Stan Lee Dies, We Remember Him With Marvel Zombies

By: Arturo Rojas

This Monday marks the end of an era with the death of Stan “The Man” Lee, who, together with artists Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, created several of the most iconic characters in the comic book world: Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Avengers, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, and Hulk, to name a few.

Stan Lee changed the stereotype of the superhero, moving them from beings who were morally and physically perfect to people prone to everything from the flu to fits of rage, vanity, self-centeredness, and even alcoholism, among other afflictions.

This “humanization” not only allowed readers to feel closer to the characters, but also gave writers the chance to explore their reactions to more… extreme situations.

One of the best examples was the publication, from December 2005 to April 2006, of Marvel Zombies, one of the darkest and most successful storylines of the modern Marvel era.

On this Earth (Earth-2149, to be exact), a virus infects most of the population, turning them into the living dead, including its greatest heroes, who ultimately become this universe's annihilators.

Here, Spider-Man is haunted by the memory of having devoured his Aunt May and his wife, Mary Jane. Bruce Banner's transformation into Hulk is caused not by anger, but by hunger. Hank Pym tries to kill his wife to keep secret that he's holding Black Panther prisoner so he can slowly feed on him.

Galactus's arrival only complicates matters further, since his corpse grants cosmic power to his executioners, who must now travel to the far reaches of the cosmos to satisfy their hunger.

This dark storyline was such a hit with readers that it spawned multiple parallel titles, including an unexpected Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness (“Groovy”).

Although 2015 was the last time we heard from the universe's most powerful zombies, we can't completely rule out the possibility that they'll return, but it gives us the perfect excuse to honor the one who laid the foundations for this universe in its continuous and macabre expansion.