David Pierdomenico
As fans still mourn the loss of one of the greatest creative legends of our time, there is comfort in knowing that we can still spot Stan Lee in countless films. Despite not having an active role in Marvel Comics for the past few decades, he was certainly active with Marvel Studios as he popped up in every MCU film, and most other films based on Marvel characters. What started as a gimmick became a staple as fans engaged in a “Where’s Waldo?” type of game trying to locate Lee in each new film that was released. But what many fans may not know is that his penchant for cameos began in an unlikely place.
Smith Knew Lee Before It Was Cool
While most people are very familiar with Stan Lee now due to the MCU, back in 1995 this was very much not the case. Diehard fans like Smith knew who he was of course, but the general public didn’t. And it was because of this that Smith wrote Lee into his 1995 film Mallrats. Lee plays himself and has a really enlightening scene with one of the film’s main characters Brodie (Jason Lee). He gives Brodie relationship advice framed around his own personal experiences, and uses Marvel characters as comparisons. In an interesting anecdote, Lee described that the personal romance story he told was completely fictional, and that when his wife watched the scene, she demanded to know “what girlfriend?!” he was referring to.
In a 2016 interview, Lee went so far as to say that Mallrats was his favorite role he had ever played. So it begs the question: did playing himself in this film spark something. Before Mallrats he had made brief appearances here and there and had even served as the narrator for The Incredible Hulk and Spiderman and his Amazing Friends TV series. But after that, he appeared in 60+ films and TV series from 1996-2018, and fortunately he already filmed his cameos for the next few Marvel films in 2019.
Getting to Know a New Generation
Because of the prevalence of comic book/superhero films today, it’s no surprise that there are quite a few fans of the films, that aren’t necessarily fans of the comics. For many, the cinematic adventures are the primary exposure they’ve had to characters like Wolverine, the Hulk, Deadpool, Captain America, Thor, and Black Panther. How many Batman fans won’t recognize the name Bob Kane? Were it not for Stan Lee’s countless cameos, he may have suffered the same fate to fade into obscurity. But instead he spent his 70’s-90’s being recognized and adored by fans as the great creative mind that he was.
His cameo career became so prolific that there is a myriad of lists compiling his best ones. He also became something of a beacon for geek culture; with his “Excelsior!” catchphrase, his appearances in series like The Big Bang Theory, Heroes, and the Simpsons, as well as his own series on History Channel Stan Lee’s Superhumans. Lee reached a point where he transcended the particular comic book properties that he created, or even ones that Marvel produced. Earlier this year, an animated version of him graced the screen in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies where he delivered the line, “This is a DC movie? I don’t care if it’s a DC movie! I love cameos!”
It’s very likely that none of this would have happened, had it not been for Lee playing himself in that overlooked but hilarious film over 20 years ago. So as we remember and pay respects by watching as many Marvel films as we can, give Mallrats a go. Not only is it filled with comic book references since Kevin Smith himself is a passionate fan, but it serves as a reminder of how Lee’s iconic career in cameos began.
