While Stan Lee is credited with being part of the creation of an insane number of comic book superheroes, the one he will forever be associated with is Spider-Man. The character is by far the most popular one created by Marvel Comics, and so it's only fitting that at the world premiere of the latest film about the character, a tribute would be paid to the creator. Pins were handed out at the premiere of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse over the weekend which displayed Stan Lee's trademark aviator glasses. Check it out below.
It's a simple enough thing, but for those who know what it means, nothing else is necessary. Stan Lee was rarely seen in public without his sunglasses, many of his movie cameos made use of them, so there's probably no more perfect symbol of the man than the glasses.
Stan Lee passed away on November 12 at the age of 95 and millions of fans are still in shock. While the man had led a very fulfilling life, and due to his advanced age, we all knew the end was somewhat close, it never prepares you for losing anybody, whether it's somebody you knew or just somebody that you felt like you knew.
While Stan Lee was best known for his work on Marvel Comics, he built a second career for himself as a movie star thanks to his regular appearances in the movies based on the characters he helped create. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the next Marvel film to hit the screens and while it's not a Marvel Studios production, and also isn't live action, that didn't stop Stan Lee from making an appearance.
He also made an animated appearance in Disney's recent Ralph Breaks the Internet. When he appeared on screen during my press screening, the audience let out an audible sigh.
It also won't be the last time that we see those trademark sunglasses, as Stan Lee will also appear in Avengers 4 next May as he had already filmed his cameo scene before his death.
The fact that there will be future Marvel movies where Stan Lee won't cameo is almost difficult to think about. Seeing Stan appear in the films was always a highlight of every trip to see the next chapter of the MCU. I can't help but wonder if Stan's cameo might be replaced by some sort of regular Stan Lee tribute moment, maybe something involving a pair of aviator sunglasses.
Whether or not this pin will be made more widely available isn't clear. It's probably just something special for the few lucky enough to attend the film premiere, though certainly there are a lot of fans who would love to get their hands on the pin as their own way of remembering Stan Lee.
Of course, we don't need a pin to remember Stan Lee. It's something we will do everytime we read a Marvel comic or watch a movie. Every time we see him on screen we'll remember.
