IโM BACK! โ Stan pic.twitter.com/xfk0pA8mBH
โ stan lee (@TheRealStanLee) July 12, 2018
To say that 2018 has been a strange year for Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee would be an understatement. However, as move into the second half of the year, things may in fact be looking up for Lee – at least according to his recent Twitter post, where he claims to have bounced back from some recent troubles.
Videos by ComicBook.com
You can check out the video above, in which Lee has the following message for fans:
“Hey heroes, this is Stan Lee, I hope you haven’t forgotten me. You better not have forgotten me! It’s been awhile since I’ve done a soapbox. It’s taken me awhile to get used to being 79 years old. I found 78, that was easy; 79 is getting a little tougher. But I figure no sacrifice is too great for my fans, so I want to start reaching out again. We’ve been together for so many generations, I don’t want that to stop. I don’t consider you as fans, I consider you as close, close friends. I’d like to feel like you consider me the same way.
So let’s think of it that we have that relationship: I’m your friend, your my friend, and we’re not going to let anything come between that arrangement. And that’s all I really wanted to say, for my first in a new series of videos. So that’s it; I’m warning you I’m back again, with new energy, with new care, with new things to say, and with new [inaudible] of the fact that I love my fans, and they are the greatest people in the world, and I would do anything for them. Excelsior!”
This seems like an upswing, after Lee has been giving Marvel fans legitimate concern over his health and well-being in recent months. Things took a turn for the bizarre when it was announced that Lee was suffering from elder abuse at the hands of those close to him – a charge Lee initially denied, though he has since cut ties with and is suing a former manager for misusing his funds and possibly using violent intimidation tactics against him. If that wasn’t enough, Lee is also suing his former company, POW! Entertainment.
All of these concerning reports have led to an outpouring of support from fans and celebrities, who have all echoed the desire to see Lee get better care. At the moment, Lee’s former lawyer Tom Lallas (who reportedly once tried to shield him from the toxic people in his circle) has been appointed as his official guardian ad litem, tasked with playing a supervisory role in protecting Lee’s interests – a situation used for cases like child abuse and elder abuse.
You can next spot Stan Lee in Ant-Man and the Wasp. He also pops up in Luke Cage season 2 (out now), but you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled for that one.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is now in theaters. Avengers: Infinity War will be released on home video in August. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.