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Marvel exhibit at MoPop draws fans seeking to honor Stan Lee

Comic book genius Stan Lee famously played down his role in the Marvel Universe, even though he was one of its main architects.

“I don’t think I’m responsible for all this,” he said once at a press junket, “but it’s nice to be a part of it.”

From Spiderman to Black Panther – Lee’s name is on some of the biggest pop culture hits of the last several decades.

That influence and his creativity is on clear display right now at the Museum of Pop Culture, in their Marvel Exhibit, which spans the 80-year history of the comics, and the many artists who helped bring them to life.

Curator Brooks Peck takes visitors through the exhibit, which shows Lee’s own origin story. “The story is that Stan Lee wanted to quit the business, and his wife said ‘Look, if you’re gonna quit, why don’t you sit down and write the comic you’ve always wanted to write.’”

That he did, and it became the story of the Fantastic Four, an instant hit when it was released in the early 1960s.

And it changed the way people saw superheroes – Lee’s, for the first time, were not perfect.

“These were heroes that were very flawed, very human,” said Peck.

Fans at MoPop can come nose to nose with an original copy of the first Fantastic Four comic, on display behind thick glass.

Turn a corner, and they can see a life-sized Spiderman hanging from the ceiling, a character Peck thinks embodies the best of what Lee could offer.

He said “I think Spiderman's a great example. He was a teenage kid, he was worrying about his homework, he was worrying about his aunt and uncle who were getting on in years, and he had like these family problems, and of course he had crushes on people in school and all these things.”

But he endured, fought through it, all while being the hero – which is what made him so relatable.

A local mom, moved by Lee’s passing to come to the museum and see the exhibit, said “We’re so happy to come here and honor Stan Lee’s memory.” Jen Carter became emotional when she described his impact on her family, creating stories and characters that show them how “to be an upstanding kid, the right teenager you can be, the right American you can be, it’s the right place to be right now.”

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Another fan, Ryan Jackson, said he was enjoying the exhibit to celebrate an anniversary, and didn’t find out about Lee’s passing until he was already on the way to the exhibit. A lifelong fan of Marvel comics, he felt it was right to be there to pay homage to his hero, and his favorite character, Spiderman.

“He’s so hardworking,” said Jackson, “Been through a lot, but he still continues to do the right thing despite all the problems. He doesn’t do it to make himself look good. He does it because of a sense of responsibility. So, I admire that the most.”

Fans left with the impression that Lee’s legacy, was not just his bigger-than-life characters, but maybe more so, the importance of character itself.

“Sometimes Peter Parker didn't feel like Spiderman, he didn't feel like a hero,” Peck said, “and when you're a teenager that's what life feels like, like you're being pulled in all these directions. Stan Lee really understood how to inject that human component into superheroes.”