What is a cameo appearance? A Cameo role or a cameo appearance is a brief appearance or voice part of a well known person in a work of the performing arts. When it comes to films a cameo appearance needs to be done perfectly and while I can do a list on cameo appearances, I thought instead of doing it on the king of cameo appearances. By now everyone should know that the king of cameo appearances is Stan Lee and the late great Stan Lee has made so many cameos that I couldn’t even count so let just say more than a 100 and that includes the over 60 he has done in Marvel films and shows. Now obviously this will be a list of cameos in films as he made the whole cameo appearance iconic to the point where every Marvel fan looks out for the Stan Lee Cameo in the Marvel Studios or MCU film. Now for cameo appearance credits as big as Stan Lee’s I might need to think long and hard about this. Thankfully by the time this comes out I might be Stan Lee’s age. All jokes aside this one is really important to me as Stan Lee is an icon to the comic book world and is a hero to many, including myself. Comment below your favorite Stan Lee cameo appearance of all time and I am going to rank my Top 10 Stan Lee Movie Cameo Appearances of All Time.
My Top 10 Stan Lee Movie Cameo Appearances of All Time
10. Iron Man (2008) – The film that started the MCU and the Phase 1 of MCU films, Iron Man holds one of the best brief appearances for Stan Lee. In fact he is only on the screen for 4 seconds and it’s enough for it to be iconic. Tony Stark is heading to a charity event being held by Stark Industries and before entering the event he first tells a girl he doesn’t remember her, classic Tony Stark, but then he pats a familiar person on the back and says “You look great Hef”. It appears to be Stan Lee however with a couple of younger women and it’s very hilarious at best. Now while it is not said that Stan Lee is playing himself in the film but instead it appears that he is playing himself but also portraying Playboy magazine creator Hugh Hefner as you can see him wearing the classic Burgundy robe while he is smoking a pipe. Again it is not said anywhere that Stan Lee is playing Hugh Hefner or himself but the cameo aside is iconic for the fact that Stan Lee is mistaken as the Playboy legend himself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBhiuFd5kN0
9. Big Hero 6 (2014) – While we all know most of the MCU films are technically considered Disney films, this 2014 Disney film is actually a Marvel movie in disguise. Big Hero 6 is based off the Marvel comic of the same name and Disney and Marvel both worked on the animated film. Now it is only fitting to have Stan Lee in the film somehow because one this is technically a Marvel film but also because who better to cameo in a superhero animated film than Stan Lee. The film is about a group of young adults becoming superheroes and this post credits cameo appearance plays well with the plot of the film. Now obviously we know that the characters in the film become superheroes but one character in particular. Fred is a big superhero fan or comic book fan and he is passionate for becoming a superhero. In the end of the credits a scene was played of Fred looking at a picture and turns out it was a family portrait and Stan Lee was on it playing his father. Fred by accident finds a secret room behind the wall the portrait is on and finds a superhero lair. We then hear a voice and it is Fred’s father aka Stan Lee and they bond knowing that Fred knows about his father’s past of being a superhero. This cameo appearance is a very clever way to add Stan Lee into the film but it also plays well with the plot knowing that Fred kind of becomes a superhero in the film and now he knows that his father was a superhero as well, or at least that what the scene is trying to say. This is an underrated cameo appearance for Stan that many people don’t know about because it was in the post credits but it sure is a great one for Stan as it was a surprise seeing him added into the film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfLPDv_gFZE
8. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) – The Fantastic 4 are the very first superheroes that Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created for Marvel Comics. It is only fitting to add this film in the list and while the film itself is not so great and outstanding like the other films on the list, this cameo appearance made the movie feel a bit special. Stan Lee made a cameo in the first film back in 2005 playing the mailman Willie Lumpkin but I wanted to pick this cameo as this cameo is a very funny cameo considering the event that is taking place during the cameo appearance. In this scene Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) and Susan Storm (Invisible Woman) are having their wedding and the guests are checking into the event. Stan Lee walked up and is asked if he has an invitation and Stan says “I should be on that list” and when he is asked what his name is and when Stan says Stan Lee, the security says nice try and walks him away with Stan Lee saying no it’s true it’s really me. The scene is hilarious as the security doesn’t believe that Stan Lee is really the actual Stan Lee. Now it also could have been a mistake or Stan Lee might not have been invited to the Wedding making him the uninvited guest. Regardless of the situation the scene is used in a comedic way and worked perfectly. While the film will not be remembered for much, this scene in particular is probably one of the few things fans will remember from the entire film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc1KbCrQxSg
7. Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (2018) – We got 3 different Spider-Man films that are being included into the list and I thought why not start it off with the final Spider-Man film that Stan Lee was in. Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse is a 2018 animated film that won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. For some this cameo appearance is one of Stan Lee’s best, but to the many that seen this movie will know the tragic side of this cameo. On November 12th, 2018 Stan Lee passed away at the age of 96 and the film came out a month after his tragic death. While he still had a couple more cameos coming up in future Marvel films, this one is a bittersweet cameo as the line that Stan Lee uttered in the film can make a comic book fan teary eyed. In this scene Peter Parker aka Spider-Man was announced dead and many of his fans including the star of the movie Miles Morales were devastated. Miles Morales would go into what looks like a costume shop and buy a Spider-Man costume. We then notice that the cashier/owner of the store is Stan Lee or in the film a man name Stan and Stan utters this line: “I’m Going to Miss Him”. While that wasn’t the only line Stan Lee said in the movie, it was enough to get those fans in tears. While the line is towards Spider-Man, to the viewer we aren’t thinking about missing Spider-Man, we are thinking of Stan and how much we will miss him. Plus the “It will always fit, eventually” line is another great line from the movie that foreshadows Miles Morales as the new Spider-Man. This was such a great cameo appearance and a great way to use Stan Lee with the film’s story. Sure it’s the most recent one of the bunch on this list but it is done perfectly and made the film more outstanding with the foreshadowing of the character development of Miles Morales and just knowing that this kind of tributes Stan Lee as a way for us fans to say goodbye. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixSAR-AG_4c
6. Deadpool (2016) – This cameo appearance is kind of underrated but also kind of forgetful as if you never seen 2016’s Deadpool then you will never know one of the most out of place Stan Lee cameo ever. So if you didn’t know, Deadpool is an anti-hero in the Marvel Comics as he shares the same realm of comics with the X-Men franchise, or at least The New Mutants and X-Force. The Merc with a mouth was able to obtain his own film after 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine made the character look horrible. Thankfully Ryan Reynolds helped bring this movie to life and played the character again and made the character and film work as the movie became a box office and critical success, gaining at the time the number one spot for biggest box office revenue for a rated R film with over $780 million. Now the film has gore, blood, sex, anything you can find in a R rated film but for Marvel it was the first time one of their comic book adaptations was rated R and it worked out well. As for Stan Lee’s cameo well the film put him in a place where no one would think to see Stan Lee. The film had him in a strip club working as the emcee. I’m sorry but that is the most amazing thing this film can do by putting 90 plus year old Stan Lee in a strip club working as an emcee, that’s pure comedy gold. The best part about this scene is the fact that Stan Lee is decked out with Beats, a leather jacket and looking like his younger self. I don’t care what people say about this cameo appearance, it is without a doubt one of his bests and it shows that he will do anything for these cameo appearances, that includes working a strip club. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLdgkVejHrw
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) – Stan Lee has many cameo appearances in Marvel films as the man is well known to this generation because of it. Now what if I told you that this cameo appearance breaks the fourth wall and makes all his other cameo appearances legendary and iconic. Much like all the other cameo appearances, this cameo became iconic for many reasons. So in the film Stan Lee is credited to be playing a Watcher Informant in space, but in the film he is possibly playing himself. The first of two scenes with Stan Lee we see him talking to other Watchers about a certain moment, a moment that happened in Captain America Civil War. Stan Lee is portraying himself in this film obviously but he it is insisted that he exists above and apart of reality in all the MCU films. Now all the films take place in the same universe, hence the reason why they are all under the MCU, but for Stan Lee he is playing a different character in each of those films. Or that’s what the films want you to believe. In this film we are pretty much getting the idea that the Watcher Informant that he is playing has been in disguised on Earth as Stan Lee in different roles. Talk about a fourth wall break that will blow your mind. Stan also appears in a post credit scene where the other watchers are leaving but Stan has more stories to tell. The film makes a funny joke about Stan Lee being in every MCU film but it also ties them all together with the fact that he is telling the stories of each appearance he made in the film to the other watchers. It’s a brilliant cameo appearance that makes Stan Lee a legendary Icon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcoF2mtcR-g
4. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) – The Amazing Spider-Man film was decent adaptation for the webslinger and without a doubt the movie didn’t hold back with Stan Lee’s cameo appearance. The scene takes place during a fight between Spider-Man and The Lizard. They both are fighting in the high school and there fight brings them to the library of the school and we see the fight in the background as our main focus is for the Stan Lee cameo. Stan is the librarian in the scene and he is stamping some books while listening to some music. At the same time he is unaware of the battle going on behind him and thankfully Spider-Man saves him from getting a table being thrown at him. The scene is used in a very comedic way and is done perfectly. Although I feel like the visual effects kind of look meh with the fact that you can tell the fight is being done on a blue screen at one point but that’s just me nip picking. I still think the scene and the cameo appearance is very funny and is perfectly done well. The best part of this was people who went to 2011 Dallas Comic Con were able to hear about the cameo first from Stan Lee in a interview, which makes it for those people who attended more worth to see it when the full cameo was on the big screen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZapELQXx9LM
3. Captain America: Civil War (2016) – We’re in the Endgame now with these final 3 entries and while Endgame, Stan’s final MCU cameo appearance, doesn’t make this list I can say that another great Avengers film does….or a Captain America film that is about the Avengers facing off against each other. Let’s face it Captain America: Civil War was Avengers 2.5; it was pretty much a mini sequel to Avengers Age of Ultron but also being a sequel to Captain America: Winter Soldier. Civil War became one of Marvel’s most successful and popular films real quick as many consider this film the best film from the MCU. Now during this movie Iron Man and Captain America are in a fight and it leads to a battle between most of the Avengers including a new edition of characters like Spider-Man and Black Panther. In this cameo appearance scene Tony and Rhodey are in the middle of having a serious conversation until we hear a knock at the door and that’s when Stan Lee arrives to the scene. In MCU fashion the scene goes from serious to having a comedic moment that breaks the tension a bit. Stan Lee is playing a Fed Ex deliveryman and has a package for Tony, although instead of saying Tony Stark Stan Lee’s character asks “Is there a Tony Stank”. While the joke might of broke the tension of the scene it actually worked really well in keeping the scene going to give the characters a light hearted laugh as they just went through a heated battle and could use a laugh or two. Now I don’t know about you but while this cameo might be a brief appearance, the cameo itself and scene stealing Stan Lee made the scene in the film memorable just by saying one line and miss interpreting Tony Stark’s name. Plus this was the scene Stan Lee was talking about in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 so it makes this cameo appearance iconic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL0IDYp5bJ0
2. Mallrats (1995) – Kevin Smith is known for having some unique cameos in his films and Mallrats is the first film where we saw an amazing cameo appearance. Now while most of these films have been Marvel films, this one is a plain old comedy film from the mind of Kevin Smith that failed in the box office and had mixed reviews. Now I know that sounds bad but in recent years the film has been acknowledge to be a cult classic and has found a huge fan base. Now Mallrats is about two friends who get dumped by their girlfriends and they then take a trip to a local mall where they find out that one of their girlfriends will be a part of a dating game in the mall and the other is dating a store manager who is played by Ben Affleck. This cameo appearance from Stan Lee is his biggest appearance on screen as he is in the scene for over 4 minutes. Stan Lee gives Brodie love advice in this scene and talks to him about how the comic book characters he created relate to him in a way. Seeing Stan Lee talk about his comic book characters and giving love advice really is awesome in a weird way but for this film it worked. In technicality this was Stan Lee’s first major motion picture that he had a cameo in even though his first cameo appearance was for a Hulk film which I believe was a T.V movie. Now comics plays a big role with Kevin Smith in his career as he is a big comic book fan so having Stan Lee not only agreeing to be in the film but become good friends with the guy must have been a huge moment for him. While the appearance didn’t help the film become any better, the scene stealing Stan Lee became a memorable part of the film and this cameo appearance continues to be legendary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFLlwtqHINs
1. Spider-Man 3 (2007) – Okay I know this film has a big reputation for being the worst Sam Raimi Spider-Man film but it has my favorite Stan Lee cameo appearance of all time. Spider-Man 3 was about Peter Parker taking on multiple villains while also dealing with his relationship with Mary Jane. While this film may have some of the weirdest character developments and a weird plot including Emo Parker and Eric Foreman playing Venom, seriously I question sometimes why I enjoy this film, the film still holds a special place in my heart for one reason, two if you count the ridiculousness of the movie. I remember when Stan Lee passed away and I wanted to post the scene from this movie because of the line he said in the scene. In this cameo appearance, Peter Parker is walking in Time Square and we find out with the character that Spider-Man is getting a key to the city for saving the daughter of the captain of the police. Stan Lee then walks into the scene and has a heart to heart moment with Peter uttering the lines “You know I guess one person can make a difference. Nuff said”. While this was a perfect scene for Stan Lee and his biggest creation to date Spider-Man/Peter Parker to have a moment together in the film, years later and pretty much now it is a way to parallel towards Stan Lee’s career. Stan Lee made a difference towards many things including changing the game for comic books and superheroes to being a pop culture icon in films and television. He became a hero to many and many of your favorite Marvel superheroes wouldn’t be around today without this man. Spider-Man 3 might be remembered for all the wrong reasons but I remember the film now for this scene and how it now symbolizes Stan Lee’s career. Okay who am I kidding I remember the movie as well for giving us Emo Parker dancing in the streets of New York. But even with the film’s ridiculous moments, this scene stands out from it all and gives us a heart warming goodbye to the legend himself. Nuff said. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVoadkAMP4k
Excelsior!
Honorable Mentions:
Thor Ragnarok (2017) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aecwvb-nnOk Avengers (2012) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDbieH8dZEs Captain Marvel (2019) – The first MCU film that came out after Stan Lee’s death and the first film to give tribute to the legend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptMzCp-YdKE Avengers Infinity War (2018) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRrhWmpfpYE Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019) – Technically this one counts even though it was a cameo that never got to happen but Kevin Smith was able to make a cameo of Stan Lee happen in the post credit scenes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_jTUhT7zKI
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