Avengers: Stan Lee's final cameo and a history of politics in comics

Avengers: End of the game Infinity Saga, a series of 22 films, was closed and fans were rewarded (which, judging by the box office, also brings a lot to Marvel). The film also featured Stan Lee's latest live cameo, filmed before his death at the age of 95 in December.

Although the scene was anticipated by anyone familiar with the MCU, Lee's latest cameo is also a bravo to those who think that putting politics in comics is a development of our time.

[[[[Ed. Note: This piece contains spoilers for Avengers: End of the game.]

Thanks to the magic of special effects and the fact that we have access to Lee's photographs of the 1970s, the End of Game Cameo stars a younger version of Stan led by Camp Lehigh in Wheaton, NJ, shouting: "Make love, not war!"

Directors Anthony and Joe Russo said Stan did not play his role. End of Game cameo, but rather a nameless hippie character. But it is important to note that shouting such a thing would not be devoid of character for Lee. The protest is a feeling that he shared to a large extent; Lee was not hesitant to show the values ​​of social justice in his comics.

No, he was a stranger to the war. During the Second World War, he enlisted in the army and served in the Signal Corps before being transferred to an office where he wrote military posters, leaflets and propaganda. The work saw him work alongside big names later known as director Frank Capra and writer-illustrator Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss).

But he also later lamented his initial naivety about the war, after having romanticized it. In an interview with Web of storieshe explained, "World War II broke out and, like an idiot, I volunteered. I wanted to be a hero. "

While Lee joked that the Nazis provided great villains for comics, he found nothing amusing about the real life of the Nazis or about the war. A Jew who grew up in New York during the Depression, he had been a victim of prejudice and witnessed violence and fanaticism around him. World War II showed him others. He appreciated the troops on the ground and felt that the evil should be stopped. But in interviews and panels over the years, Lee made it clear that he saw war as a terrible thing that deprived the world of good people who might otherwise have improved.

Lee hoped that more people would devote their efforts to love, art, scientific development, and discovery rather than war. You can see it in his stories and heroes that he co-created with Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Larry Lieber, Don Heck and others. In the original Fantastic Four comics, Reed Richards and Ben Grimm are both World War II veterans who gain super powers and immediately decide not to be warriors, but rather explorers and protectors. Spider-Man is constantly bullied at school but keeps himself under control and ignores insults because unleashing his strength under the effect of anger could kill someone else. Great power involves great responsibilities.

Tony Stark is a weapons developer who becomes Iron Man after having, for the first time, had to do everything possible to save lives rather than take them. In Lee and Kirby, Thor, the god of thunder, sees his divine power removed as a punishment, after deliberately seeking war and violence just to show his strength. Thor learns his lesson, but must then maintain his new morality and humility to live up to his power, otherwise it will leave him.

To talk about social justice through their heroes, Lee and Kirby brought Hitler back to life, embodying Hate-Monger, now dressed in a KKK-style costume, while promoting class warfare and racial warfare. America. When Kirby later created the Silver Surfer, Lee used this character as a type of misguided philosopher, able to express some of the deepest ideals and fears of the author.

In the mini-series The surfer money: parable, the surfer opposes war and hatred by asking: "If life is the most precious gift of all, is not its loss a matter of monumental consequence?

In the 1950s, '60s and' 70s, Lee went to college campuses to talk about the moral values ​​that made hero and superhero stories timeless. He argued against comic book critic Frederic Wertham's claims that superheroes were a fascist ideology, claiming that a fascist wanted to dominate, while the superhero was using violence as a last resort to protect other.

When Lee retired from the comic strip, he still kept his voice in the Marvel world as editor, endorsing and influencing new stories about social justice and political corruption. He also spoke directly to Marvel readers in his column, Stan's Soapbox, which appeared in every Marvel comic for decades. In the Soapbox, Stan expressed hope that Vietnamese troops will return home safely as soon as possible. In 1968, he used the Soapbox to talk about fanaticism.

Let's get right to the point. Bigotry and racism are among the most deadly social ills in the world today. […] The only way to destroy them is to expose them – to reveal them for the insidious evils they really are. The bigot is an irrational hate […] It is totally irrational and obviously foolish to condemn an ​​entire race – to despise an entire nation – to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge ourselves. Sooner or later, for man to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance. For then, and only then, will we truly be worthy of the concept that man was created in the image of God – a God who calls us ALL – his children.

Roy Thomas, George Perez, Joe Sinnott / Marvel Comics

Some readers at the time criticized Stan and Marvel for putting forward social justice agendas or political views in comics. Stan had an answer to that in a 1970 Soapbox column.

From time to time we receive letters from readers who wonder why our magazines are so moralizing. They have a hard time pointing out that comics are supposed to be escape readings, and nothing more. But anyway, I can not see it like that. It seems to me that a story without a message, even subliminal, is like a soulless man […] None of us live in a vacuum – none of us are spared by the everyday events that surround us – events that shape our stories as they shape our lives. Of course, our stories can be described as escaped – but it's not because something is fun that we do not have to cover our brains to read them!

Lee has maintained these views in his later years. He rose up against white supremacist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. He criticized the people who saw the glory in the war and the force in the hate. In an interview with the Cyberspacers website, he said, "The people of our world who are not heroes and who could be the bad guys are the ones who always follow the easiest path. They are the ones who do not care about others. "

In an interview with the Huffington Post in 2016, Lee was asked about how some people are still resisting today's inclusion in comics, television, and film. He has answered:

"Many people are too stubborn and a bit fanatical. And many people think that if someone is not like me, it's a nasty … And if my books and stories can change that, make people realize that all of it world must be equal and treated this way, so I think it would be a better world. "

It is therefore logical that his latest appearance in Marvel Cinematic Universe describes it as follows: "Do love, not war". What is even more fitting is that he drove a car with a sticker representing one of his most famous slogans: "Nuff said!"

Alan Kistler is a historian of science fiction and comics and a transmedia personality who carries out his activities under the black, as a consultant, screenwriter and screenwriter. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Doctor Who: a story and a contributor to Captain America vs Iron Man: Freedom, Security, Psychology. Like Batman, his favorite tea is lapsang souchong.