In the passing of Stan Lee, tributes have come from every nook and cranny and the comics industry, including many heartfelt thoughts from competing publishers. In the case of one small Illinois town, they’re paying tribute with arguably the most iconic DC Comics characters of all time.
In Metropolis, Illinois, citizens have placed a black armband on the 15-foot Superman in remembrance of Stan Lee. The Super Museum — a museum founded in 1993 celebrating all things Superman — tweeted a picture of the updated statue.
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“Our great city of Metropolis has put a black armband on the Superman statue to honor the passing of comic book icon Stan Lee,” the museum tweeted.
A town with a population of under 6,500, Metropolis was named the “Hometown of Superman” by DC Comics on January 21, 1972. The Illinois State Legislature went on to pass Resolution 572 later that summer, a move that symbolically confirmed the “Hometown of Superman” status.
In addition to the 15-foot statue of Superman that resides in front of the Massac County courthouse, Metropolis is also home to the world’s largest museum dedicated solely to Superman. The town’s weekly paper is titled The Metropolis Planet, a play on The Daily Planet newspaper a part of Clark Kent’s mythos.
2018 saw the city celebrate its 40th Superman Celebration — an annual four-day convention with Superman take over the town to celebrate the love they share for the hero. Last year, Superman Returns alum and current Legends of Tomorrow star Brandon Routh appeared alongside Krypton stars Shaun Sipos (Adam Strange) and Blake Ritson (Brainiac).
Lee — former Editor-in-Chief/Publisher of Marvel Comics — passed away earlier this week at the age of 95. He was preceded in death by his wife Joan. He’s survived by his daughter J.C., who revealed after news of Lee’s passing that the two had been working on a new character together.
“I’ve been trying to get him to create a character with me his entire life. We’ve been working on a character called Dirt Man,” J.C. revealed. “The last little angel we’ve got tucked away is Dirt Man and I said ‘Daddy, no clatter, no steel, no any of that.’”
“‘Let’s get down and dirty. Let’s do what’s going on and what’s about love. Let’s do Dirt Man.’ It’s very interesting and it’s not over yet. We still have a little trickery.”
