Stan Lee, the man who created many of the world’s favourite comic superheroes , has died aged 95.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bendigo fans including Bendi-Con organiser Peter Pascoe were shocked to hear the news this morning.
Mr Pascoe called Lee one of the great mythmakers of the 20th century.
“People like Lee, JRR Tolkien and George Lucas are people that created worlds that fans like myself have immersed into,” Mr Pascoe said.
“Stan Lee was the co-creator of characters I grew up reading and collecting. He was an ambassador for Marvel as well right up until his death.”
Bendigo Cosplayers Society member Kara Harris said Lee was one of the fathers of the comic world.
“It was sad to hear because there had been so much news about his health and how it was deteriorating,” she said. “It’s sad to lose a hero of the comic world.”
While Ms Harris has been a long-time Marvel fan, she wishes she had become one sooner.
“I was a fan quite a while later than I should've been. I should have been a fan earlier but I dived in head first (when I was introduced to Marvel),” she said.
“I will definitely will miss picking his cameos out of the Marvel films. One of the fun things about Stan Lee was getting a laugh from his cameos and characters.”
Ms Harris has cosplayed as Marvel characters Doctor Strange and Loki this year.
“So many iconic characters came from Marvel but I really love the Thor universe,” she said.
“It’s all about the details and the different personalities that each character has. There arestrong characters like Captain America and Loki the trickster. I love the variety of them and seeing them work together in the Avengers.”
Chris Hiddins was drawn to Spider-Man as a child. He is a Spider-Man entertainer that is a regular feature at community events in Bendigo.
“Stan Lee helped create the heroes that so many people could see themselves in,” Mr Hiddins said.
“(Spider-Man) was a superhero but at the same time he was just a kid with the same problems I had - homework, chores and getting grounded. But he still managed to do go out save the people that needed saving.”
Mr Hiddins said one of the sad things about Lee’s death was that he wouldn’t see the Avengers cinematic saga concluded.
“It was obvious he loved everything about the comic world he helped build,’ he said.
“It's sad he won't be able to see the next Avengers movie, as it's the final showdown and conclusion to the story that's been told for the last 10 years.
“Spotting him in every Marvel movie has always been a treat. Each cameo captures Stan's personality spot on.”
As a writer and publisher at Marvel Comics he introduced fans to superheroes such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk.
Along with Steve Ditko – who also died earlier this year – and Jack Kirby, Lee formed the modern Marvel universe that fans love.
“For me Fantastic Four and Spider-Man were the (best characters),” Mr Pascoe said.
“Fantastic Four launched modern Marvel. At the time Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were working at how to ground superheroes and make them more interesting.
“(Fantastic Four) was family, not a group thrown together, an actual family who argued. There was a soap opera angle to it.”
Lee was also credited with making his heroes flawed and two dimensional rather than the “boy scout”, one dimensional heroes comic fans had been reading prior to the 1960s.
“DC Comics had been around for 20 years with this mythological but one dimensional characters,” Mr Pascoe said.
“Stan Lee brought a second dimension. Peter Parker had powers but also a lot of bad luck. There was a flaw and second dimension to characters made them more grounded in our world.
“The world wasn’t a fictional city, they were grounded characters in New York City. People like myself have visited spots where Marvel events have taken place.”
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.