He’s had more screen time in superhero flicks than spandex has.
It’s become a tradition that Stan Lee, the 90-year-old co-creator of some of Marvel’s most iconic characters, including Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Thor, gets awarded a cameo in nearly every movie featuring the supes. The in-joke started back in 2000 with “X-Men” and continues to this day with “Thor: The Dark World.”
Not that it’s been a clean sweep. Lee failed to show up in last summer’s “The Wolverine” because it was shot in Australia — too far for him to travel. Lee will also be absent from next year’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past”; he opted to attend a Canadian comic book convention instead of shooting a walk-on part.
The eternally self-promoting Lee has been lobbying for a role in the upcoming “Batman vs. Superman,” even though that movie features characters from rival publisher DC. Don’t hold your breath on that one. In the meantime, enjoy a look back at Lee’s pop-up appearances.
“X-Men,” 2000
The comic scribe shows up in the background as a hot dog vendor on a beach.
“Spider-Man,” 2002
As Spidey (Tobey Maguire) and the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) battle above, Lee pulls a little girl out of the way of falling debris.
“Daredevil,” 2003
From saving to getting saved. Lee plays a man reading a newspaper who nearly walks into a busy street before being stopped by a young Matt Murdock (Scott Terra).
“Hulk,” 2003
Lee teams with another familiar face, Lou Ferrigno, who played the green monster in the 1970s TV series. The pair have cameos as security guards.
“Spider-Man 2,” 2004
In the middle of a battle between Web Head and Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Lee saves a woman from falling debris.
“Fantastic Four,” 2005
He plays mailman Willie Lumpkin (an actual character in the comics), who waves hello to the Fantastic Four in the lobby of the Baxter Building.
“X-Men: The Last Stand,” 2006
Lee plays a neighbor of a young Jean Grey (Famke Janssen); when she demonstrates her telekinetic powers in her suburban neighborhood, water from his garden hose starts flowing into the sky.
“Spider-Man 3,” 2007
Lee briefly chats up Peter Parker in Times Square, telling him, “I guess one person can make a difference.” He concludes with “ ‘Nuff said,” his catchphrase from the “Stan’s Soapbox” columns that used to run in Marvel books.
“Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” 2007
The Fantastic Four creator is turned away from the wedding of Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and Susan Storm (Jessica Alba). A bouncer tells him he’s not on the list.
“Iron Man,” 2008
Lee, wearing a smoking jacket and surrounded by three buxom women, is mistaken for Hugh Hefner by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) on the red carpet at an event.
“The Incredible Hulk,” 2008
Appears in a brief flashback scene drinking a soda contaminated with Bruce Banner’s (Edward Norton) blood.
“Iron Man 2,” 2010
Wearing suspenders, Lee is introduced to Tony Stark as “Larry King.”
“Thor,” 2011
Lee is the guy behind the wheel of a pick-up truck, who tries to wrench Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) hammer from the ground after it fell to earth.
“Captain America: The First Avenger,” 2011
At an awards ceremony, the Captain (Chris Evans) fails to materialize. When an aide walks onstage instead, Lee, playing an oblivious general in the crowd, cracks, “I thought he’d be taller.”
“The Avengers,” 2012
Lee can be glimpsed on a news program playing on a TV screen saying, “Superheroes in New York? Gimme a break!”
“The Amazing Spider-Man,” 2012
A violent battle between Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) and The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) spills into a library, but Lee, playing a librarian listening to classical music on large headphones, never notices.
“Iron Man 3,” 2013
Lee is seen as a beauty pageant judge, enthusiastically awarding a contestant a 10.
“Thor: The Dark World,” 2013
After scientist Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) is thrown into an asylum, Lee shows up briefly as his cellmate.