Yesterday Stan Lee one of the principle architects of Marvel Comics, which left a massive impression on our culture, passed away at age 95. Normally I am not one to write eulogies to passing celebrities. My own relationship to death is complex and idiosyncratic but for Mr. Lee I want to talk about the ideas the man pushed from the very start of his career right up to his final days. He was an entertainer, crafting or assisting in the crafting of dramatic stories filled with action, excitement, and stunning visuals but when the plots have faded away, when the reveals transform into clichés, and the characters melt into history the moral philosophy of his work will endure.
“With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.”
That bit of knowledge from Spider-Man is perhaps the best known of Mr. Lee’s philosophy but there is more compacted into that simple sentence than the call for heroic action from those capable of heroic deeds. If great power compels great responsibility then any amount power also requires an amount of responsibility and while it is never directly expressed, over and over again throughout the long and continuing run of the Marvel Universe we see the responsibility wielded by those with only a little power. We all have the power to hurt, with cruel words, with casual bigotry, with careless indifference, we have the power to make the world a worse place and therefore we have the responsibility to make it a better one. It in on us to utter kind words, to reject all forms of bigotry, to care about our fellow people both as individuals and collectively. The heroism Stan tried to teach us was not fantastical powers but rather in the ability to care and act. In that way he called on all of us to be the heroes we could be.
No One is Perfect, Heroes Least of all
One of the defining divisions between early Marvel and the competitors is that the characters were flawed. They suffered from doubts, they suffered from egotism, and even as they saved other they needed saving themselves. Without the burden of perfection the lesson is clear, we are all heroes. Heroes make mistakes but they learn and correct, guided by the clear morality of what is right and what is wrong.
In the world of comic books villains wear colorful costumes and make clear and grandiose statement of their intent but Stan helped us recognize the villains among us, even as they hid in disguises, masquerading as concerned leaders while steering us away from our better natures and he taught his that our voices are our power and our responsibility. If we just ‘shut up and sing’ as are standing aside as clearly as Peter Parker did when the robber escaped before killing Uncle Ben. You want honor the man who gave you so much, stand up, speak up, and use that voice as he wanted you to.
