Stan Lee's Most Heroic Super Quotes Spider-Man, Wolverine and Doctor Strange's proud papa mouthed many motivational mantras over the years. He will be missed. Excelsior!
By Bill Schulz Edited by Frances Dodds
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
This story has been updated since its original publish date.
Stan Lee, the legendary writer, editor and publisher of Marvel Comics, died today at the age of 95.
Lee created countless iconic characters such as Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, Black Panther -- if you can think of a superhero not named Batman or Superman, there's a good chance Mr. Lee had a hand in his or her creation. As we mourn the loss of this buoyant force of creativity and wit, we take a fond look back of some of his most memorable quotes. Excelsior, Mr. Lee.
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On why he's the real hero
"I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: Entertainment is one of the most important things in people's lives."
On Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield's success
"Maybe Spider-Man is just an easy role to play."
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On his one-word mantra
"You know, my motto is "excelsior.' That's an old word that means "upward and onward to greater glory.'"
On his glorious WWII heroics
"I drew a little cartoon of a soldier. There's the green light. Over his head there's a dialogue balloon that says, "VD? Not me!' They printed a couple million of them. I figure we probably won the war based on that."
On a certain Avengers villian's origin story
"I have to be honest I don't have any idea who the hell Ultron is. He was a character developed after I stopped being involved in the Avengers story."
On why the Hulk didn't smash the box office
"Well, my own feeling is that in the first two, they made him too powerful. I never conceived of him that way, and I didn't think it was necessary for him to be that big. I thought he could've been seven and a half feet tall. That's quite enough."
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On his troubled relationship with two former Marvel luminaries
"I don't want anyone to think I treated [Jack] Kirby or [Steve] Ditko unfairly. I think we had a wonderful relationship. Their talent was incredible. But the things they wanted weren't in my power to give them."
On his interest in mutants
"In the case of the X-Men, I wanted to do a [comic] that would point out the injustice and wrongheadedness of bigotry."
On an actual higher power
"I've had a long enough life. I'd hate to leave my wife and my daughter, but heaven knows it's beyond me. And I don't even really believe in heaven."
