Every Stan Lee cameo from X-Men to Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame features Stan Lee's final cameo in a Marvel movie
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The cameo: Stan is amongst the crowd at Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy's graduation.
Is Stan the man? As Peter Parker slings his way in as Spider-man, he almost forgets to take his mask off. We cut to Stan who's caught him mid-change, pointing out, "I think I know that guy." Stan has said he's not easy to please but that Andrew Garfield did a great job with the character.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
The cameo: Rocket views Stan through his scanning device as Stan is having a conversation with a younger woman.
Is Stan the man? Stan Lee is quite the Xandarian ladies man, as he looks quite comfortable chatting up a young woman in this scene. Rocket spies on him for a while and remarks, "What a class-A pervert!" However, there are quite a few other cameos in Guardians you may not have spotted. Director James Gunn plays a Sakaaran, Rob Zombie is the voice of the Ravager Navigator and Seth Green is the voice of Howard The Duck. Stan was originally penned to appear in one of the Collector's cells, giving Groot a rude gesture, but unfortunately the scene was never filmed.
Big Hero 6 (2014)
The cameo: Stan plays Fred's Father.
Is Stan the man? Big Hero 6 is a Disney superhero film inspired by a Marvel superhero team of the same name, so it made sense to have Stan cameo in the film. In an interview Stan said that while growing up Disney was his world, and he was chuffed to be involved in a Disney film inspired by what they did at Marvel comics. Stan appears in a family portrait in the movie, and there's also a post-credits scene where he appears to Fred: We have a lot to talk about.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
The cameo: Stan plays an old time war veteran having a few drinks with the Avengers at their victory party.
Sign up to the SFX Newsletter
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Is Stan the man? As Thor explains that Asgardian liquor is not made for mortal men, Stan goads Thor (or blondie if you prefer) into letting him have a taste since he fought at Omaha Beach. Thor agrees and we cut to a scene with Lee being escorted from the party, drunkenly muttering Excelsior!
Ant-Man (2015)
The cameo: Dressed to the nines, Stan pops up briefly as a bartender during a flashback.
Is Stan the man? Just when you were thinking he wouldn't have an appearance in the coolest heist flick this side of Ocean's Eleven, there he was! Possibly the funniest cameo of his, on account of the overdubbing, he pops up during Luis' lengthy cutaway as he's discussing his friend Pablo meeting a girl at a bar: “And he goes up to the bartender and goes, ‘Look at the girl I’m with, you know what I’m saying? She’s crazy super fine, right?'” says Luis, “And the bartender is all like, ‘Yeah. Crazy stupid fine.”
Deadpool (2016)
The cameo: Reportedly his favourite Marvel cameo to date, Stan appears as an MC in the nightclub where Vanessa works.
Is Stan the man? After Wade escapes the hideous Weapon X program, he decides to locate his ex, Vanessa. Eventually tracking her to a new place of employment - a strip club - Deadpool scours the venue, where he discovers a hip and happening old timer in the DJ booth. Fitting in completely with the Deadpool-world, Stan's stint here is absolutely spot-on.
Read more: Every silly secret the Deadpool movie hides under your nose
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
The cameo: Stan Lee appears at Tony Stark's door as a FedEx delivery man.
Is Stan the man? It's the end of the movie and Tony Stark is helping Rhodey with his physio after his tragic accident during Civil War's big fight. There's a knock at the door and the pair turn around to see a FedEx delivery man who asks: "Are you Tony Stank?" Rhodey smiles and says, "Yes, this is Tony Stank, you're in the right place. Thank you for that!" He adds to Tony, "Never dropping that by the way. Table for one Mr Stank please by the bathroom."
Read more: 26 Captain America: Civil War Easter eggs worth knowing about
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
The cameo: Apocalypse brings down his reign of destruction upon the Earth! Millions are affected - as shown in a montage of citizens across the globe looking up in terror. Stan is one of those people.
Is Stan the man? There's a sweet element to this cameo. No, no, not the whole "end of the world" thing. While that's definitely a bit of a mood-dampener, this is the first time Stan's wife appears alongside him! Yep, that's Joan Lee who has contributed to the Marvel universe before - she did voices for Marvel cartoons Spider-Man and Fantastic Four.
Doctor Strange (2016)
The cameo: Stan happily rides a London city bus while Doctor Strange and Baron Mordo battle Kaecilius.
Is Stan the man? Talk about being in the thick of it. This cameo crops up right in the middle of an epic foot chase scene, as Kaecilius and his minions are in hot pursuit of Strange and Mordo. The fabric of reality is bent, twisted and contorted, throwing Strange and Mordo right up against the bus Stan is on. But Stan doesn't even blink. He's too busy having a good old chuckle while reading Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception. "Now that's hilarious!" he cries.
Read more: 12 Doctor Strange Easter eggs every Marvel fan needs to know about
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
The cameo: Technically, Stan Lee has two cameos in GOTG2; one during Rocket and Yondu's cosmic leap through space, and one in an post-credits scene. Both see him on an asteroid talking to some Watchers - characters he himself created as a Marvel comic book writer - about the things he's seen.
Is Stan the man? As cameos go, this one is pretty important as it confirms a long-held fan theory that the multiple Stan Lee characters we've seen in all the previous Marvel movies are actually all one person. When talking to the Watchers, Stan Lee references a few of his previous cameos and Marvel Studios President, Kevin Feige, later confirmed the connection: "We thought it would be fun to put that in there because that really says, so wait a minute, he’s this same character who’s popped up in all these films." So, there you have it, Stan Lee is actually a Watcher who's spent his time travelling throughout the Marvel movie and TV universe observing but never interfering in what happens.
Read more: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 ending explained - 9 questions we need answered
Continue to Page 4 for more Stan Lee cameos
Lauren O'Callaghan is the former Entertainment Editor of 12DOVE. You'd typically find Lauren writing features and reviews about the latest and greatest in pop culture and entertainment, and assisting the teams at Total Film and SFX to bring their excellent content onto 12DOVE. Lauren is now the digital marketing manager at the National Trust.