When it comes to people who are synonymous with comics and the comic book industry, one name instantly springs to mind – Stan Lee. For some, he was the old man who kept appearing in cameos in all the Marvel movies, for others he was the man who created superheroes such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and the X-Men.
Director David Gleb sets out to tell the story of the man who became the face of Marvel Comics, and who better to tell his story than the man himself? Gleb uses archival interviews and footage alongside previously unseen and unheard recordings of Lee reflecting on his life’s work.
Unsurprisingly, it plays up his public persona as the man behind Marvel. With Lee keen to stress the role he played in the rise of the brand following its transition from Timely and the dawn of the Silver Age of comics where they created and produce popular character after popular character.
The key to Marvel and Lee’s success was building a relationship with the audience. It was evident through his appearances in the comics with his Dear Editor columns where he talked to the fans, his “true believers” and writing stories that he and they would want to read. That is why the Marvel universe was set in the real world, particularly New York City. Why the characters were relatable; rather than Kryptonian aliens, they were teenagers who tried to balance exams and paying the bills at the same time as saving the world. And why the comics reflected what was happening in the real world. The Civil rights movement gave birth to Black Panther and Luke Cage, and the X-Men were created to give those who felt and were treated differently a hero to root for.
The issue with the film telling Stan’s story “in his own words” is that it is a very one sided look at the man’s life. Everyone is the hero of their own story and this documentary is proof positive of that. That is in spite of Lee being the subject of much controversy during his tenure at Marvel.
To the film’s credit it does bring up the issue of Lee’s tendency to claim full credit for creating his most iconic characters. It was the subject of much debate at the time and in the years since where artists such as Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, correctly, asserted that their drawings and designs were just as important a part in the success of these larger-than-life heroes. There is one radio interview with Lee and Kirby it would have benefited from hearing more from the others involved, rather than just hearing Lee’s point of view and getting one side of the story.
Also, the timeline of the documentary ends in the early nineties following Lee stepping down from his duties into a Chairman Emeritus role before a brief epilogue covering his cameos in the MCU. Thus missing out on arguably the most outspoken and risk taking years of Lee’s career, a period full of many highs and lows, successes and failures.
This lack of conflict or drama within the narrative results in a rather tame affair. A by-the-numbers documentary that doesn’t reveal anything about Lee that couldn’t be found in any other documentary or Wikipedia entry.
This could have been alleviated with a more dramatic visual flair to the storytelling. Comics use all sorts of panelling and creative techniques to bring stories to life and while there are some in the film, illustrating some moments in time, instead it opts for static shots of 3D printed models of Lee in the Marvel offices with the voiceover echoing through the halls.
Stan Lee created heroes with monikers like Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four. This documentary doesn’t do enough to achieve a similar superlative, instead playing it safe. One for the true believers. Excelsior!
Stan Lee screened at the Tribeca Festival and is available on Disney+ from June 16
Rating: 
Director: David Gleb
Stars: Stan Lee
Runtime: 86 minutes
Country: USA
