"Spider-Man," "X-Men," "The Fantastic Four," "Hulk," "Thor" and "Iron Man" all have one thing in common. These fictional characters were all created by Stan Lee. Stan Lee has created hundreds of characters and stories in the Marvel world. The few mentioned earlier are just a snapshot of the wide imagination Stan Lee had created for us. Stan Lee may not have directed all of the films that have come out for Marvel, but he created the universe that allowed directors to make movies. Although Stan Lee may have died at the age of 95, his legacy will live on for years to come. The man found a way to fill everyone's hearts with heroic joy, and we can't thank you enough.

To begin, many people think that Stan Lee developed and directed the MCU movies that have come out in the past decade. This is a common misconception. He was apart of the movies, but never directed them. He was always accredited for creating the universe for people to make movies out of. Most people know who Stan Lee is, and what he looks like, because of his famous cameos in each Marvel movie. Marvel is legendary for bringing Stan Lee on set for each movie to add him into a funny scene. Every MCU movie that has come out has had Stan Lee in it for about 10 seconds. Every time he appears on screen, you hear the movie theater laugh because it's such a funny and cool thing to do. It's good to see a positive relationship between the creator of the characters and the movie directors.

Stan Lee was also a social advocate. When he wasn't creating Marvel superheroes, he was doing his part for society. Stan Lee was against hate towards every type of person. Whether this is Black people, White people, Hispanic people, Asian people, Gay people, or anyone for that matter, they had a supporter in Stan Lee. Lee believed that his stories of superheroes meant nothing if there was no real-life message. Whether the end message was to treat everyone with respect, regardless of color or background, or go above and beyond to be a good person, Stan Lee always sent positive messages through his story-telling.

A perfect example of his message can be seen when he created the "Black Panther". As most people know, "Black Panther" was the highest-earning superhero movie of all time earlier this year. What a lot of people don't know was that Stan Lee created this character in the 1960s, or during the civil rights movement. To have a white man create a comic book superhero of a strong black man probably seemed unimaginable during those times, but Stan Lee could care less. The controversy and politics of everything meant nothing to him, as long as he was getting his positive messages across.

Stan Lee was an American hero. He told stories that were unimaginable and built childhood memories up for millions. Most kids can remember coming home and reading one of his many comic books. Younger kids can look back at the movies to see his messages. Regardless, everyone loved this man and it's sad to see him go. The next few MCU movies will show his last cameos, which I'm sure will make the theater cry. People like Stan Lee only come around ever so often, so let's make sure we appreciate the content he created, and never forget what he has done.