Criticism Corner: Life Lessons Learned From Stan Lee (Patreon)

Ordinarily, I like to make these early drafts of scrips Patreon exclusive, but I intend to make a non-monetized video to help memorialize Stan Lee by focusing on life lessons we can learn from his work and life.  I legitimately would like to hear what you guys think and where I can improve to help make this as great and respectful as possible.

As I walk around my new apartment, still unpacking, it’s hard to look anywhere without seeing something inspired by Stan Lee.  Stan was an absolute legend and there’s not much I can say that hasn’t been said by millions of people around the globe.

A lot of the work he’s produced himself and through collaboration has transcended typical geek fandom and has been elevated to the kind of iconography on par with the Greek and Roman pantheons.  Stan defined the childhoods of many and significantly shaped an entire medium of art, influencing the way we tell stories as a whole.

Stan’s passing is tragic and I sat thinking of what I could possibly add to his memorialization and what I came to were the life lessons that his stories and life taught so many.  Here is just a taste of what I consider to be his real legacy.

“With great power, there must also come great responsibility.”

Perhaps the most famous (and misquoted) phrases that we’ve gotten from Stan Lee is “With great power, there must also come great responsibility.”  If you have power or privilege, it’s your duty to stand up for those that don’t.  When put in tough situations where an imbalance of power is concerned, we all have to make a choice.  Even by not doing anything, much like how Peter let the criminal get away, he still made a choice, and that’s something that he learned the consequences of first hand.

Something I’d like to dive into a little bit more though is that misquoting.  As a super powered Uncle Ben said in Spider-Verse Team Up #3, there is a subtle, but profound difference.  If with great power, there MUST ALSO COME great responsibility, there’s no guarantee link between the two.  If you focus on the former with no regard for the latter, you aren’t doing what you MUST.  It’s your obligation to do what you can when you can.

Stay curious and never stop exploring.  The Fantastic Four.

The Fantastic Four are scientists.  Well, I mean not so much Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, but the team are first and foremost explorers.  The Fantastic Four comic kickstarted and molded the Marvel universe into what it is today.  That’s in no small part to the team challenging the unknown on a regular basis.

Stay curious and never stop exploring.  You are NEVER going to know everything, but keep an open mind and soak up information around you.  Every day brings new knowledge, new experiences, and new people into your life.  Embrace it and always try to learn new things all the time.

People fear what they don’t understand.  The X-Men.

The X-Men have always meant to be a stand in for marginalized groups.  While their main antagonists are generally evil mutants, they’re frequently put at odds with humanity as a whole.  While heroes like the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man have augmented powers, they’re not hated on nearly the same level as mutants.

That fear and hatred of an “other” is something that we see time and time again in our real world.  People fear what they don’t understand.  It’s depressing, but it’s natural.  What the X-Men do is try to explain and educate while saving people who would rather see them dead.  Fighting hatred with hatred is no way to get things done and you’ll attract more flies with honey than vinegar.

Outside of what was put on paper, the story of Stan’s life has a lot to live by.  Originally, Stan Lee didn’t take a lot of pride in writing comics.  In fact, his real name is Stanley Martin Lieber.  He took on the pen name to help protect himself when he finally wrote more “serious” work.  Don’t try to stick too hard to a plan and when life give you lemons, become a lemon legend.

Finally, here’s one that I think will resonate well with a lot of my fellow millennials.  Arguably Stan’s most famous character of all time has been Spider-Man, but get this.  Stan didn’t create him until he was THIRTY NINE years old.  Don’t get discouraged if you don’t succeed right away.  Just keep doing your best.  Success can happen at any moment.