On Monday, Nov. 12, the world lost one of the most creative and revolutionary people of the 21st century… Stan Lee.

Stan Lee was a pop culture icon, not only because of his characters, but because of his cameos in Marvel movies. In nearly every movie produced by Marvel, Stan Lee provided audiences with a brief appearance.

Lee, born as Stanley Martin Lieber on Dec. 28 1992, was the creator of Marvel Comics and behind some of the most recognizable characters in pop culture, including Spiderman, The Hulk, Iron Man, and many more. One of the most recent Marvel movies, “Black Panther” was revolutionary, as it featured a black superhero and was directed by a black director, Ryan Coogler. “Black Panther” was released in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement. “Black Panther” was also a box-office smash as it grossed over 1 billion dollars.

Not only did Stan Lee give millions of people around the world endless hours of entertainment through his stories, he  also taught people a very valuable lesson… anyone can be a hero. His heroes ranged from doctors such as Dr. Strange and The Hulk, to normal high school students like Spiderman. Reading his comics not only made people want to be a hero, but showed them that they could, not by having super-strength, but by being a good person.

Lee’s exact cause of death is unclear, but we do know that he was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 95 years old. He will truly be missed, but his legacy will live on forever through his iconic characters.

Excelsior!!