Spider-man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron man, Black Panther and Thor are only some of the beloved Marvel characters that editor, publisher and writer Stan Lee helped to create.

On Monday November 12, 2018, Lee passed away after a rough year of lawsuits and the death of his wife, but not before leaving his mark on comics and superhero movies across the world.

When he first wrote comics in the 1900’s, Lee gave a new spin to the well-known superheroes by giving them human flaws and insecurities, as well as comedy, making them more relatable to the readers.

Many West High students were saddened to hear the news that Lee had died. Ethan Buck ‘21 is one of these students, as well as an avid fan of the Marvel movies. Upon finding out that Lee had passed away, Buck was speechless.

“It came as a shock to me because he’s been with us throughout all of the Marvel movies,” Buck said. “It just won’t be the same without him.”

One of Lee’s signature roles was making cameo appearances in several of his Marvel movies. From cartoons to movies, Lee made a tradition of showing up in short scenes of the productions based off of his comics.

Emma Caster ‘21, another fan of Marvel’s movies and comics, always looked forward to Lee’s subtle appearances throughout the movies.

“I like how all of the movies are intertwined with each other, and the cameos, obviously,” Caster said. “Everything’s going to be different now, but if there’s no cameo, I’m going to start crying.”