There are few personalities as inextricably linked to theMarvel Comicsbrand as Stan Lee. For MCU actors, meeting the late comics legend was a rite of passage of sorts. Of course, that rite could take strange and hilarious turns at times, asGuardians of the GalaxyfilmmakerJames Gunnrecounted during an Instagram Q&A when asked about a memorable anecdote concerning Lee.
“I introduced Stan toTom Hollandjust after Tom was hired to play Spider-Man. Stan says to him, ‘Yes of course! I hear you’re great! Personally, I don’t see it!’ And we all died laughing.”
Stan Leewas well-known for his impish sense of humor, so his little dig at Holland’s expense is quite in character. Besides, if there was ever a person who had a write to comment on an actor’s portrayal of the webbed wall-crawler, it is Lee. It was Lee working alongside Steve Ditko all the way back in 1962 who created the originalSpider-Manfor the comics.
Since then, the character has undergone innumerable changes and reboots, but Lee has always kept a close eye on his development across comics, movies, andvideo games. In case Tom Holland fans think Lee was slighting Holland for his work in the newSpider-Manmovies, in a Tweet from 2018, Lee praised Holland’s performance, and even went so far as to say he was the most perfect Spidey yet.
“I think @TomHolland1996 is a great Spider-Man. He is the exact height and age I envisioned when I first wrote Spider-Man. Spidey was never supposed to be too large. How is my friend Tom doing?”
TheSpider-Manwho originally appeared in the comics was a high-schooler that was specifically created to cater to teenagers by giving them a teen superhero who was the main character rather than a sidekick.
In theSpider-Manmovies before the MCU, the webbed wall-crawler was portrayed by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, neither of whom could ever quite manage to pull-off the teenage look for the character. Tom Holland was twenty years old when he was cast as Spider-Man, and his youthful demeanor easily translated to that of a fifteen-year-old like in the original comics. He was also the first Spider-Man to wear a suit that had the webbing design down both sides, which are also found in the original comics.
Tom Holland has often spoken of his love and admiration for Lee, and his words of encouragement meant much to him. After portraying the character of Peter Parker aka Spider-Man in the MCU across five movies, Holland will be jumping over to Sony to set up a separateSpider-Mancinematic universe filled with major supporting characters from the comics, including Venom, Morbius, Kraven, and Black Cat.
In the meantime, while Lee is no longer with us, the upcoming Kevin Smith movieMallrats 2: Twilight of the Mallratswill pay homage to him through a scene involving Lee that will be a throwback to the originalMallratsmovie in which Lee had a cameo. This news comes direct fromJames Gunn.
