Stan Lee, the mastermind behind many of Marvel Comic’s superheroes, died Monday at age 95.
After years of battling several illnesses, including pneumonia and vision issues, his daughter, Joan Celia Lee, said in a statement to TMZ, “My father loved all of his fans. He was the greatest, most decent man.”
The comic-book writer leaves behind a career that spans over five decades and hundreds of superheroes.
In 1961, Lee and Jack Kirby started Marvel Comics with The Fantastic Four, and he co-created other iconic fictional characters such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Black Panther, and the X-Men.
Through these superheroes, he was able to inspire generations of fans. ButLee also motivated others in interviews over the years. Here’s a look back at some of his most memorable quotes.
1.“With great power comes great responsibility.”
2.“Nobody has a perfect life. Everybody has something that he wishes was not the way it is.”
3.“To have an idea is the easiest thing in the world. Everybody has ideas. But you have to take that idea and make it into something people will respond to – that’s hard.“
4.“If you are interested in what you do, that keeps you going!”
5.“It’s just, it’s fun to stay in the game.”
6.“To my way of thinking, whether it’s a superhero movie or a romance or a comedy or whatever, the most important thing is you’ve got to care about the characters. You’ve got to understand the characters and you’ve got to be interested. If the characters are interesting, you’re half-way home.
7.“Everybody learns differently and everybody gets to a certain point from a different direction.” “I don’t have inspiration. I only have ideas. Ideas and deadlines.”
8.“I’ve been very lucky. All I wanted was to pay the rent. Then these characters took off and suddenly there were Hulk coffee mugs and Iron Man lunchboxes and The Avengers sweatshirts everywhere. Money’s okay, but what I really like is working.
9.“It’s fun doing something that hasn’t been done before”
“When you work with people whom you like and you admire because they’re so good at what they do, it doesn’t feel like work. It’s like you’re playing”
“Negative information is that which, immediately upon acquiring, causes the recipient to know less than he did before.”
“I always sympathized with the people who did work for hire; I was one of them.“
“I always figure I’m not unique, and something that would please me hopefully would please a lot of other people that have the same tastes that I do.”
“I am very lucky because everything that I do is exciting to me. It’s always new.”
“The more you read, the better you’re going to become as a storyteller.”
“Reading is very good. And you can quote me!”
“I’m just somebody who tries to write things that entertain people. And if I can do it in a way that makes them prefer to emulate the good guy than the bad guy, I’m happy.”
“I’m very proud of being a hack. It’s why I’ve lived as long as I have, I think.”
“I wanted them to be diverse. The whole underlying principle of the X-Men was to try and be an anti-bigotry story to show there’s good in every person.”
“The only advice anybody can give is, if you wanna be a writer, keep writing. And read all you can, read everything.”
“If you enjoy what you do, if you are interested in what you do, I really think that’s the best situation.” “Money’s okay, but what I really like is working.”