Top 5 Stan Lee Cameos In Film
5. Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Regardless of how you feel about the film, Stan Lee’s appearance in 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” is a fun cameo. For those that don’t know, Stan Lee owes his entire career to the first issue of The Fantastic Four published back in 1961. Without taking the leap and publishing a book outside of what was popular in comics at the time, there would be no Marvel, and therefore no Marvel films. Stan Lee being denied entrance into Reed and Sue’s wedding is an absolutely hilarious wink to the creator’s relationship with Marvel’s first family.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
In “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”, Stan Lee is briefly seen talking to The Watchers, a group of cosmic beings responsible for compiling the known history of the universe within Marvel lore. In the scene, he is telling the group about the time he was a delivery man, referring to his cameo in “Captain America: Civil War”. This scene makes our top five list because it implies all of Stan Lee’s cameos within the MCU are the same person, inferring that one of the founding fathers of the Marvel Universe is in fact a being that exists outside of time and space. A fitting depiction of the man that started it all.
3. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Similar to the number 5 movie on our list, Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3” is quite a divisive film within fandom. However, despite the film’s reception, Stan Lee’s cameo is still one of his best. In the scene, Toby Maguire’s Peter Parker stops to look at a sign that reads, “Spider-Man to receive key to the city… saves daughter of police captain.” Stan Lee approaches Peter as a nameless New York citizen and says, “you know, I guess one person can make a difference… ‘nuff said.” Stan Lee’s cameos are at their best when Stan is imparting some kind of sage like wisdom or reaffirming the actions of one of the film’s characters. From Peter’s perspective, those words are exactly what he needs to hear in that moment, and Stan Lee’s smile in the scene as he walks away from Peter might be implying he knows more than he is letting on. Once again alluding to Stan maybe being an omniscient presence in all Marvel films.
2. Mallrats (1995)
Kevin Smith’s 1995 film, “Mallrats” is the first film on our list that isn’t a comic book movie, however, it does feature the film’s co-lead Jason Lee, who happens to be playing a comic book obsessive. In the scene, Jason Lee’s character, Brody, is struggling with a recent breakup when Stan Lee approaches him. Over the course of their conversation, Stan Lee explains there is more to life than comics and if he could, he would give it all up for one more day with the girl that got away. This moment inspires Brody to grow a little, and attempt to rekindle things with this ex. Once again, Stan Lee encourages the hero of the film to do the right thing and become a better person in the act.
1. Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse (2018)
It’s fitting the top Stan Lee film cameo takes place in what many consider to be the greatest Spider-Man movie of all time. In this cameo, Stan plays the owner of a collectibles store who sells an ill-fitting Spidey costume to Miles Morales. The scene takes place during a montage showing how NYC is reacting to the death of the first Spider-Man, and in the scene Miles asks Stan if he, “can return it if it doesn’t fit”, to which Stan replies, “It always fits, eventually.” This scene is especially poignant because the film was released in theaters just over a month after Stan Lee’s passing, and was the first new cameo audiences saw post his death. When Stan says, “I’m going to miss him” —referring to Spider-Man—audiences everywhere felt a gut-punch unique to that particular moment in time.
On top of the inadvertent meta-contextual implications of the scene, it is also an important moment for Miles. These are his first words of encouragement after being told by the now deceased Spider-man to continue the fight. However, immediately after delivering this heartening message, the sentiment is tainted as the camera pans to reveal a sign that reads, “No Returns or Refunds EVER!”. This cameo is perfect. It allows Stan Lee to be the voice of wisdom for our lead (something he has done in all top 3 cameos on our list) while simultaneously making the audience laugh with an unexpected punchline. Wisdom AND wit, this is how Stan Lee should always be remembered, and why it is the number 1 Stan Lee cameo in film.