If it’s a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, you know Stan Lee is showing up at some point, and his appearance in the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel might have been his most interesting one yet.
Note: This article contains mild spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, primarily when it comes to characters with whom Stan Lee interacts. Now you know.
The comic book world won’t be the same when Stan Lee finally leaves this Earth, but he’s still with us and very much a part of the Marvel phenomenon he helped start. Lee has made a cameo in every Marvel Cinematic Universe film so far, along with movies made by Sony and 20th Century Fox that feature Marvel superheroes. To no one’s surprise, he pops up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as well — not once but twice.
We first see Lee when Rocket, Groot, Yondu and Kraglin make an unadvised amount of space jumps in an effort to get to Ego’s planet as quickly as possible. On one of those jumps, we see Lee in a spacesuit talking to someone, and the camera pans up to show that it is one of the Watchers (probably Uatu, the Watcher most associated with Earth).
Later, in one of the movie’s multiple post-credits scenes, we return to that same conversation, which is clearly wearing on the Watchers. As they start to leave, Stan complains because he expects one of them to transport him back to Earth.
Or at least that’s what he insinuates. Some fans continue to believe that Lee himself is a Watcher, though Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 leaves it unclear. A Watcher would certainly be powerful enough to assume human form, but he definitely wouldn’t need any assistance to travel back to Earth. Lee could also be joking in that scene and well aware he can just return on his own.
Next: All five Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 post-credits scenes explained
What’s not up for debate is that Lee is clearly referencing a previous cameo when he tells the Watchers that he was delivering packages, likely when he appeared as a FedEx driver in Captain America: Civil War. That’s a strong hint that at the very least, every Stan Lee appearance is the same guy popping up repeatedly.
That’s pretty cool, but now that the secret has been unveiled, one has to wonder if his future MCU cameos will involve even more winking at the audience. He’s superhero royalty, to be sure, and fans have to be hoping he’ll be around long enough to keep these appearances coming for many movies to come.