70+ Stan Lee Quotes That All Marvel Comic Book Fans Should Read

Monisha Kochhar
Dec 12, 2023 By Monisha Kochhar
Originally Published on Mar 10, 2021
Stan Lee in a green sweater

Stan Lee is a comic book writer who dominated the comics and movie world through his popular fictional characters.

As a pioneer and a visionary, Lee started working at a very young age due to his family's poor financial condition. Stan Lee was married to Joan Lee and they had two children.

He will be remembered as a person who taught us that our difficult times or struggles do not define us. We can also learn from his work ethic, resilience, and being true to ourselves. If you enjoy reading through some of Stan Lee quotes, check out our Inspirational Marvel quotes and Superhero quotes.

Superheros Quotes By Stan Lee

Stan Lee made cameo appearances in some of the highest-earning films. His last one was in 'Avengers: Endgame'. Enjoy the best of his superheroes quotes here.

1. "Superheroes in New York, give me a break!"

-Stan Lee.

2. "My theory about why people like superheroes is that when we were kids, we all loved to read fairy tales. Fairy tales are all about things bigger than life…then you get a little bit older and you stop reading fairy tales but you don’t ever outgrow your love of them."

-Stan Lee.

3. "I think superheroes are bigger than life and they're very colorful."

-Stan Lee.

4. "I think the world has a place for gay superheroes, certainly."

-Stan Lee.

5. "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.

6. "I love Marvel and the people there. I’m glad I’m still part of it."

-Stan Lee.

7. "I don't sound disloyal, but I've never had a pair of Marvel pyjamas or underwear. I do have a lot of Marvel figurines at home in a cabinet."

-Stan Lee.

8. "In the beginning Marvel created the Bullpen and the Style. And the Bullpen was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the Artists. And the Spirit of Marvel said, Let there be The Fantastic Four. And there was The Fantastic Four. And Marvel saw The Fantastic Four. And it was good."

-Stan Lee.

9. "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."

-Stan Lee.

10. "I never thought that Spider-Man would become the worldwide icon that he is. I just hoped the books would sell and I’d keep my job."

-Stan Lee.

11. "For years, kids have been asking me what's the greatest superpower. I always say luck. If you're lucky, everything works. I've been lucky."

-Stan Lee.

12. "If I got a superpower I wouldn’t say, oh, I got to get a costume and put on a mask."

-Stan Lee.

13. "Coming from your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"

-Stan Lee.

14. "We all wish we had superpowers. We all wish we could do more than we can do."

-Stan Lee.

Fun Stan Lee Quotes

Stan Lee was responsible for the co-creation of most loved films such as 'Spider-Man', 'Thor', 'The Incredible Hulk', 'X-Men'. Find some interesting Stan Lee quotes here.

15. "Of what import are brief, nameless lives…to Galactus?"

-Stan Lee.

16. "Wives should be kissed - not heard."

-Stan Lee.

17. "Forced idleness is a terrible thing."

-Stan Lee.

18. "Face front, true believers!"

-Stan Lee.

19. "'Good' and 'Bad' may be alien concepts to him, Ben."

-Stan Lee.

20. "Comic books themselves are getting more literate."

-Stan Lee.

21. "The world has always been like a comic book world to me!"

-Stan Lee.

22. "Achilles, without his heel, you wouldn't even know his name today."

-Stan Lee.

23. "I was stupid in a business way. I should have been greedier."

-Stan Lee.

24. "I think I’ve never stopped feeling like a kid."

-Stan Lee.

25. "Comic books to me are fairy tales for grown-ups."

-Stan Lee.

26. "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."

-Stan Lee.

27. "If I'm half as good as everybody said I am, I'm far too good to be wasting time with ordinary people. But I seem to be spending my life with ordinary people, who are the best people in the world."

-Stan Lee.

Stan Lee Inspirational Quotes On Life

Stan Lee passed away in 2018 and until his last moment, he was discussing comics with Roy. His last words were "God bless. Take care of my boy, Roy." according to John, Roy Thomas' manager.

28. "With great power comes great responsibility."

-Stan Lee.

29. "Duane just kept working, not even looking up."

-Stan Lee.

30. "Nobody has a perfect life. Everybody has something that he wishes was not the way it is."

-Stan Lee.

31. "Life is never completely without its challenges"

-Stan Lee.

32. "It’s just, it’s fun to stay in the game"

-Stan Lee.

33. "I don’t really see a need to retire as long as I am having fun."

-Stan Lee.

34. "To tell you the truth, I never thought of myself as much of a success."

-Stan Lee.

35. "I guess one person can make a difference."

-Stan Lee.

36. "If you are interested in what you do, that keeps you going!"

-Stan Lee.

37. "Nobody likes to be preached to."

-Stan Lee.

38. "It’s a good reminder to always stay humble and do what we love every day; the success will always come."

-Stan Lee.

39. "You have to be appreciative."

-Stan Lee.

40. "When I was a kid, Disney was one of my gods. I just loved movies like ‘Snow White’ and ‘Pinocchio."

-Stan Lee.

41. "The power of prayer is still the greatest ever known in this endless eternal universe."

-Stan Lee.

42. "You know, my motto is ‘Excelsior.’ That’s an old word that means ‘upward and onward to greater glory’."

-Stan Lee.

Best Stan Lee Quotes On Entertainment

"Keep moving forward, and if it's time to go, it's time" is one of Lee's best quotes. He created hundreds of characters and he is best known for his work on Marvel Comics. Find more quotes from Lee Stan here.

43. "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."

-Stan Lee.

44."To me, Writing is Fun. It doesn’t matter what you’re writing, as long as you can tell a story."

-Stan Lee.

45. "I am very lucky because everything that I do is exciting to me. It's always new."

-Stan Lee.

46. "Every kid wants to be an actor. When I was a kid, I thought, ‘Oh, it’d be great to be like Errol Flynn. I want to be an actor."

-Stan Lee.

47. "I don’t have inspiration. I only have ideas. Ideas and deadlines."

-Stan Lee.

48. "Every day there’s a new development…there’s no limit to the things that are happening."

-Stan Lee.

49. "When you can sit down with a plain sheet of paper in front of you and make some notes, and, little by little, you see it take shape and become a concept for a movie or a TV show."

-Stan Lee.

50. "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

-Stan Lee.

51. "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?"

-Stan Lee.

Quotes From Stan Lee About Reading And Writing

In collaboration with many artists, Lee helped develop a process called the 'Marvel Method' that includes handing off the outline to the artist instead of the full script for initial work. Here are some of his interesting quotes.

52. "The only advice anybody can give is if you want to be a writer, keep writing. And read all you can, read everything."

-Stan Lee.

53. "Reading is very good. And you can quote me!"

-Stan Lee.

54. "My biggest regret is that I don’t really have time to read."

-Stan Lee.

55. "When I was a kid, I loved reading Sherlock Holmes. Now, you don’t think of him as a superhero, but he was so damn much smarter than anybody else."

-Stan Lee.

56. "I’m happiest when I’m working. If I’m not working, I feel like I’m wasting my time."

-Stan Lee.

57. "The more you read, the better you’re going to become as a storyteller."

-Stan Lee.

58. "Quality. That's the first word, the one word that comes to mind when I think of the books published by Abrams."

-Stan Lee.

59. "There’s just something that feels nice about holding a comic book!"

-Stan Lee.

60. "If you wanna be an artist carry sketch pad with you, and sketch everything you see."

-Stan Lee.

61. "I see myself in everything I write. All the good guys are me."

-Stan Lee.

62. "All I thought about when I wrote my stories was, 'I hope that these comic books would sell so I can keep my job and continue to pay the rent.'"

-Stan Lee.

63. "I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers.

And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people s lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing."

-Stan Lee.

Stan Lee Quotes About Diversity

Lee helped forge diversity through his characters and storytelling. The Black Panther was introduced in 1966, making it the first African American character in mainstream comics. Find diversity-related quotes here.

64. "I grew up in New York City during the Depression. My earliest recollections were of my parents talking about what they would do if they didn’t have the rent money."

-Stan Lee.

65. "I always felt the 'X-Men,' in a subtle way, often touched upon the subject of racism and inequality, and I believe that subject has come up in other titles, too."

-Stan Lee.

66. "We live in a diverse society - in fact, a diverse world - and we must learn to live in peace and with."

-Stan Lee.

67. "I wouldn't mind, if Peter Parker had originally been black, a Latino, an Indian, or anything else, that he stay that way."

-Stan Lee.

68. "I don’t think you ever outgrow your love for things that are bigger than life and more colorful than the average life."

-Stan Lee.

69. "I wanted them to be diverse. The whole underlying principle of the X-Men was to try to be an anti-bigotry story to show there’s good in every person."

-Stan Lee.

70. "America is made of different races and different religions, but we’re all co-travelers on the spaceship Earth and must respect and help each other along the way."

-Stan Lee.

71. "Sooner or later, if man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance. For then, and only then, will we be truly worthy of the concept that man was created in the image of God — a God who calls us ALL — His children."

-Stan Lee.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Stan Lee quotes then why not take a look at Iron Man quotes, or 'Avengers' quotes.

M‍ain image credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com

Article image credit: Krikkiat / Shutterstock.com

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Written by Monisha Kochhar

Bachelor of Arts Hons specializing in Modern Languages (French and Spanish)

Monisha Kochhar picture

Monisha KochharBachelor of Arts Hons specializing in Modern Languages (French and Spanish)

A Modern Languages graduate from the University College London, Monisha with a passion for travel and exploring different cultures. She is fluent in French and Spanish and is currently learning Hindi. Monisha enjoys discovering new foods and is an avid sports fan, following soccer and Formula 1. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis and watching TV shows.

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