Stan Lee was an absolute hero for comic book fans everywhere. He left a legacy of thousands of stories that are timeless masterpieces. But let’s face it, if we looked at all the work Stan Lee has done for entertainment in comics and movies we’d be here all day. With his unfortunate passing in 2018 (November 12, 2018), what a way to honor The Man, but to admire his character as a person and how his work represents that truly.

Stan Lee is known to be the creator/co-creator of many Marvel superheroes like Iron-Man, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the Scarlet Witch and hundreds more. But did you know that Stan Lee also created the first Black superheroes, Luke Cage and Black Panther?

During the 1960’s when segregation was heavy, Stan Lee was heavily against the racial discrimination African Americans faced during that time which was also around the time of Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination. He was a great and brave voice for speaking out during these tumultuous times.

He had his own little section at the end of comic books named, “Stan’s Soapbox”, where he spread positive messages and moral lessons like how bigotry is wrong or how in order to eradicate racism you must expose it. See Stan Lee stood up for what was right and he was one of the many people at the time to really show diversity in his content, especially during a time when diversity wasn’t fully accepted.

In 2010, he started the Stan Lee foundation. The Stan Lee Foundation which focused on teaching  children diversity, the arts, integrity and literacy. Stan Lee started the foundation because he believed that everyone should have the ability to read.

When speaking to the Washington Post about it he said this, “I started the Stan Lee Foundation for one main purpose: to do whatever I could to fight illiteracy in children, any child who grows up illiterate, unable to read and write or even semi-literate can be considered handicapped.”

Today, the Stan Lee foundation has partnered with multiple organizations like the Unified Empowerment Incorporated (UEI), where its goal is to find jobs for people with disabilities like autism. 

His work is not only incredible, but it’s admirable how his stories mirror real world problems between the heroes and villains. Stan Lee’s work (not only as an entertainer) but as a civil rights activist, really represents his character. It’s no wonder why he’s called Smiley and The Man. The world will miss you Stan Lee!

Excelsior!