WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War, in theaters now.
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With yet another Marvel Studios' blockbuster comes another cameo for Stan “The Man” Lee. While he’s one of the major minds behind of many of the superheroes in Avengers: Infinity War, Spider-Man is still probably his most popular co-creation, so it's fitting that Lee shows up as the driver of Peter Parker’s high school bus right near the beginning of the film.
When Parker’s Spidey sense tingles, he asks Ned to cause a distraction. His friend proceeds to start yelling about the Q-Ship he can see out the back of the bus and heads everybody in that direction. Right around this point, the bus driver turns around, and it's Stan Lee calmly asking, “What’s the matter, you’ve never seen a spaceship before?” Perfect!
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Of course, there's more to these appearances than once believed; Lee's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's cameo established that he's always the same character in the MCU films, an agent of the cosmic voyeurs known as the Watchers. It makes sense, then, that he would be sticking close to the world's newest hero when Thanos makes his grand arrival on Earth.
At 96 years-old, Lee is getting up there, so he and Marvel's directors have had him film multiple cameos at a time. James Gunn famously shot four Stan Lee bit parts in 2016, which included the scenes for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Doctor Strange. Joe Russo has also insinuated that he and his brother filmed Lee's spots for Ant-Man and Wasp and Avengers 4 when they filmed his Avengers: Infinity War line.
While Marvel TV shows and MCU films may not have been integrated the way fans had hoped, Smiling Stan Lee makes his presence felt every corner of the shared universe. He has appeared on ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter series, and while he didn't film scenes for them, the legendary writer/editor has appeared on posters and in pictures in the Marvel's co-productions with Netflix, which include Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher and The Defenders.
Avengers: Infinity War is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Tom Hiddleston and Josh Brolin, among others.