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Marvel Theory: Is Stan Lee the Watcher?!

What do you mean, you've already heard about this theory?!

By Jonathan SimPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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That featured image took forever to make, but it was worth it.

Recently, I've been watching a bunch of Marvel movies, and so far, I'm loving it. Can't wait 'til I get up to Infinity War.

And if anyone has watched Marvel movies, there's a good chance that you have seen this older gentleman on screen for at least a few seconds in each movie.

In case you didn't know, this man is Stan Lee, and he's the co-creator of a TON of Marvel characters, including the Hulk, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther.

And he's been making cameo appearances in Marvel movies for YEARS. Stan Lee's cameos are essentially an easter egg in Marvel, kind of like A113 in Pixar movies.

While some have considered his cameos to simply be an easter egg for the Marvel writer, others have tried to find out why we keep seeing the same guy over and over in every movie. And some have theorized that Stan Lee is, in fact, a Watcher.

In case you don't know, Watchers are extraterrestrials whose job it is to watch over the multiverse. I mean, if you ask me, that's a pretty s**tty job, but hey, I don't judge.

And the Marvel multiverse contains multiple universes. If you don't know what I mean, then it's quite simple.

There's essentially one universe in which Spider-Man looks like Tobey Maguire, one universe where Spider-Man looks like Andrew Garfield, and another where he looks like Tom Holland.

These are essentially parallel universes. That's why Spider-Man looks like Maguire in Sam Raimi's trilogy, Garfield in Marc Webb's movies, and Holland in the MCU films.

But here's the thing: if these are all separate universes in a large multiverse, then how does Stan Lee appear in the universe with Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man?

AND Andrew Garfield's The Amazing Spider-Man?

AND Tom Holland's Spider-Man: Homecoming?

These are all separate universes in which Peter Parker looks different in each one. So, how does the same person appear in all of them? Well, he's a Watcher.

In fact, the writer/director of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 intended to confirm this fan theory with Lee's cameo.

We see Stan Lee speaking with three other Watchers, telling them about how he was once a federal express man. This is a reference to Captain America: Civil War, when Lee's cameo was a FedEx postman.

Now, Civil War takes place after Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, but it's likely that Lee was a FedEx postman more than once.

Now, before Gunn's confirmation, many believed that Lee was Uatu, a wel-known Watcher, but the MCU Wiki has called Stan Lee a "Watcher Informant", whose job it is to report on his Earth adventures to the other Watchers.

So, at this point, the theory has pretty much been confirmed by Gunn. Stan Lee actually portrays the same character in all Marvel movies. He plays a Watcher Informant.

Now, here's something pretty interesting: Lee appeared in the after-credits scene of Big Hero 6, which is kind of like a Disney/Marvel movie. In the film, he plays Fred's dad.

So, I don't know if Big Hero 6 is part of the Marvel multiverse or the Disney multiverse or both. I mean, it's animated, but is there a Marvel universe that's just animated?

I don't know if Fred's dad is the Watcher, because I don't know if Big Hero 6 is canon in terms of the Marvel multiverse, given that it's an animated Disney movie based on characters from a Marvel comic.

But anyways, like I said, I've been loving the MCU films. The Avengers is my favorite so far, but I haven't seen a couple. I might start doing more Marvel theories and reviews, but as of now, I need to stray away from all Infinity War spoilers.

Until next time, that's it!

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About the Creator

Jonathan Sim

Film critic. Lover of Pixar, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Back to the Future, and Lord of the Rings.

For business inquiries: [email protected]

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