Since passing away last year, Stan Lee has received homages all around the world. This has included shout outs in the films based on Marvel properties, tributes in the comics and accolades throughout the entertainment industry.
While the shout outs have all been moving, perhaps the best one comes from the newest Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Captain Marvel. The tribute is short and sweet, and the perfect send off for the legendary Lee.
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The Tribute
The tribute comes before the beginning of the movie proper, during the usual Marvel Studios logo animation. Instead of featuring the usual assortment of brief clips and shots of Marvel superheroes, the pictures are instead replaced with shots of all the cameos Lee made in the MCU. The traditional musical fanfare is featured throughout the shots, elevating Lee's cameos to the same grand scale usually reserved for the superheroes of the MCU.
The tribute is one of the best Lee has ever received, elevating the famed creator to the same level as the famous characters he co-created. After the logo plays, there's a short message that pays tribute to the creator, thanking him for his work in expanding the Marvel Universe.
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It all comes around when Lee actually makes his cameo in the film... as himself. Lee typically appeared as various characters in the MCU, including as an agent for the Watchers and a general in World War II. But since Captain Marvel takes place in Los Angeles in 1995, it's the perfect place for Lee to appear as himself.
Captain Marvel ends up passing by Lee on a train as he reads the screenplay for the Kevin Smith film Mallrats, which famously featured an extended appearance by the creator. By letting Lee actually just be himself, Captain Marvel ends up having one of the best appearances for the creator in the entire MCU and serves as the perfect farewell for one of the cinematic universe's biggest inspirations.
Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck from a script they wrote with Liz Flahive, Carly Mensch, Meg LeFauve, Nicole Perlman and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Captain Marvel stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jude Law as Yon-Rogg, Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser, Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer, Gemma Chan as Minn-Erva, Ben Mendelsohn as Talos and Lashana Lynch as Maria Rambeau. The film arrives on Mar. 8.