20. Shrinking Car Owner (Ant-Man and the Wasp)
If Lee is going to have a cameo this short, to let him have a zinger of a line amidst all that ridiculous action is the right way to go. The fact that this minuscule appearance includes a meta self-mention could be seen as random and easy to miss, but for the loyal fan of Lee’s legacy and his impeccable deadpan line delivery, it’s just another layer of laughter tacked onto an already uproarious movie. – Sheryl Oh
19. Milwaukee Man Drinking From Bottle (The Incredible Hulk)
The Incredible Hulk is the most underappreciated entry in the MCU. The film is full of wonderful imagery and compelling characters. Louis Leterrier gives the flick that extra something with a little more playfulness than you’d expect from a movie about the character most known for that sad walking away scene. Stan Lee’s cameo is just a man looking for a drink. Unfortunately, his beverage of choice has been spiked with Hulk blood. The shot of Lee through the fridge as he peruses for a delightful drink perfectly mirrors a Sunny D commercial from days gone by. Instead of a litany of choices to avoid, like The Purple Stuff, we hear a report from a military office: “Possible gamma sickness. Milwaukee. A man drank one of those guarana sodas. I guess it had a little more kick than he was looking for.” Wow! It’s a cameo, it’s playful, and it advances the plot. Way to be, Mr. L! – William Dass
18. Bus Driver (Avengers: Infinity War)
Just as Peter Parker’s schoolmates watch Thanos’ minions descend on New York, Lee exasperatedly utters a sentiment that many of us superhero movie lovers would be totally familiar with: “You never seen a spaceship before?” Ha! Sure we have! But retroactively, letting Lee pop up so early on in Avengers: Infinity War — in this exact way — purposely lulls us into a false sense of security as well. We assume that we know exactly how yet another superhero romp is going to play out. Until, of course, snap. That’s what makes this cameo work. – Sheryl Oh
17. The General (Captain America: The First Avenger)
If Marvel Comics ever had a General leading the charge, it was Stan Lee. ‘Nuff said. – Brad Gullickson
16. Dismissive Chess Player (The Avengers)
“Superheroes in New York? Give me a break.” In the fallout of The Battle of New York, Joss Whedon uses various clips of news footage to give us a taste of how such comic book destruction might be viewed by the rest of the world. This is the beginning of a harsh reality that will pay off in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. The joke here is that the biggest name in Marvel Comics would also be The Avengers’ greatest critic. This Stan Lee wants nothing to do with those spandex kooks or the cameraman for that matter. Please just leave him to his chess match. – Brad Gullickson
15. Security Guard (Hulk)
There’s not much of a gag here, Stan just walks by and talks to a security guard about how “security oughta be beefed up in a place like this.” What makes this such a fun one, however, is that the security guard is played by none other than TV’s Incredible Hulk Lou Ferrigno. Ferrigno would return to cameo as another security guard in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, although the fun of seeing them appear together makes this the far superior cameo. Two real-life Marvel heroes for the price of one. – Hayden Cornmell
14. Oblivious Librarian (The Amazing Spider-Man)
Of all the oblivious versions of the Stan Lee cameos, this one is our favorite. While Spider-Man and The Lizard thrash about Midtown Science High School, Lee’s librarian attempts to categorize a few books while disappearing into “Left Foot Forward” by Graham Preskett and the KPM string quartet. He’s nearly smashed by a flying table, but Spidey comes through in the clutch with his trusty web fluid. – Brad Gullickson
13. Xandarian Ladies’ Man (Guardians of the Galaxy)
Lee’s appearance in the first Guardians of the Galaxy is much like that of his other MCU appearances in nature–it’s all about comic relief. Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) peers through a telescope-esque device only to find Lee off in the distance flirting with a much younger woman. It’s one of the few cameos where he gets a character name (“Mr. Smiles”) and certainly the only one in which he plays a so-called “pervert.” But, no doubt it’s all in good fun. Hell, it was probably his idea. – Luke Hicks
12. Stan the Man (Thor)
Look, no mortal man is ever going to have the luxury of playing with Thor’s giant Hammer. But in the handsome Norse God’s first MCU solo outing, we see a bunch of stupid humans drinking beer and trying to lift it from a rock Excalibur-style anyway. Lee, on the other hand, had the bright idea of trying to steal it with a tow truck. Despite being an unsuccessful endeavor, his admirable attempt was still the smartest and most practical idea the humans had that day. – Kieran Fisher
11. Multiple Stan the Mans (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse)
Here is our first posthumous cameo from Stan the Man, and it’s pretty damn brilliant. In fact, it’s not one cameo, but several. We’re still waiting to get this film into our home, but once we do we’re going to break our pause button hunting for every single one of his background appearances within the Spider-Verse. I’ve seen the film twice and I’ve caught Stan sneaking about three times. At one point, while talking into a cellphone, he walks over the collapsed bodies of Miles Morales and Peter B. Parker after their treacherous train ride. In another sequence, Stan and Joan Lee are embraced atop the Brooklyn Bridge as a dimensional explosion rocks New York City. And, of course, there is the most obvious appearance of Stan as the clerk who sells Miles the cheap-o Spider-Man costume. “I’m going to miss him,” Stan says to Miles as he scans the product, “We were friends, you know.” Unleash the waterworks. I full on ugly-cried the moment Stan uttered those words, but then those tears were immediately halted for a knowing laugh as Miles asked if he could return the costume if it didn’t fit. Lee’s response, “It always fits, eventually.” Pan to a sign exclaiming “No returns or refunds. Ever.” The moment speaks directly to the theme of the film (that anyone can put on the mask and fight for others), but doesn’t dismiss Lee’s capitalist nature. Sentimentality is great, but money puts food on the table. That’s Stan Lee to the core. – Brad Gullickson
