If you are a Comic book fan and/or superhero movie fan, this news will hit you hard (as it did for me). The icon, magnate and savior of both industries has been silenced.
Stan Lee passed away this afternoon at the age of 95.
When the news came in earlier, I was already sick and asleep. But when I heard the news, it hurt me even more than the cold and allergies I was fighting. His influence and impact in the comic book industry and superhero movie collective in the years since his debut at Marvel Comics (then Timely Comics) in 1941 (he created a prose story for Captain America Comics) and his first creation with Jack Kirby in 1961, The Fantastic Four -- and later creating many of the most iconic characters throughout the decade and 20th century like Spider-Man (with the late Steve Ditko), Iron Man, The Incedible Hulk, Black Panther, Ant Man, Doctor Strange and the X-Men -- was as strong and powerful as the heroes and villains he created (along with fellow icons Ditko and Kirby among others), and could never be overlooked. No matter how hard you could try.
When I was 8, I along with my little brothers and my eldest sister went to see the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie in 2002. In my young mind, I was super excited to see our friendly neighborhood web-slinger (played by Tobey Maguire) make his debut on the big screen, and while watching it, I was super-glued to the screen tas I had never seen a film like it before (and I saw DC's Superman: The Movie and Batman & Robin before [and shoutout to DC, one of the other best comic book companies]). And since, I'm still amazed by it--even if it still is one of my favorite superhero movies. But it was only since then that Marvel would become even more of a force in the movie industry, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (starting with Iron Man) has become one of the biggest, strongest, highest grossing and critically acclaimed movie franchises in American film history.
And of course, Mr. Lee was a part of it with his legendary cameo appearances in each film. These pop-ups were always expected, anticipated and exciting yet random, funny and memorable (always one of the best parts of any Marvel film). In fact, now that he's gone, it's going to be sad (even a little scary) to think of not seeing him in any Marvel film anymore, let alone doing so.
In fact, if not for Marvel not making and releasing the Blade films, we probably wouldn't even have any of the other Marvel films for probably a long time.
If it weren't for Stan Lee, we probably wouldn't have a comic book industry as strong and kicking today. In fact, if it weren't for his life-long wife Joan (who convinced him to give up aspirations of becoming a novelist instead, and expand on what at first was a brief dabble in comic books -- when the industry was, at the time, on its last legs), we wouldn't have the industry's biggest and most legendary name and creator. I personally thank her for that, even though I didn't know of this fact until the news came. I feared this day would come as much as the next fanatic, even if it was inevitable. And now that it is come, it just hurts so much.
My condolences to the Lee family.
May he Rest in Peace.
Thank you, Stan Lee... for everything.
EXCELSIOR.