Thoughts on the Late Stan Lee.

We all knew it was going to happen. Most of us kept telling ourselves it wouldn't anytime soon but Stan "The Man" Lee was old when many of us were young and each year he remained on this Earth was a gift to fanboys and fangirls alike.

Nobody could deny his infectious enthusiasm for the comics medium and all it has accomplished and still can. To say he became the face of comics is a given. Was it really his fault that those who were not in the know failed to grasp the contributions of so many others to his and Marvel Comics' success? How many people notice the producers and bandmembers behind the frontman/woman when they idolize a singer? Who pays attention to the names in the end credits when the movie is over? Does anyone ask for the name of the anesthesiologist after the operation?

Obviously some people do, and if you're reading this, you're probably one of them. But for those who don't, Jack Kirby's contributions have gone largely unnoticed and unacknowledged. The man defined the look of Marvel for decades to come and the argument has been made (by him as well) that he did most of the work while Lee added words here and there. Further, one could make the argument that Lee refined Kirby's work in ways the artist lacked the skill to do, a claim that becomes more credible when looking at Kirby's early 1970s work for DC.

There's also the claims of Steve Ditko, the recently deceased artist behind Spiderman's look and aesthetic. Lee has never denied that the famous artist designed Spidey's look and contributed greatly to the overall concept. We do know Kirby took a shot at the character first but Lee didn't care for what he came up with.

To be honest, I spent years having issues with Stan Lee. They grew in intensity during the 2000s when I realized younger generations had no idea about the controversy surrounding the credit he'd been given and, going strictly by his generally wonderful cameos in the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, had assumed he was the sole creator behind it all. To see their faces when they found out he had nothing to do with the creation of Captain America was truly a sight to behold. I wonder how they'd feel knowing Thanos was created after Lee had become little more than a figurehead in his own organization?

It seems as if those of us that fall in the middle, Gen-X'ers mainly, had the biggest gripe with Lee's rampant glory hogging. We were alive when the Old School genuineness such as Kirby and Ditko were still vibrant and vocal enough to make their points clear. We were there when a new generation of artists broke away from Marvel and formed Image Comics, a creator-owned concept that has somehow reinvented itself and remained relevant. And even though Image wasn't formed as a "screw you" to Lee directly, it was his tendency towards not speaking up when undue credit was thrown his way in the supposed name of advancing the brand that created the environment in which those artists found themselves.

Unlike "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, there didn't seem to be an arrogance or maliciousness to Lee's credit-taking. In fact, he seemed rather non-plussed by Kirby's apparent rage and Ditko's disgust. If he can be accused of anything, it's most likely good-natured obliviousness. Unlike William Shatner whose ego was off the charts, Lee meant well. You could tell by the sentiments expressed in his "Stan's Soapbox" column. And despite how disappointed I was to learn he was no longer writing the column bearing his name in the Seventies, the early, Lee penned pieces are a look inside what made the man who he was.

With the coming of the MCU, Lee rose to a prominence perhaps greater than what he'd experienced in the Sixties and Seventies. He was once again a household name and his ubiquitous mug was showing up all over the place. His cameos became an expected part of the Marvel movie experience. Lee had officially graduated from hip representative of the Mod Comics Scene to Grandmaster and Elder statesman who made all of this possible. He also, in his advancing years, started giving credit to his collaborators. It doesn't take a cynic to see why Disney would be more comfortable letting the credit rest with a single, identifiable person rather than worrying about having to split the royalties with several others.

Stan Lee became that beloved cool grandpa many of us never had, the old dude who never acted old and who got us. The extra added benefit of him actually helping to create the things that shaped our lives made him even cooler. The messages embedded in his work, social justice, anti-bullying, anti-racism, taking women seriously as individuals, and always the little guy, will survive him.

My relationship with Stan Lee was a complicated one but, in the end, it was a loving and respectful one and that, I think, is that.

'Nuff said~