sinister Six Jasper Sitwell Skrull Sleeper (Marvel Comics) Spencer Smythe Space Phantom Spider-Man Spider-Slayer Spymaster (comics) George Stacy Gwen Stacy Starborn Stilt-Man Franklin Storm Stranger (comics) Stripperella Mendel Stromm Strongman (comics) Baron Strucker Super-Adaptoid Super-Skrull Supreme Intelligence Surtur (Marvel Comics) Swordsman (comics) T T'Chaka Glenn Talbot Thing (comics) Flash Thompson Thor (Marvel Comics) Tiboro Tigra Tinkerer Titanium Man Toad (comics) Trapster Bolivar Trask Triton (comics) Tumbler (comics) Two-Gun Kid Tyr (Marvel Comics) Tyrannus (comics) U Uatu Ulik Ultimo (Marvel Comics) Uncle Ben Unicorn (comics) Unus the Untouchable V Vanisher Volla (comics) Volstagg Vulture (Marvel Comics) W Walking Stiletto Adam Warlock Warriors Three Wasp (comics) Watcher (comics) Mary Jane Watson Whiplash (comics) Whirlwind (comics) Whiz Wilson Wyatt Wingfoot Witness (comics) Wizard (Marvel Comics) Wonder Man Wong (comics) Wong-Chu Warren Worthington III Wrecker (comics) X X-Men Professor X Xemu (comics) Y Yancy Street Gang Ho Yinsen Ymir (Marvel Comics) Yon-Rogg Yondu Z Zabu Baron Zemo Heinrich Zemo Zeus (Marvel Comics) Zombie (comics)