Stan Lee Reveals Spider-Man Cameo at Dallas Comic-Con! |

Dallas Comic-Con had its best year yet this year with a new, bigger location and huge celebrity guests. Leonard Nimoy, Carrie Fisher, and Stan Lee were among the many guests. I was lucky enough to attend one of Stan’s panels, and this one was moderated by John Romita, Jr.! I have to say, the world of comics would suck without Stan Lee. He is an icon whose work is known around the world. I admire the guy and am amazed that he is 88 years old and out at conventions, talking to people and signing autographs for his fans, not to mention that he’s sharper than a pack of Ginzu knives. During his Q & A he blew the audience away with his quick wit and boundless energy. The man just seems to be having fun.

One thing that Stan misses out on is an introduction for most things he does because he is so well known, a lot of people just introduce him as, “A man who needs no introduction.” This time, Stan took a stand saying to John Romita, Jr, “I want an introduction, and make it a good one!” So Romita stood up to give Lee the introduction he deserved saying the following with many interruptions from Lee to make fun of Romita:

“Ladies and gentleman, this is Stan Lee. I met you in 1972-3. My father brought me up to the office, maybe even in the late 60’s. I’ve known you close to 45 years, whether you remember me or not, I’ve known you that long. Working with Marvel has been so much fun. My mother worked for Marvel, my father worked for Marvel, and I don’t think I could’ve worked at any other job. I’ve enjoyed it so much, and it’s because of you.”

Stan briefly interrupted to say, “I can’t stand it when people are genuinely nice.” Then, Romita continued with this touching statement: It’s an honor and a privilege to give to you my boss, my Godfather, and my second father, John Romita!”

Pause, something just doesn’t seem right here. Oh wait, that’s because John Romita, Jr called Stan Lee John Romita! Ha! Laughter erupted and Romita sat down and put his head down on the table laughing. Stan jokingly said, “This is the last time I’ll be on a panel with you.” Romita corrected himself and all was well, leading to a big revelation from Lee.

An audience member asked how Lee goes about getting the cameos in each of Marvel’s films and which cameo he liked the most. “What I do is I cry and yell and scream if I don’t get a cameo,” Stan said. I doubt that’s exactly how it goes, but he did explain his thoughts on why he isn’t in X-Men: First Class:

They figure without me, it will sell more tickets, and I’ll tell you why. People will go to the movie, and when they come out they will say, ‘Wait we didn’t see Stan’s cameo. We must have missed it. Let’s go buy another ticket!’ They’re going to sell twice as many tickets!

Stan’s discussion about his favorite cameo is what led him to reveal his part in the new Spider-Man film due out in theaters in 2012. That cameo is his favorite thus far because he said it was really funny. “There’s a big battle going on with Spider-Man and The Lizard in the library. I’m the librarian. I’m stamping books, and I have ear phones on listening to music. While I’m stamping the books, I’m going like this (bounces up and down, grooving to the music). And this life and death battle is going on behind me! But I don’t know and I don’t hear them! That’s what it is, and it looks so funny because I look so dumb!”