What Stan Lee meant to me

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express Column

With the passing of Stan Lee, creator of many iconic superheroes, the pop culture world is in mourning.

For many, Lee, who was 95 at the time of his passing, represented their childhoods, myself included. He co-created one of my all time favourite superheroes in Spider-Man.

While he was certainly not perfect in life, Lee was always happy to interact with his fans and promote his own medium, whether it was his own company, Marvel, or his rival DC.

Growing up I often found inspiration in superhero films and pop culture. One of my favourite shows as a kid was the 1994 Spider-Man television series, and while I wouldn’t start reading graphic novels until I was into my 20’s (when I finally had the funds and freedom to purchase them), I would often spend my nights finding ways to learn about these characters that Lee had helped to create.

What was most interesting to me about Lee’s characters was how human they could be. While Tony Stark is a hero in his Iron Man suit, the man behind the mask is deeply flawed, suffering from alcoholism and showing signs of PTSD throughout his lifetime.

Then there was Peter Parker, my personal favourite. While Spider-Man himself almost always came out on top, this wasn’t always the case.

As Spider-Man, he was often dogged by the misinformation spread by his own boss at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson. Because of this, many believed him to be a menace, which often deeply affected Peter, sometimes causing him to wonder if he is truly doing the right thing.

He would also deal with real life issues, such as being bullied by Flash Thompson at school when he was a kid, or paying rent as an adult. Spider-Man was, and still is, my most relatable superhero.

These may just be two characters and the struggles they faced, but they are relatable struggles for many.

While two of my three favourite superheroes are from DC, Spider-Man will always have a special place in my heart as I identified with him – especially in the latest films featuring the character where he’s essentially a fan of the Avengers with powers of his own.

While Lee’s life had entered a controversial era towards the end with accusations of sexual assault as well as rumours of elder abuse, for much of my life he was a hero who had fought for the rights of the disenfranchised.

This can be seen in two of his creations in particular: the X-Men and Black Panther. I remember when he came to Canada for the last time and I was able to hear him speak as well as meet him.

Fans were given the opportunity to ask Lee questions, and one was: “What inspired you to create Black Panther?”

Looking bewildered at the question, Lee was quick to respond by saying, “I realized that we didn’t have a black superhero!”

This was true, as T’Challa, king of the fictional Wakanda was the first superhero of colour to join the world of the Avengers in 1966.

While others would quickly join as well, such as Falcon in 1969 and Storm in 1975, Lee spoke with pride that he and Jack Kirby together created the first black superhero.

Lee once wrote on the topic of racism in America, his home. He said, “Let’s say it right on the line. Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. But, unlike a team of costumed supervillians, they can’t be halted with a punch in the snoot, or a zap from a ray gun. The only way to destroy them is to expose them – to reveal them for the insidious evils they really are.”

To me, this rhetoric and the heroes he helped to create are inspiring. But Lee wasn’t always perfect. He often mishandled things behind the scenes.

The estate of artist Jack Kirby, the co-creator of many Marvel heroes, had to sue Marvel in order for him to get credit as co-creator of characters such as Black Panther and the Fantastic Four in their films.

Kirby famously left Marvel to move to DC, their rival company, as he felt that he’d been treated unfairly in regards to authorship credit and creators rights.

Tim Simms, owner of Worlds Collide, a comic book store in Oshawa, says, “Steve Ditko, one of the original artists on Spider-Man, died in poverty living in a one room apartment.”

Ditko famously died in June this year after claiming in 2012 that he had never received any money from the four Spider-Man films that had been made at the time.

“One of our problems with [Lee] is that he liked to act like he was the creator. He made lots of money, the artists didn’t,” says Simms.

“I loved Marvel Comics when I was a kid, but I can’t read the 60’s stuff anymore,” says Simms. “I can’t read Stan’s dialogue. It just hurts my head.”

But Simms didn’t only have negative things to say about Lee, as he also says, “He had good ideas. I mean the idea of these people having real problems as opposed to just beating each other up. You know, that was probably mostly Stan.”

Simms says that Lee’s attitude towards his co-creators left him feeling cold and feeling indifferent when he died.

“He should have plenty of credit, but for decades he took way more than he should’ve. I mean, you shouldn’t have to sue Marvel to get Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko co-creator credit,” says Ryan Piekenbrock, a patron of Worlds Collide.

“As a person, everything about him seems good. People can be muiltiple things,” says Piekenbrock. “He can be a really good person in many ways, but in a business sense, you can understand why somebody wants to protect this idea that he’s created all of these things.”

For many though, Lee was a legend in the comic world. He worked on so many characters in his lifetime, helping those who needed to escape the monotony of their everyday lives.

While the memory of Lee will always have a bit of a dark spot for me because of his actions, the characters he helped to create will always resonate with me and be a big part of my life.