PETTY FANBOY GRIPE: Are You Tired of Stan Lee’s Cameos?


Blasphemy? Sacrilege?

Yes, I know Stan Lee is the much beloved “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” in the Holy Trinity of Fandom, but I’ve still gotta ask… are you tired of his Marvel movie cameos?

I was sitting at my computer desk the other day, with one hand half buried in a bowl of milk-less Trix and the other comfortably tucked beneath my Spidey themed boxers (as gentlemen are wont to do), when I wandered across a pretty interesting forum topic.

Apparently, not everyone loves Stan “The Man” Lee’s onscreen antics.  In fact, there’s a pretty vociferous population that downright hate them, and in all honesty, I can understand why.

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Everytime that bubbly son of a gun makes an appearance, you can’t help but be ripped from the “life or death” cadence of these flicks.  Sure, it’s a wink and nod to the more indoctrinated masses, and I sure as hell enjoy them, but its still a fourth-wall breaking addition.

Every cameo screams…

“HEY! HEY!  I’m Stan Lee!  How’d I manage to sneak into this movie?  Where will I show up next?”

Imagine, if you will,  George Lucas popped up in the newer Star Wars flicks.  Ignoring their inherently vast shittiness, Lucas’s triple chinned mug would have probably made them substantially worse… as impossible as that sounds.

Creators, well… they create. That’s just what they do.  They build ficitional worlds, filled to the brim with unique and captivating characters.   From gold gilded space kingdoms to a modern Narcissus in a flying tank suit, Lee has sculpted an entire universe of beings that could populate these new films.  Why can’t we just revere him and his creations separately, instead of mashing them together?

I certainly enjoy the cameos and I cherish Stan Lee for all he’s done, but to the lovers of strict cohesive story telling, they’re a bit of an annoyance.

What do you think?  Still love these little winks to the fans?  Or is it passed its “cute” date?

I know Wolvie still pops an adamantium chub whenever he sees him!