Stan Lee at 90: Ninety Reasons to Love “The Man”

It’s midnight West Coast time here in the U.S., which means legendary comics writer and editor Stan Lee’s ninetieth birthday is underway from sea to shining sea. Having spent most of his life working in and around comics, Lee has had an immeasurable impact on the industry, the art form and of course the commercial value of comics.We thought it could be fun to break down ninety reasons to love Stan–one for every year he’s been around–but just rattling off ninety memorable characters he had a hand in creating would be too easy. Rather, we wanted to divide it up into a few categories and get a bit of a cross section going.For the most part, we’ll just let these reasons stand on their own–it’s pretty obvious why “Spider-Man” is a reason to love Stan, after all…but we’ll explain some of them as we feel it’s needed or adds something.Excelsior!

Ninety Reasons to Love Stan Lee

Stan’s vast character library

1. Adam Warlock2. Annihilus3. Ant-Man4. Aunt May and Uncle BenThe best parents in comics aren’t actually parents.5. Avengers

6. BATROC THE LEAPER H.E.R.B.I.E. 18. FRANKLIN RICHARDS 20. GROOT 21. Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson The Power of Myth 38. RAVAGE 2099 49. Any number of supporting characters 52. Virtually Every Villain You’ve Seen in a Movie The Shared Universe New York, New York Superheroes as Metaphor A Little Diversity Just Imagine… Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating… Marvel Style Moral Ambiguity The Tortured Hero Consequences The Danger Room Branding The Bullpen The Merry Marvel Marching Society Helping to save the superhero How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way If it works, steal it. Justice League of America The Avengers The lovably corny catch-phrases Secret Origin His Underappreciated Work Outside of Superheroes His Service in World War II The Comics Ambassador Still Working After All These Years His Arc Reactor comparing himself to Iron Man His tweets are still cooler than yours this week’s exchange He’s got a sense of humor about himself Chuck He has absolutely no modesty whatsoever. He’s won every award in the world. Working with the Hero Initiative Hero Initiative “shifted” to Hero The Stan Lee Foundation Loose Lips that Launch Ships says something offhand Forever Embracing Change Where’s Stan? Stan Lee on Film The Ambulance Batman: The Animated Series He never stops smiling He gets to hang out with America Young Stan Lee’s World of Heroes 65 Years of Marriage 90 Years of Stan Lee