WARNING: Minor spoilers follow for WandaVision Episode 7, "Breaking the Fourth Wall," now streaming on Disney+.
WandaVision Episode 7 paid tribute to The Office, and this included the opening theme song. However, this opening was accompanied by a series of signs and notes with Wanda's name on them, as well as some Easter eggs. This included the number on the license plate that has Wanda's name on it, as well as several numbers.
One eagle-eyed viewer on Twitter caught what the numbers meant and deciphered them. The numbers — 122822 — represent Stan Lee's birthday (December 28, 1922). Stan Lee died on November 12, 2018, at the age of 95, and this Easter egg is a touching way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to include him, even if it isn't a traditional cameo.
Ever since Marvel movies began to make it big, Stan Lee cameoed in almost every movie that hit theaters. While he didn't appear in Blade, he did shoot a scene that ended up on the cutting room floor. However, Lee was in the first X-Men movie as a hot dog vendor on the beach when Senator Kelly arrived after his abduction by Magneto. He went on to appear in the Spider-Man movies and the first two Fantastic Four movies.
When the MCU began, the studio made it a point to have Stan Lee cameo in all its movies. It made sense, as Stan Lee had a hand in creating many characters the MCU brought into its world, like Iron Man and Thor. As for WandaVision, his hand was also apparent, as Lee and Kirby created Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, introducing them in X-Men #4. The duo also created Agatha Harkness, debuting the witch in Fantastic Four #94.
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Stan Goldberg and Artie Simek also brought Wanda Maximoff into the Avengers and made her a hero rather than a villain in Avengers #16. In that issue, Iron Man, Giant-Man and Thor chose to take a break and leave the Avengers, setting up a way for new members to join, including Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, all under Captain America's leadership.
The last appearances in MCU movies for Stan Lee came posthumously in 2019. He appeared in Captain Marvel, but he passed away before the movie was released. In that appearance, he portrayed himself, reading his lines for Kevin Smith's movie Mallrats, in which Lee appeared. Later that year in Avengers: Endgame, he was de-aged and appeared in the 1970 scene. This was the last appearance for Lee in an MCU movie. However, with Phase 4 starting, WandaVision had one more way to pay tribute to the legendary comic book creator.
Written by Jac Schaeffer and directed by Matt Shakman, WandaVision stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as Vision, Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Kathryn Hahn as Agnes. New episodes air Fridays on Disney+.
