100 years of dreaming. 100 years of creating. 100 years of Stan Lee.

Director David Gelb takes us up close and personal to the creative mind and vision of the legendary Stan Lee.

Original Documentary ‘Stan Lee’ Arrives on Disney+ June 16

Debuting at this year’s Tribeca film festival ahead of its streaming debut this week on Disney+, Stan Lee isn’t a full biography of Lee, but a fascinating recounting of how he revolutionized one of the great American art forms. Although while glamorizing Lee and Marvel, it does come off a bit one-sided leaving others in the shadows.

Celebrate the man, the icon, and the legacy of “Stan Lee” with the upcoming documentary. The name “Stan Lee” is synonymous with Marvel Comics and pushing the boundaries of comic books. Marvel marked 100 years with the announcement back on December 28th, what would have been Stan Lee’s 100th birthday that a documentary on the life of the legend would be coming to the Disney+ app.

While the legendary creator may have passed away in 2018, his legacy continues to inspire us all. Manhattan-born son of Romanian-born Jewish migrants – Stan Lee, born Stanley Martin Lieber (December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an iconic comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer.

The Marvel legend rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which would later become the infamous Marvel Comics. For two decades, Lee was the primary creative leader leading its expansion from a small division of a publishing house to a multimedia corporation that eventually dominated the comics and film industries.

Lee left behind an intricate and illustrious legacy featuring some of pop-cultures most beloved and iconic characters. He also left behind recorded recollections and valuable footage of his career that weren’t ever seen by the public, that is until Director David Gelb assembled this footage together to tell the story of Lee’s life.

The documentary pieces together voice recordings and archived interview clips, newsreels and even gets a little creative with dioramas and clay model figures portraying Stan and his colleagues. Flo Steinberg, who is among those close colleagues, also provides her voice to the documentary. It emphasizes Stans personal connection to making Spider-Man a relatable superhero, how creating the Fantastic Four with Jack Kirby and making more relatable characterizations changed comics. How Marvel capitalized creating crossovers, and emphasizing the fine line between hero vs villain. 

There are many moments of inspiration and intrigue, from Stan’s early days of interning as a proofreader all the way to being on the set of blockbuster Marvel movies. We learn about Stanley Martin Lieber and how he originally didn’t intend to work in comics, or even take comics seriously. Stan Lee became his pen name only after he wrote his first comic Captain America: Traitors Revenge, at the time comic weren’t necessarily “reputable.” 

At the young age of only 17 Stan became the temporary Editor (Timely Comics) and remained editor as no one took the position. As writer/editor he was involved in a 1940’s Playwright where he provided the war training period that he wrote as comics strips, and soon realized that comics can have a tremendous impact. Throughout his career he got more involved in ways that expanded the impact of comics such as producing an Anti- drug story without the Comics Authority Code seal of approval. 

Gelb’s documentary definitely offers an up close and personal look at arguably the most influential comic publisher of all time. We all know Stan’s philosophy and connecting moral lessons and fighting bigotry in his storytelling, and of course the infamous Soap Box. However, it paints a very one-sided picture.

“Stan Lee” comes off a bit biased not only in its perception of DC Comics – which is expected, but also in its depiction of co-creator involvement. It briefly addresses Kirby’s departure and Lee’s disputes with both Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, but it gives a one-sided perspective, portraying the others as having “egos.” It comes across as if Lee was the sole creator of all these iconic characters without much involvement from other creators. While the documentary acknowledges that many artist were involved in creating stories and characters, it doesn’t properly credit them creating the foundations of  these iconic franchises. There are very few soundbites of Kirby and it’s mostly overridden by Lee’s charismatic voice.

Overall, the core message of the documentary focuses on how “comics are a powerful cultural device” and to always believe in your ideas, believe in something that means something to you..take pride in it” and “whatever you do, give it your best shot.”

Excelsior!

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