“With great power comes great responsibility.”
— French National Convention, May 8, 1793.
On this day in 1922, Stanley Martin Leiber was born in Manhattan to Celia and Jack Leiber, Romanian Jewish immigrants. More commonly known as Stan Lee, one of the many pen names he used in order to convince his readership that his fledgling comics company had a robust writing staff, Lee helped usher in the “Silver Age” of American comic books and ultimately became synonymous with Marvel comics, and much later, Marvel Studios.
Together with renowned artists like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, Lee created many of comics’ most iconic characters, from the Fantastic Four to the X-Men, Spider Man, Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk. By imbuing his characters with recognizably human flaws, doubts, and concerns, Lee made his superheroes relatable. Meanwhile, by incorporating the social issues of his day, Lee made his comics relevant.
In so doing, Lee transformed comics into a literature ripe with moving, meaningful metaphors for the human experience—from a teenage orphan struggling to meet the competing demands of his school, his family, and his responsibility to the world… to a group of outcasts affirming their commitment to one another and to a world that persecutes them… to an arrogant heir to the throne who discovers that true power can only be won through patience, diligence, and humility.
Though his genre may appear unconventional, his impact remains undeniable. Stan Lee’s contributions to American Jewish literature continue to deliver very Jewish ideas about right and wrong to readers and moviegoers throughout the world.
— Rabbi Josh