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The MCU is the biggest movie franchise in the world, and it has an established formula that has been working since 2008's Iron Man. Marvel keeps a lot of things the same with their movies, including a cameo or reference to the late, great, Stan Lee.
Lee is a comic book legend who created some of the biggest characters ever. The creator certainly had his favorite characters, and he even did some work with DC. Through the years, Lee reshaped superheroes forever, which subsequently changed the world of box office blockbusters forever.
Stan Lee may have appeared in countless Marvel movies, but his best cameo came from outside the superhero realm. We have all the details here!
Stan Lee Is A Legend Of The Comic Industry
As one of the most important figures in the history of comic books, Stan Lee is a creator who hardly needs an introduction. If you like comic books and superheroes, then we can almost guarantee that you've enjoyed something that Stan Lee created.
Lee's time with Marvel is the stuff of legend, and because of this man, some of the most popular heroes in history made their way into print. Lee was responsible for the creation of heroes like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Panther, The X-Men, The Avengers, and more. He also helped create villains like Doctor Doom, Green Goblin, Magneto, and Kingpin.
Thanks to his contributions to the industry, Marvel has always found a way to get Stan Lee into their big screen features.
Stan Lee Appeared In Countless Marvel Movies
One of the best parts of every Marvel movie has been the Stan Lee cameo. The man himself got to appear in countless movies during his years in entertainment, and Marvel fans always enjoyed seeing Stan on screen. After all, these movies would not have been possible without his contributions to the comic industry.
Lee certainly enjoyed being on camera, something that MCU mastermind, Kevin Feige, joked about after the comic creator's passing.
"When I sat down by his chair in our last meeting, the very first thing he said was: ‘I know you want me to star in the next movie, but I have to just stick to the cameos. You’ll have to leave the starring roles to the other actors. I’m sorry," Feige wrote in a tribute to Stan for Entertainment Weekly.
"He would show up to the movie sets game for anything. But one thing he would always do is try to add more lines. He always would joke — but not really joke — about wanting more lines, although he understood why we couldn’t. God forbid he would start to overshadow the hero. That was something a character like Stan Lee could easily do," he continued.
As great as his Marvel cameos were, Stan Lee's best cameo came in a '90s cult classic.
Stan Lee's Best Cameo Was In 'Mallrats'
So, what movie featured Stan Lee's best cameo? Well, that would be none other than Mallrats, the Kevin Smith cult classic from the '90s.
Smith was always ahead of the pack with incorporating geek culture into movies, and getting Stan Lee in Mallrats was a huge win, even if the film was not a major success at the time of its release.
When talking about getting Stan on board, Smith said, "We got Stan because our producer Jim Jacks would take him out to dinner once a month in the 90's. When I wrote the scene, it didn't have Stan in it - just a comics guru type. Jim said 'Who is this guy supposed to be?' I said 'Like a Stan Lee.' He said 'Why don't you write it for Stan?' I said 'I don't know him.' Jim said 'I do.'"
Lee's conversation with superfan Brodie in the film makes for a genuinely funny and heartwarming exchange, instead of just the quick cameo that fans grew accustomed to in Marvel movies. There was genuine meaning behind his cameo in Mallrats, which makes the movie an even better watch these days.
"He was adorable and everything you hoped. We had cue cards up for him because he was 74. They told us 'Be careful with him. He's 74 and could go at any minute.' Stan almost lived to be 96. He asked to include the P.S. with T.S., in which he reveals it was a fake story because he didn't want to hurt his wife's feelings," said Smith about Lee's cameo.
Mallrats is already a film worth checking out in its own right, but go give it a watch and soak in Stan Lee's best cameo.