Stan Lee is considered by most comic book fans to be an ethereal being who benevolently decided to grace mere mortals with his narrative prowess. (Never mind the contributions of “co-creators” Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko.) Hence why, even though he remains a peripheral figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kevin Feige keeps inviting him to cameo in the films. As a result, fans won’t stop asking Lee about the movies, like the young boy at the Edmonton Comic Expo who inquired which side he preferred in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War.
“Whatever side Captain America was on, because he’s the best, pure-hearted person in the whole world,” Lee told the crowd with language reminiscent of Marvel’s early marketing push for the film. Using promotional images and clips from Avengers: Age of Ultron, the studio has already started advertising the first Phase Three film in earnest. Captain America is referred to as “The Heart” of the team, whereas Iron Man is “The Mind.”
Whether or not Lee’s use of similar language was intentional remains to be seen, though it was probably just a coincidence. What isn’t coincidental are the words and phrases Lee used to explain why he doesn’t keep up with the comics as much as he used to.
“I look at the covers, and I try to guess what’s going on,” said Lee, citing his failing eyesight as cause. “All I know is, the girls look beautiful on the covers. I sometimes think I’m reading Playboy, and I’m not objecting to that one bit.”
Considering Lee’s cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy (and Rocket Raccoon’s joke about said appearance), his comparison of popular comic book covers’ depictions of female characters to Playboy is telling. It was just over a year ago that artist Milo Manara’s cover for Spider-Woman #1 sent the Internet rage machine into high gear. Lee was likely a fan.
(Via ComicBook.com)
