Legendary comic creator — and frequent Marvel movie cameo actor — Stan Lee passed away in November 2018, and though his appearances in films will soon come to an end, Blizzard Entertainment added a tribute of its own to World of Warcraft.
Spotted by the Twitter user “BasSchouten,” a character named Stanley can currently be found in Stormwind Keep if you’re playing on World of Warcraft‘s Public Test Realm.
Excelsior! @TerranGregory @TaliesinEvitel pic.twitter.com/9jplxvgEff
— Bas Schouten (@BS_Schouten) January 9, 2019
Wowhead subsequently confirmed the character’s appearance by visiting him in Stormwind Keep — you can see a video of the encounter above. Though he’s clad in Alliance armor to keep with the World of Warcraft setting, it’s clearly supposed to be Stan Lee. The character has white hair, glasses, and the comic creator’s mustache. Most telling, however, is that he will occasionally say his signature phrase: “Excelsior!”
It appears Stanley will be found elsewhere in the game as well, so those fighting the Horde should still have a chance to see him, but it’s unclear if he will be a permanent addition.
Just after Lee’s death, he made a cameo appearance in the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Though not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it received rave reviews for its animation, comedy, writing, and unique approach to the famous hero. Lee will also reportedly appear in Avengers: Endgame, the culmination of a cinematic universe that has been developed over more than a decade.
One of our favorite Lee cameos was in the Spider-Man video game for PlayStation 4, which released shortly before his death. Lee’s appearance as a restaurant employee is unexpected and heartfelt, and stands out as one of the best moments in the tremendous video game.
To date, Lee has cameo appearances in 20 different films for the Marvel Cinematic Universe alone, as well as four X-Men films, five Spider-Man films, two Fantastic Four films, Daredevil, The Incredible Hulk, and several television shows.
World of Warcraft is no stranger to celebrity tributes. In 2014, the game included a genie named “Robin” as a tribute to Robin Williams, who took his own life earlier that year. The character references several of Williams’ films, with Aladdin being the most prominent.
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