There’s something about the hero’s journey that has always appealed to me. Watching someone come from meager beginnings and seeing them transform touched a part of me that wanted to offer the world something important.

As a boy, I read countless comics and saw all kinds of lionhearted characters who strived to conquer villains and stop calamity. The mighty few who chose to stand in the way of those who wished to bring pain and subjugation upon the world.

And I have Stan Lee to thank, in large part, for that.

As I reflect on my illustrated upbringing, so much of my moral compass and the intrinsic questioning of “Am I the hero or villain?” was formed by my experiences with comic heroes.

Mutants, magicians, space travelers, demi-gods, and warriors created by luck, Stan Lee provided me a realm with avenues to explore who I was through the lens of the superhuman. Over time, these stories have only deepened and diversified, though there’s much more work to be done on both fronts.

Comics are modern mythologies holding the promise of artistic distraction and lessons learned. As a father, I rely on these kinds of larger-than-life tales. Metahumans can be mirrors for our humanity. I can only hope our investment in them will yield more representation and greater inclusion in our fictional realities. We have so much still to learn. And hopefully, new faces will arise to help carry on Stan’s work. Our world needs new origin stories.

Excelsior.