Stan Lee passes away: Best quotes by Marvel legend on love, superheroes, and comic books

“Have you never seen a spaceship before?” Truer words were never spoken in a Marvel film. In a scene from Avengers: Infinity War , Stan Lee hurled these rhetorical words at a group of children in a school bus who were shocked at the sight of Thanos’ spaceship inching closer to Earth. The words made for a wise remark on the massive fan following of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the huge empire that Lee has built over the past decade. [caption id=“attachment_4299431” align=“alignnone” width=“1200”] Stan Lee. AP[/caption] While the universe he created is known more for its scale, spectacle and style, Lee ensured that all his superheroes were humans wearing capes. He humanised them through a lot of tools, the most prominent being his words. Out of all the things that Lee will be known for, one of them is his quotes, from both his interviews and his stories. Below are some of the Marvel legend’s best quotes. On empathy being the greatest superpower “With great power comes great responsibility.” (Uncle Ben, Spider-Man) “Another definition of a hero is someone who is concerned about other people’s well-being, and will go out of his or her way to help them — even if there is no chance of a reward. That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt, a real superhero.” (Stan Lee, CyberSpacers.com) “If I got a superpower I wouldn’t say, oh, I got to get a costume and put on a mask. I would say hey, I can do something better than other people. How can I turn it into a buck?” “Just because you have superpowers, that doesn’t mean your love life would be perfect. I don’t think superpowers automatically means there won’t be any personality problems, family problems or even money problems. I just tried to write characters who are human beings who also have superpowers.” On love over hate “Your humans slaughter each other because of the color of your skin, or your faith or your politics — or for no reason at all — too many of you hate as easily as you draw breath.” (Magneto, X-Men) “There is only one who is all powerful, and his greatest weapon is love.” (Silver Surfer) On fascination for comic books “Some people will say, ‘Why read a comic book? It stifles the imagination. If you read a novel you imagine what people are like. If you read a comic, it’s showing you.’ The only answer I can give is, ‘You can read a Shakespeare play, but does that mean you wouldn’t want to see it on the stage?’” “I don’t think you ever outgrow your love for things that are bigger than life and more colorful than the average life. And somehow I feel that these comic book stories are like fairy tales for older people, because they have the same qualities.” On loving what he does “The only time I go on the set is when I have a cameo to do in the picture. I go to the set and I do my little cameo and I meet all the people. It’s a great way to spend the day. And then I go back to my own world.”   “You know, my motto is ‘Excelsior.’ That’s an old word that means ‘upward and onward to greater glory.’ It’s on the seal of the state of New York. Keep moving forward, and if it’s time to go, it’s time. Nothing lasts forever.” “Most people say, ‘I can’t wait to retire so I can play golf,’ or go yachting or whatever they do. Well, if I was playing golf, I would want that to finish so I could go and dream up a new TV show.” “I don’t know where the hell I’ll be in five years. Maybe I’ll be producing movies maybe I’ll be on a corner selling apples. I don’t know, but I’m having a hell of a lot of fun.”