This wild Marvel Cinematic Universe theory explains Stan Lee’s cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and gives the Marvel legend an important place in the history of the superhero franchise. After in 1939, Lee rose through the ranks of Marvel Comics’ to become the company’s primary creative leader for two decades. He co-created iconic characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Daredevil, the Scarlet Witch, the Fantastic Four, and many more, and, after his retirement, Lee had a key role in the development of the MCU, too, and even played his own part in the franchise.
In many Marvel movies and TV shows, including almost every movie in the Infinity Saga, Stan Lee made cameo appearances as many minor characters. This included an appearance in 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, where Lee showed up as a man informing a group of otherworldly Watchers about his exploits in previous MCU projects. This scene has caused some confusion in the years since, especially in the wake of the animated What If…? series, but a Reddit theory suggests that Stan Lee might have actually been under the employ of Jeffrey Wright’s Uatu the Watcher.
What Does This MCU Theory Reveal About Stan Lee’s Cameos?
The Reddit theory suggests that Stan Lee acting as a Watcher informant in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 doesn’t actually make sense, as the Watchers have the ability to see everything by peering through the multiverse. This means Lee must have had a different role in the Phase 3 movie. What If…? season 3 saw Uatu opposed by a group of three other Watchers, the Eminence (Jason Isaacs), the Incarnate (D. C. Douglas), and the Executioner (Darin De Paul), and the theory suggests that these could have been the three Watchers from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
This trio of Watchers interrogated individuals from across the multiverse in What If…? season 3 to build a case against Uatu, as he had been meddling in their lives and changing the course of many histories. Stan Lee’s informant could have been one of the individuals that Uatu saved, perhaps way back in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, in which Lee’s character drinks a Pingo Doce soda that was contaminated with some of Bruce Banner’s gamma-irradiated blood. Uatu himself could have tasked Stan Lee with watching or manipulating events on Earth 616, while he looked at branching realities.
This theory explains Stan Lee’s appearances in almost every project in the MCU’s Infinity Saga, and how he looked the same whether the project was set in the 1940s, the present day, or anything in between. This also explains why Stan Lee’s cameo appearances waned after his appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Of course, Lee tragically passed away in 2018, and he made two posthumous appearances in the MCU in Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame, but, in-universe, the Watchers may have stripped him of his abilities, allowing him to live out a normal life after his interrogation.
What were your favorite Stan Lee cameos in Marvel movies? Let us know in the comments!
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