Stan Lee’s marvels made us everyday heroes who cared

The ‘Marvel method’ of writing comics about superheroes who struggle with disillusionment, imperfections, tragedy, self-doubt and other myriad flaws was an art only Stan Lee could have perfected. There was flair, of course, but substance ruled in the larger pursuit of goodness within us. The genius in him made them human and emotional — wracked by insecurities — which only made their appeal greater. Indeed, Stan was the Marlon Brando of comics through his method writing — a genre that lives on today, even as the man, who died at 95 on Monday, remains a prolific legend who will live on in our collective memory for a long time to come. Through his comic craft, the writer gave vent to his creative angst as he became mentor, destroyer, oppressor and deliverer. Through his genius, he inspired people across generations to battle their inner conflicts and contradictions head on. It was a grim, tortuous journey for many of his characters like Spider-Man, or The Hulk, but it was worth it for us his readers.

We empathised with them, felt their pain. They were different, yet bonded with us, spoke to us in our lingo, and would save us all over again to bring some order and sanity to our society that stank of violence. The comic relief was rewarding as these characters fought both inner and external demons and evil forces that threatened to bring the world crashing down. They helped us tower above our smallness and become common heroes who cared about the fate of the world and the people who dwell in them. There was a little bit of each one of us in Stan’s creations. What was unique about his marvellous writing was that he was able to bring all these stunning creations together — when the world needed them, to deliver us from evil and in the nick of time. They starred together though they were different in temperament, but were bound by a larger cause and less of greater glory. To say that he revolutioned the comic book industry would be an understatement. His work characterised the genre, and helped us develop nerves of steel for bigger battles.