Stan Lee Twitter tributes go well beyond the worlds of comics, superheroes

Twitter was home to an outpouring of tributes to the late Stan Lee, a sign of just how wide-reaching his impact truly was.

The world seems a little less bright without Stan Lee in it.

That’s the whole world, not just the world of comics and superheroes, where Lee, who passed away Monday at the age of 95, made his most significant impact, or even pop culture in general.

It would be hard to imagine meeting anyone who doesn’t know some of the iconic characters Lee helped to create, from Spider-Man to the Fantastic Four to the Avengers and X-Men. Even younger fans who aren’t as familiar with his pioneering comic book work recognize him from his ongoing series of cameos in pretty much every movie to star a Marvel hero or villain.

Yet Lee’s impact goes well beyond the page or the screen, and that was borne out by the wide range of people from all walks of life who took to Twitter to honor Lee for the contributions he made, both big and small.

Naturally, a host of talent from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and films from other studios featuring Marvel characters) paid their final respects to the man without whom none of its sprawling successes would have been possible.

Other actors and celebrities spoke of the personal inspiration they drew from Lee’s fertile imagination, or described interactions with him that they carried on throughout their careers.

https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/1062087032820895749

And still others from fields as far apart as science and food had tributes of their own to make.

Rotten Tomatoes shared an interview with Stan the Man where he reflected on what he hoped would be his legacy and expressed his delight that people remembered his work — as if they would ever forget.

But perhaps most striking of all were the messages to remind all of us that while Lee’s primary goal might have been to entertain, he was definitely interested in slipping other messages into his work as well. Often, those were pleas for us to remember how much we have in common, even as outside forces prefer us to view others based on their differences.

Very few people could say they’ve had an impact on so many lives, but it’s almost impossible to count the number that Stan Lee affected. Twitter might have a well-deserved reputation as a den of negativity on most days, but on the otherwise sad occasion of Lee’s passing, he almost certainly would have been proud to see himself remembered like this.