Yesterday the world lost one of the most important leaders of the 21st Century. Stanley Martin Lieber, better known as Stan Lee, passed away at age 95. The affable, energetic Marvel Comics Chariman co-created most of its A-list heroes and villains, from the original Avengers to Spider-Man and the X-Men. And many of these characters, especially the ones starring in box-office shattering Hollywood spectacles, have something in common.
"Their fluency in science and technology is a big part of their super power, if not their entire super power in some cases," Avengers: Infinity War co-director Anthony Russo told me back in March "That's a core part of their identity and who they are."
In that story, I argued that's great for getting kids interested in STEM to help fill the skills gap, but Stan Lee's creations have been around for 60+ years and have already made a huge impact. It's impossible to know how many scientists and technologists, programmers and futurists, real people who have made real advancements for the good of all humanity, were influenced by Lee spinning yarns where the geeks are secretly the cool kids and having great power also comes with the responsibility to help those around you.
