Stan Lee's cameos outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

By Amy Wilkinson
December 05, 2018 at 08:21 PM EST

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Don't I know you from somewhere?

Credit: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

He’s the Godfather of Marvel, and Stan Lee’s acting résumé ain’t too shabby either. Here, a look at the king of cameos.

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Ultimate Spider-Man, 2012-16

Credit: Disney XD via Getty Images

Stan Lee really stretched for this Disney XD role, playing a man named...Stan Lee. In a multi-episode arc he guest-starred as a benevolent janitor (and original S.H.I.E.L.D. member) at Peter Parker's high school.

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Heroes, 2007

Credit: Chris Haston/NBC/Getty Images

Who's driving the bus? Stan Lee! For the season 1 episode "Unexpected," Lee put on a three-piece suit and got behind the wheel to chauffeur Hiro (Masi Oka).

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Phineas and Ferb, 2013

Credit: Disney XD via Getty Images

And that, boys and girls, is what we call corporate synergy. In 2013 the Disney XD series welcomed Iron Man, Spider-Man, Hulk, and Thor in the crossover "Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel." Naturally, an animated Lee appeared as a hot dog vendor.

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Marvel's Agent Carter, 2015

Credit: Matt Kennedy/ABC Family via Getty Images

For a season 1 episode, entitled "The Blitzkrieg Button," Stan Lee appeared as a shoeshine patron who bums the sports secion off of Dominic Cooper's Howard Stark. (Yes, that's him behind the broadsheet!)

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Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff, 2014

Credit: Fox Digital Entertainment

Lee — alongside fellow nerd bait Felicia Day, George Takei, and Patrick Stewart — appeared in this mobile game set at the fictional Quahog Comic-Con, just in time for that year's real-life San Diego Comic-Con.

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Mallrats, 1995

Credit: Gramercy Pictures

Sporting an uncharacteristically scruffy beard, Lee appeared as himself in the stoner flick, dispensing advice to lovesick teen Brodie (played by Jason Lee). Stan Lee would later say that Mallrats was his favorite movie role of all time: "I got a big kick out of Mallrats. But it wasn't a cameo; I really had a role in the movie."

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The Big Bang Theory, 2010

Credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS

In an episode aptly titled "The Excelsior Acquisition," Lee once again made a cameo as himself — finding Sheldon (Jim Parson) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) at his doorstep after they missed a comic-book-store meet and greet. Excelzinga?!

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The Simpsons, 2014

Credit: FOX via Getty Images

Lee made a handful of appearances in Springfield over the years, beginning in 2002 when he showed up at the Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop. Lee wasn't afraid to poke fun at himself (and his very long rivalry with DC Comics).

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Fresh Off the Boat, 2017

Credit: Richard Cartwright/ABC

"It was like a dream come true," Fresh Off the Boat writer Daniel Carter told EW of Stan the Man's cameo on the ABC sitcom. "He was so quick, so smart, so funny. He was just a delight." The episode "Pie vs. Cake" finds Eddie and Emery entering a comic-book contest. So you know what that means...

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2, 2014

Credit: Columbia/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

He could have been any doting grandfather or uncle in the commencement-day crowd. But nope, he was Stan Lee, and he was attending Peter and Gwen's graduation. And when Spider-Man swung in, he cheekily exclaimed, "I think I know that guy!"

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Stan Lee: A Life of Marvel

Credit: EW

Entertainment Weekly’s Stan Lee: A Life of Marvel is available on newsstands now. Get your copy of the special edition today!

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