Stan Lee Easter Egg Spotted In Marvel's WandaVision

In "Breaking the Fourth Wall," today's episode of WandaVision, the series provides...well, not a Stan Lee cameo, exactly, but something akin to one. The legendary Marvel editor and writer passed away in 2018, and his final filmed Marvel cameo appeared in Avengers: Endgame, but like The Wolverine and other Marvel properties in which Lee didn't personally appear, WandaVision found a way to have him there in spirit, for anybody who might be looking. The episode, which is structured like an episode of the hit sitcom Modern Family, features an opening sequence that runs through a variety of different potential logos, each featuring Wanda's name.

There's a street sign, and skywriting, but the one that really stands out is an otherwise-boring license plate. While "Wanda" is what's spelled out on the face of the plate itself, there's a numeric code above it -- 122822 -- that caught fans' eyes.

You can see it below.

In the U.S., 12/28/22 is the abbreviated form of December 28, 1922 -- which is the birthdate of Stan Lee. Lee and longtime collaborator Jack Kirby are credited with the creation of Scarlet Witch and her brother Quicksilver, who first appeared in 1964's X-Men #4. The Vision, Wanda's co-lead in the series, was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema years later in an issue of The Avengers.

While Lee reportedly had a contract that gave him a cameo in any movie or TV series based on works he was credited with creating, he would also frequently appear in movies featuring characters he never worked on, since fans enjoyed watching for him, and Lee enjoyed seeing his lifelong dreams of bringing Marvel characters to Hollywood realized. This meant appearances for Lee in movies like Deadpool, a character created after Lee was no longer working in comics day-to-day.

According to True Believer, a new biography of Lee out this week, the Marvel magnate rarely actually watched the movies, though, with numerous people close to him saying that he didn't really enjoy them. Lee, who famously didn't think much of comics and superheroes early in his career, grew to be the public face of the medium and one of its greatest supporters.

Maybe the most significant thing Lee is credited with creating isn't any given character, but the concept of the shared, interconnected Marvel Universe. WandaVision is arguably the next phase in that bold storytelling experiment as far as people outside of comic shops are concerned.

Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has said that Disney+ series like WandaVision are setting up other big Marvel Phase 4 projects like Loki and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness:

"If you want to understand everything in future Marvel movies you'll probably need a Disney+ subscription, because events from the new shows will factor into forthcoming films such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," Feige said before adding that the "Loki series will tie in too."

WandaVision is now on Disney+.