Greetings, true believers! Today’s post doesn’t need much of an introduction, and to be perfectly blunt, it’s going to be a refreshingly short one compared to the massive endeavor that was the Annual End of Summer Fan Poll’s Results Post. In honor of what would’ve been his 101st birthday, today we’re celebrating one of the biggest icons in the world of comics, Stan Lee. Along with other comic legends such as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, Lee helped co-create some of the most iconic heroes from the Marvel Comics universe, from everyone’s favorite webslinger Spider-Man to the Children of the Atom AKA the X-Men. But in later years, as he transitioned into being more of the public face of Marvel Comics, Lee also became known for his numerous cameos in the various films and TV shows based on his iconic creations, which were a staple of Marvel’s media productions up until his passing on November 12th, 2018 and a delight to look out for, both for fans of the man himself and the beloved properties that he helped to create. So today, I decided to make a ranked list of my personal favorite Stan Lee cinematic cameos. For today’s post, we’re going to focus solely on his film cameos, meaning that I won’t be covering the likes of his cameo in Insomniac’s 2018 AAA blockbuster video game Spider-Man and the subsequent in-universe tribute to him in its 2020 sequel Spider-Man: Miles Morales or any of his various cameos in Marvel’s numerous animated shows. And in this instance, I decided that a basic Top 10 list simply wasn’t enough for such a legendary figure. Nope, today we’re going to do a TOP 15 LIST to truly honor the legacy of the one and only Stan ‘The Man’ Lee. Excelsior!!
First up, let’s celebrate
a few honorable mentions, which we’ll go through in the chronological order of their
respective films’ releases. First up, from the 2005 adaptation of Fantastic
Four, we have the first instance where Lee played a character that he
created, Willie Lumpkin, the friendly mailman of the titular superhero quartet
who greets them when they first enter their new base of operations, the Baxter
Building.
Moving onto our first
Marvel Cinematic Universe release in today’s post, we have his cameo in the
first Thor film, where he and a bunch of residents from the town of Puente
Antiguo, New Mexico try to lift the mysterious hammer that has landed in a
nearby desert. Lee appears as a truck driver whose attempt to pull it out with
his truck results in the truck’s cargo bed getting ripped off, resulting in him
poking his head out of the window and asking “Did it work?”
Moving onto the other
MCU film of 2011, Captain America: The First Avenger, Lee appears as a U.S.
Army General attending an award ceremony for Captain America after his
successful rescue of the 107th Infantry Regiment from HYDRA forces.
But when the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan doesn’t show up and the Senator in
charge of Cap’s promotional tour is informed of this by one of his associates, Lee’s
character confuses the associate for Captain America and notes, “I thought he’d
be taller!”.
Cut to 2014 and we’ve
got the first Walt Disney Animation Studios production based on a Marvel
property, Big Hero 6. While he may not have had a hand in this superhero
squad’s creation, it would’ve quite frankly been a shock if Lee hadn’t cameoed
in this film, where he plays the father of the team’s resident slacker (with a
fire-breathing dragon suit for good measure), Fred. After originally just appearing
via a photo cameo in Fred’s family mansion, where he implies that his parents
are on vacation, Fred’s father finally appears onscreen in the film’s
post-credit scene, in which his son comes across a secret lair full of superhero
equipment. Lee would then go on to reprise his role in the first two seasons of
the follow-up series Big Hero 6 – The Series, where he was
revealed to be an in-universe superhero named Boss Awesome.
Going back to
live-action, we have his appearance in 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse. While
it’s only a non-vocal cameo, in which he observes the sudden launch of all the
world’s nukes as orchestrated by the titular antagonist Apocalypse, it’s
notable in a heartwarming sense since it’s the only one where he got to star
alongside his wife, Joan Lee. It was her first live-action cameo in a Marvel
production after previously having voice roles in various Marvel TV productions
from the 90’s… and her last on-screen appearance before her passing on July 6th,
2017.
Speaking of the X-Men
universe, there’s his appearance in the 2017 short No Good Deed, a
special teaser to 2018’s Deadpool 2 which gave audiences their first
look into how the character was being handled under the direction of David
Leitch. Lee only appears in the version of the short that was released online
rather than the version seen in theaters in front of that year’s Logan,
but it’s still an enjoyable cameo nevertheless as Lee praises Deadpool’s suit
before the Merc with a Mouth tells him to zip it… and, of course, given
Deadpool’s fourth-wall-breaking habits, he directly refers to Stan by name.
Finally, let’s go over his final two appearances
in an Avengers film. In 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, he’s the
bus driver for Peter Parker and his classmates who pokes fun at his passengers’
stunned reactions to the appearance of Thanos’ herald Ebony Maw’s ship above
the skies of New York (“What’s the matter with you kids? You never seen a spaceship
before?”).
And finally, there’s his final cameo in a Marvel film, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. In this film, Lee appears during the sequence where Iron Man and Captain America travel back in time to 1970 to collect the Tesseract AKA the Space Infinity Stone when their original attempt to do so in 2012 failed. Lee and his female companion (with Lee digitally de-aged to look like he did in 1970 and his companion modeled after his wife Joan) drive by the S.H.I.E.L.D. base at Camp Lehigh, New Jersey, with Lee shouting “Hey man, make love, not war!”. And on his car’s bumper sticker, we see one of his most iconic catchphrases, “Nuff Said!”
15. Chess-Playing
New Yorker – The Avengers
As a bunch of news reports cover the Avengers’ successful defeat of Loki and the Chitauri, Lee appears as an interviewee who remarks “Superheroes in New York? Give Me a Break!”. He had a different yet equally delightful cameo that wound up on the cutting room floor where, during a scene where Captain America is at a diner and hit on by a waitress, he tells Cap to “ask for her number, you moron!”.
14. Fed-Ex
Delivery Man – Captain America: Civil War
After the intense conflicts
of the third Captain America film, and especially after a scene where
Tony tries to help his pal Rhodey deal with the spinal injury that he suffered
during the Avengers’ airport skirmish, Stan Lee gets to provide some much-needed levity when he appears as a Fed-Ex driver delivering a package to the
Avengers’ compound… the only problem is that the name on the label was misspelled,
resulting in him asking for a “Tony Stank”. Rhodey promptly and delightfully revels at this hilarious misnomer.
13. Sakaarian Barber – Thor: Ragnarök
We can thank good ol’ Stan for Thor’s new haircut in Thor: Ragnarök as he’s the Sakaarian barber who trims the God of Thunder’s blond locks before he’s sent off to compete in Sakaar’s Contest of Champions. A lot of great banter here between Lee and Chris Hemsworth (which is fitting since Lee has gone on record stating that Hemsworth was always one of his favorites to work with onscreen) as Thor boldly proclaims that the barber will never cut his hair… but then, after Stan turns on his haircutting device, Thor starts to get desperate and pleads with the “nice old man” not to cut his hair.
12. Graduation Guest – The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Peter Parker barely manages to make it to his high school graduation before his name is called. When he first gets there, he nearly goes onstage wearing his Spider-Man mask before he remembers to take that off… but not before Stan ‘The Man’ spots him and proclaims, “I think I know that guy!”. Lee would end up saying the exact same thing to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man as part of a series of commercials advertising ABC’s coverage of the NBA Finals around the time of Spider-Man: Homecoming’s release.
11. Not on the
Guest List – Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
A great example of
how a Stan Lee cameo could be done in a manner that feels quite relevant in the
context of the comics is in the second 2000’s era Fantastic Four film, 2007’s
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which saw Lee attending the wedding
of Reed Richards and Sue Storm… only to get denied entry because he wasn’t on
the guest list.
10. San Francisco Resident
– Ant-Man and the Wasp
During the climax of Ant-Man and the Wasp, a Pym Particle disc hits a car, which causes it to shrink as the owner remarks “Well, the ’60s were fun, but now I’m paying for it!”. A basic cameo, admittedly, but one that is made even more memorable by the numerous alternate takes that can be seen in the film’s outtakes. For all we know, that man probably stole that car… either that, or he’s lucky that it was only a rental. But wait, did he leave his sandwich and/or coupons in there? Well, if anything, at least he was able to find a parking spot in San Francisco…
9. A Stan Lee Cameo in a DC Movie??? – Teen Titans Go to the Movies
Yes, as crazy as it may seem, Stan Lee made a prominent cameo in a film based on a DC Comics property; the film in question being the animated genre spoofer that was Teen Titans Go to the Movies. As the Teen Titans walk through the Warner Bros. studio lot, Lee, first seen sweeping in the background, shifts the focus over to him and proudly announces that he’s here for his “subtle cameo”. But then someone tells him that he’s in a DC film, promptly resulting in him leaving… before he returns during the climactic chase scene involving the Titans and the forces of their enemy Slade where he jumps on their golf cart and proclaims that he doesn’t mind the fact that he’s in a DC production. He just loves making cameos!
8. Mallrat Stan
– Captain Marvel
2019’s Captain
Marvel was the first MCU film released after Stan Lee’s death, and sure
enough, Marvel Studios went all out to pay tribute to the man, the myth, the
legend. In fact, it all starts at the very beginning of the film as the
traditional character-filled Marvel Studios logo is replaced with photos and
clips of the beloved Marvel icon. And at the end of this whole sequence, a
simple yet poignant message appears on-screen; “Thank you Stan”. As for his
in-film cameo, we have a moment that directly ties into Lee’s career given that
the film is set in 1995. As Captain Marvel pursues a Skrull operative on an LA
subway train, she takes note of an old man reading from a film script. When she
pulls down his script, he flashes his lovably warm smile which she promptly
reciprocates. A nice, sweet cameo all-around, but also a fun one for those in
the film fan community since the script that Stan is reading from is Kevin
Smith’s Mallrats, where he, of course, made one of his first notable cinematic
cameos.
7. Drunk War Vet –
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Another fan-favorite
cameo of Lee’s sees him attending the Avengers’ party in Avengers Tower, where Thor
brings out a flask of an ancient Asgardian ale. While he warns the partygoers
that it isn’t meant for mortal men, one World War II vet is willing to give it
a try. But sure enough, it leaves the old man flat-out drunk as two guys carry
him out; as this happens, the veteran woozily utters a single word, “Excelsior!”
6. Smithsonian
Security Guard – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
As the climax for
Captain America’s second MCU solo film ramps up, the titular hero steals his original
World War II-era uniform from the Smithsonian Museum’s Captain America exhibit
before he and his allies begin their attack on the HYDRA-compromised S.H.I.E.L.D.
We learn about this as a security guard notices its absence and laments “Oh
man! I am so fired!”.
5. “You Look
Great, Hef!” – Iron Man
Lee’s first cameo in
a Marvel Cinematic Universe production is often cited as one of his best, and
it’s easy to see why. It’s a simple yet hilarious cameo in which Tony Stark AKA
Iron Man attends a charity event and passes by a man who he thinks is Playboy
founder Hugh Hefner, only for the man to turn around and reveal himself to
be our favorite Marvel icon. This approach for a Stan Lee cameo would be repeated
in the sequel, 2010’s Iron Man 2, where he’s referred to as radio host
Larry King by Tony’s chauffeur and bodyguard Happy Hogan as he and Tony travel
through the crowd at the Stark Expo and converse with the latter’s fans.
4. Watcher
Informant – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
The second cinematic
outing for everyone’s favorite band of intergalactic a-holes gives us a definite
answer on the nature of Stan Lee’s cameos in the MCU. As it turns out, he’s an informant
for the all-knowing group of sentient cosmic beings known as the Watchers.
First appearing in a scene where his conversation with them gets interrupted by
Rocket, Baby Groot, Yondu, and Kraglin traveling through a bunch of hyperspace
jumps to get to Ego’s planet, Lee’s informant then proceeds to talk about the time
that he worked for FedEx. In the film’s final post-credit scene, the
disinterested Watchers leave without giving their informant a lift home. Sure, this
cameo may have instigated a bit of a continuity error since Guardians of the
Galaxy Vol 2 is set before the events of Captain America: Civil
War, but it still presents a delightful way of explaining Lee’s cameos that
isn’t far off from what the common fan theory was at the time that suggested
that he’d be revealed to be the most famous Watcher, Uatu.
3. Unaware Librarian
– The Amazing Spider-Man
Andrew Garfield’s
first outing as Spider-Man resulted in one of Stan Lee’s most hilarious cameos
during the sequence where Spidey fights Dr. Connors AKA The Lizard in his high school.
At one point, they rampage through the library all while the librarian on duty is just going about his business and listening to classical music on headphones,
completely unaware of what’s going on behind him even when a table nearly gets
thrown at him, which Spidey thankfully catches.
2. Man in Times
Square – Spider-Man 3
Stan Lee’s first two
cameos in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy were the very definition of a basic
cameo; in both instances, he appeared briefly as a citizen who pulls someone
out of the way of falling debris during Spidey’s first fights with the Green
Goblin and Doc Ock, respectively. But as revealed in the films’ bonus features,
there were some alternate ideas as to how he’d appear in them. In the first Spider-Man
from 2002, he almost appeared as a street vendor at the World Unity Fair selling
sunglasses that, as he put it, were the kind “they wore in the X-Men”.
In Spider-Man 2, he almost appears as an onlooker who remarks that Spider-Man
stole a kid’s sneakers. Ultimately, his best Raimi trilogy cameo occurred in
the final installment of the trilogy, 2007’s Spider-Man 3. After Spidey rescues
Gwen Stacy from an incident with a faulty crane, he learns that he’s set to be
honored by the city of New York from one of the news tickers in Times Square. A
man standing next to him remarks “You know, I guess one person can make a
difference. ‘Nuff Said!”. I think most will agree that this is easily one of
Lee’s best cameos; in just a single line, the well-spoken Marvel icon makes a
poignant observation about the importance of superheroes. And on that note…
1. Costume Shop
Owner – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
We’ve covered plenty of great Stan Lee cameos today, many of them delightfully wacky comedic moments that perfectly matched Lee’s lovable on and offscreen persona. But for the Number 1 pick, I decided to go with the most poignant cameo of them all; the first proper Stan Lee cameo that was released after his death in the Phil Lord and Chris Miller-produced Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In the film, Lee plays the owner of a costume shop where new Spider-Man Miles Morales buys a Spider-Man costume in the wake of his universe’s Peter Parker’s death. When he brings the costume up to the register, the owner laments that he’s going to miss Spider-Man and notes that he was friends with the web-slinger. When Miles inquires about the possibility of having to return the costume if it doesn’t fit, the owner notes that “it always fits, eventually”, a seemingly sweet gesture… before the camera pans over to the sign behind him that states his no return policy.
I decided to go with
this one because I think it perfectly sums up Lee’s legacy, especially since
everyone’s favorite webslinger may quite arguably be his most famous creation.
This scene between Lee and the new Spidey, Miles, sees the former have some of
the most poignant dialogue that he’s ever delivered in a Marvel film before
ending with a classic bit of Stan Lee humor. This touching tribute is then
extended to the film’s credits, which pays tribute to both him and Spider-Man
co-creator Steve Ditko, who had passed away that past June. The following
quote, “That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done,
and because it’s the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt a real
superhero”, appears over an image of a pair of familiar-looking glasses. Cut to
the following statement, “Thank you, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, for telling us we
aren’t the only ones”.
And that concludes my list of my Top 15 personal favorite Stan Lee cinematic cameos. Thanks for following along and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own personal favorites, including all those shows and video games that I didn’t tackle in today’s post.
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