From appearing for a brief cameo in 1989’s made-for-TV The Trial of The Incredible Hulk to his final one in Endgame, almost every major Marvel release in between had Stan Lee attached to it in some capacity. And without the Marvel icon, the MCU releases post-Endgame, for which his cameo was filmed prior to his death back in 2019, haven’t hit the same as they did with Lee on board.
Although we’ll not get the chance to burst into cheers like we did for every Lee appearance on the big screen, we can always revisit the previous ones that elevated the Infinity Saga.
All Stan Lee Cameos in the MCU
Iron Man
The beloved icon’s favorite cameo remained his inaugural one in the MCU, showing up at the Gala in Iron Man that Tony Stark was attending, in which Stark mistakes Lee for Hugh Hefner.
The Incredible Hulk
While Lee’s appearance before had little to no impact on the actual plot, this changed with MCU’s Hulk, which witnessed him falling ill to the Gamma radiation, leading to the discovery of Banner’s location.
Iron Man 2
In the sequel to Iron Man, this time Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark mistakenly greets Lee as Larry King, as the author was dressed in suspenders, a red shirt, and a black and purple tie.
Thor
For Thor, Lee plays a character credited as Stan the Man, a nod to his nickname in the Silver Age of Comics, who tears the bed of his pickup truck in an attempt to pull up the Mjolnir from the ground.
Captain America: The First Avenger
In Captain America, Lee dons the role of a general in World War II, who mistakes Chris Evans‘ Steve Rogerts for another character, saying, “I thought he’d be taller.”
The Avengers
One of his most iconic cameos involves Lee responding to the news of the Avengers saving Manhattan, who says, “Superheroes in New York? Give me a break.”
Also read: Stan Lee’s Own Words Puts an End to the Peter Parker v Miles Morales Spider-Man Debate
Iron Man 3
Unfortunately, in the threequel, Tony Stark doesn’t mistake Lee for another renowned figure. Instead, Stan Lee plays a beauty pageant judge, who happily gives one contestant a 10.
Thor: The Dark World
Lee plays the part of a mental ward patient, who gives his shoe to Erik Selvig for the demonstration of the convergence, and later says, “Yeah, can I have my shoe back?” after Selvig finishes.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Lee plays the museum guard, who finds out that the Captain America suit is missing, which is stolen by Steve Rogers, to which Lee responds, “Oh man, I am so fired.”
Guardians of the Galaxy
Appearing in his first Guardians flick, Lee plays the part of one of Xandar’s citizens, who is conversing with a significantly younger woman.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Stan Lee plays a World War II veteran, who gets an entry to the Avengers’ victory party, claiming to have fought at Omaha Beach in order to prove that he can handle a shot of the Asgardian liquor.
Ant-Man
He plays the bartender in one of Luis’ stories in Ant-Man, who tells a story to Luis, which eventually reaches Scott Lang in the movie.
Captain America: Civil War
In one of the more grittier MCU movies, Stan Lee plays a FedEx postman, who brings Tony Stark a package from Steve Rogers, mispronouncing Stark as “Stank” in the process.
Doctor Strange
In this movie, Lee is a passenger on a bus reading Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception, who is oblivious to the battle between Doctor Strange, Mordo, and Kaecilius.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
He plays an astronaut who is telling the story of his days as a delivery man in the Civil War to the Watchers before the Watchers leave after becoming tired.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
While Homecoming didn’t bring in the fan-favorite J. Jonah Jameson, Stan Lee does fulfill his absence by playing an annoyed neighbor yelling, “Don’t make me come down there, you punk!”.
Thor: Ragnarok
Not only did Thor: Ragnarok revamp Thor tonally but also physically, thanks to Lee, who cuts Thor’s hair on Sakaar prior to his fight with Bruce Banner.
Black Panther
The only MCU release to earn a Best Picture nod at the Oscars, witnesses Stan Lee playing a casino patron in Busan, South Korea, who takes T’Challa’s unclaimed Casino tokens.
Avengers: Infinity War
Appears as the driver of Peter Parker’s school bus and states, “What’s the matter with you kids? You never seen a spaceship before?”, after the students react to the arrival of Ebony Maw’s ship.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Lee plays the part of a pedestrian, whose car gets shrunk by the wasp, to which he responds, “Well, the ’60s were fun, but now I’m paying for it”.
Captain Marvel
In MCU’s first female-led movie, Lee appears as himself, who is seen reading his lines from the screenplay for the film Mallrat in the Subway.
Avengers: Endgame
This was the cameo that didn’t evoke cheer but tears from the fans, in which he appears as a digitally de-aged car driver in 1970, shouting, “Hey man, make love, not war!”.
Lee was also supposed to appear as Lambshank in Guardians 3, a character Gunn wrote before Stan Lee passed away, which led to Gunn playing the character himself.
