Karen: We watched both Iron Man 2 and Captain America in the last couple of weeks, and it got me to thinking about Stan Lee's cameo appearances in the Marvel films. I think my favorite is the one in Thor, although I like his turn in the new Amazing Spider-Man an awful lot too. Here's a nice compilation of Stan the Man's roles. Which one is your favorite?
*sigh*
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard to choose, isn't it? I do think the one where's he's the most natural or convincing is, oddly enough, where he's explaining to Lou Ferrigno how to be a security guard in the first HULK film. For the most part, whenever he's supposed to "be" someone else, he comes across as Stan Lee "being" that bit part (Willy Lumpkin; Army General; Man in the Street; Stan Lee,even-- ironically enough)-- which is a perfectly acceptable and fun way for the cameos to work. I love them.
Honestly, my favorite is probably that most recent one in the new Spiderman film. It's a very well set-up slo-mo sight gag. It doesn't require anything from Stan other than to obliviously listen to his music and leave--- and it's quite funny.
HB
I like the one from Thor as well, but I still think my favorite is his Willy Lumpkin appearance in FF. In fact, given how little I liked that movie, Stan's appearance was a highlight for me...
ReplyDeleteI like him best in the original Fantastic Four movie as Willie Lumpkin, because that's the only role where he gets to play a "real" Marvel character himself. Here's a little trivia: Stan Lee created Postman Willie Lumpkin as a humorous newspaper comic strip and when that was discontinued he moved the character over to the Marvel Universe and made him the FF's mailman. So, I think it's cool that he finally got to play an actual character that he created (as opposed to just playing himself or a random bystander).
ReplyDeleteNext, I thought his part in "FF: Rise of the Silver Surfer" was really funny. When he wasn't on the guest list for Reed and Sue's wedding. "B... but I'm Stan Lee! Honest!" He's like, Hey! I created these guys, you have to let me in! That was a classic.
I also like his bit in Spider-Man 3 where he get's to utter one of this classic catch phrases "Nuff Said."
Thor and The Amazing Spiderman are my favorites so far, but it's just great to see him every time he shows up? Does he have cameos in Daredevil and Capt. America? I don't recall.
ReplyDeleteI'm putting a shout-out to what may be his first role in a major motion picture...Mallrats! He actually gets some substantial screen-time in it. It's not a great film by any means, but Jason Lee is hilarious in it. Frankly, I think it's the best part he ever played.
James Chatterton
It's really too bad that Stan's old Persona Razor commercial doesn't seem to be preserved on YouTube anywhere. He wore the 70's look quite well, and he came across convincingly as the energetic, slightly loopy, idea-a-minute pitch-man that we all believed in and loved. He's nobody's actor, but he's obviously so completely comfortable in front of a camera and/or an audience that he's immediately fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteI just love 'im. Can't help myself. Definitely a flawed icon, as it turns out-- but even that's appropriate considering the vision he had for the heroes (and universe) he created.
HB
I like the Iron Man cameo, where he can't into the party, but the new Spider-Man cameo is hard to beat.
ReplyDeleteI love these cameos.. WISH more legends made 'em.
ReplyDeleteLove him, hate him, it's a great and fun way to give him his due and actually thank him, plain and simple.
I liked Stan's appearance in the FF Rise of the Silver Surfer movie as doorman Willie Lumpkin. Most non-Marvelites would have thought "Oh, it's Stan playing an anonymous doorman", not being familiar with the decades old character Willie Lumpkin from the comics. That's how you distinguish the true diehards from those who just jumped on the bandwagon folks!
ReplyDeleteHowever, my current favourite also happens to be the most recent - Stan's portrayal of a clueless librarian enjoying classical music while Spidey and the Lizard fight to the death is hilarious!
Hope the upcoming Marvel films (Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Capt. America 3, etc)provide us with more great Stan cameos!
- Mike 'I'm willing to be crushed by a piece of debris in Avengers 2) from Trinidad & Tobago.
Whoops sorry - I meant Stan's appearance in the FIRST FF movie!
ReplyDelete- Mike from Trinidad & Tobago.
Hey Mike, in at least 2 of his cameos, Stan saves people from falling debris, so getting hit by a lump of Manhattan might turn out to be a great role for you.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of cameos, I like the running gag in Iron Man where Stark keeps mistaking him for other people.
Richard