Birth centenary: Remembering Stan Lee, the greatest superhero of them all

As a young child, his work shaped my life and spoke to me in a way that no other author or creator ever has, and probably ever will.

As a first-generation Indian American growing up in the early '80s in a town where we were the only Indian family, I felt a kinship with the characters Stan brought to life so vividly in his work. Often his heroes were the underdog, the outcast and the person who didn’t fit in — and yet, they were the ones who often helped make a difference. As I struggled with my dual identity, Stan’s heroes taught me the value in being different and made me realise my uniqueness was the true source of my strength.

Stan made us all seekers. He told tales that challenged us to search for the big mysteries of life. Who are we? What is the purpose of our existence? What is the destiny of mankind and how does it end? Not the typical questions found in a comic book, at least, not before Stan and his amazing partners redefined what the medium would become for generations thereafter. Thanks to them, great comics continue to be philosophical treatises on the state of life and the world, allegories to the societal and human questions that we struggle and strive with.

I had the honour of knowing Stan as a friend and mentor for nearly two decades, and eventually work with him to create his first Indian superhero, Chakra: The Invincible. Stan was everything you imagined him to be from his numerous film cameos, animated voice overs and editorial pages. A giant of a man, with a warm, funny, energetic, and joyful soul matched with a keenly sharp wit. Having such a legendary persona, it’s hard to believe anyone could live up to such a myth, but Stan exceeded every one of those expectations in real life. Being around him made anyone feel like a kid again. Stan had a way to not only defy age, but to also make everyone around him instantly feel young as well. His genius as a creator was only surpassed by his kindness as a human being.

'Chakra: The Invincible' (2013)

Years before we started working together of Chakra, I was given the opportunity to work on one of Stan’s greatest creations. In 2004, my fellow creators Jeevan J Kang, Suresh Seetharaman and I created the Indian version of Spider-Man in a comic series called Spider-Man: India.

In it, we reimagined the character of Peter Parker, to Pavitr Prabhakar, an Indian boy growing up in Mumbai and dealing with local problems and challenges. Unlike the original origin, which is deeply rooted in science, our Indian version was more rooted in spirituality. Indian readers were able to see for the first time, Spider-Man bouncing off rikshaws, climbing the Gateway of India and celebrating Diwali with his Aunt Maya. Throughout it, all we strove to do was to remain true to the underlining core of Spider-Man, which is epitomised in the refrain: "With great power there must also come — great responsibility!" While there has since been a multiverse of great Spider-Man reimagining’s done recently, in 2004, this was still a rare occurrence.

Though Stan was not directly involved in the project, I remember meeting him shortly after the book was released and being incredibly nervous to discuss what we had done with one of his most iconic heroes. As I handed him the book and told him about the story, my heart raced as I saw him carefully flipping through the pages with his master’s gaze. When he finally looked up, he had a smile that warmed the room and instantly put my fears at ease. We talked about his characters and his belief that creators around the world could build on the foundations of those stories. As a show of graciousness, he even signed on the copies to extend his support for the project — a treasure I keep close to me on my desk.

Years later in 2009, we began work on Chakra: The Invincible, which we eventually launched in 2012. Working with Stan to create a superhero, was like being able to paint a picture with Picasso or write a poem with Shakespeare. It was quite simply one of the greatest joys of my life. Our mission with Chakra was to create an Indian character that would bring together ideas from east and west, inspiring everyone with a character that speaks to representation for the 2 billion South Asians in the world.

'Chakra: The Invincible' (2013)

When we worked on Chakra, Stan would always remind me to focus on the simple human story, that the powers mean nothing, if you don’t care about the person. Having a superpower didn’t mean the character was lucky at love or had money to pay the bills. Those human flaws grounded their superhuman abilities, or as Stan would say, "Achilles, without his heel, you wouldn't even know his name today."

I have so many wonderful memories with him that I will treasure. I remember how in 2008, I did a panel with Stan at a Comic Con.  Before the panel, thousands of fans lined up across the convention to see him, which of course was no big surprise, because he is such a legend. What did surprise me though was when Stan told me he was going to go out there and try and shake every one of their hands.

I walked with Stan as he went out there and travelled the entire convention shaking everyone’s hand that he could — hundreds, if not thousands of people! By the end of that walk I was exhausted, and I could only imagine how tiring it was for him at 85 years old at the time. We went to a back room, and he just sat down, tired — I was worried about him. But Stan knew how important it was for his fans to know how much he cared for them.

Within two minutes, he gathered his energy and we went on stage where he wowed and entertained the entire room. They never would have guessed how tired he really was.  That was the amazing thing about Stan, just like his characters, he never gave up, found the strength to do the impossible, and always would put others before himself. His optimism was his real superpower.

The late Stan Lee (left) with Sharad Devarajan.

Stan was fascinated with the legends, stories, and fables of gods and heroes from around the world. He was particularly interested in Indian culture, which he found deeply philosophical and rich in tradition and morality. He mentioned once that he always found Brahma to be a personal favorite due to his role as the creator. A fitting inspiration for a man whose characters and stories have brought joy and hope to billions. I can’t think of any greater legacy to leave behind.

As audiences around the world dream of being Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk and Thor, there’s really only one hero they should aspire to be like — a kind and generous man who spent his life creating universes and stories that will inspire generations.

Stan Lee was the greatest superhero of them all.

Chakra: The Invincible Stan Lee’s only Indian Superhero has released a free special edition comic book that will be available on www.toonsutra.com, the mobile webtoon start-up

The writer of this article Sharad Devarajan is co-founder & CEO of Graphic India / Liquid Comics and co-creator “Chakra: The Invincible”, Stan Lee’s only Indian comic.