Everybody knows Stan Lee as the editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and creator of the Fantastic Four, Spider-man, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, and many other Marvel characters, but Stan Lee is his alter ego if you will. His real name was Stanley Leiber but he wanted to have a more flashy name to put on the books he wrote. His life didn’t start that glamorous though. He ended up fighting In WWII and being a writer of Manuel’s training. 

Stan was like everybody else though he met and married his sweetheart, Joan, after meeting her in a  store. He struggled with his purpose in life. He didn’t know if his job as a comic book writer was that important. Until his friend Jack Kirby suggested he write what he felt like writing and if his editor at the time didn’t like what they created they went back to write what they were supposed to. That changed though because the Fantastic Four became a huge hit and the rest was history for Marvel Comics.

Stan changed the world though. He made a difference in the world by creating characters that have some empathy or sympathetic character traits. Like a monster on the outside but a real human on the inside. A teen that has real-life problems with his family, school, and other things but he’s a superhero in disguise which creates a whole other group of problems because he was always in a fight for his life. And he had to worry about the local newspaper saying bad things about him as well.

The filmmaker of this documentary, David Gelb and the writer uses a couple of interesting tricks to bring this man’s colorful life to the screen. One of the tricks they use is stop-motion animation. And Stan narrates his own life. Between these two things, there is a lot of archival footage as well. There is a lot of footage of this man, his wife, and his life that is in the documentary.

Stan used his platform as an editor and writer to promote his beliefs and things he was against in society. Marvel Comics was always at the forefront of talking about controversial topics like racism, alcoholism, drug abuse, and many other things that were issues in the world. He infused his stories with real life. Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby were his go-to guys back in the day. They worked well with Stan.

Stan became bigger than life though. He started appearing in movies based on his characters. This man transcended what he started so many years before and has become his own thing. People associate Marvel with Stan Lee and because of that, the film and television shows have become an extension of him per se. He was the figurehead and eventually publisher for this company even when he didn’t work for them anymore. Marvel was sold to Disney but they kept him around in an ambassador capacity.

Stan did things in the comics like crossovers and DC copied him and crossovers became a regular thing. He became a trendsetter in the world of comics. His stories made the characters relatable to society as a whole. He always changed things up to give people a new perspective. That’s what made him such an important person and his lessons were influential in the world. He was and is still to this day a hero of mine. I read Marvel comics religiously and I learned how to read from them. That’s the impact he had on me.

Stan Lee is a great documentary that shows people this man’s life from when he was a young man to the end just before he passed away in 2018. He changed the world, saw comic books, and made them transcend society. They became more than just for kids. They were like a way of learning and helping the world. This film shows Stan in a great light via narration, stop-motion animation, and archival footage. This is one of the best docs I’ve seen this year.

Stan Lee streams on Disney Plus June 16th

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen