Marvel films have a tradition that only an avid fan would recognize: a cameo by Stan Lee, the man behind Marvel’s comics. The latest release, Captain America: Civil War, is no different with Lee making his 29th cameo appearance in the Marvel Comics Universe franchise.
Lee pops up in the tail end of the film as a FedEx delivery man who has to drop off a package to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) at the Avengers Headquarters. To the amusement of James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and the viewers, Lee’s character mispronounces Tony Stark’s name as Tony Stank.
Over the course of the past two decades, Lee has made cameos on both the big and small screen for almost every Marvel adaptation. His “Easter egg” roles range from being a jury member in The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989), a distracted pedestrian in Daredevil (2003), to a hot dog vendor in X-Men (2000) and a strib club emcee in Deadpool (2016). He even made an honorary appearance in Netflix’s Marvel’s Jessica Jones as a police officer in a portrait during a pivotal scene with the main stars.
This time around, the Russo Brothers (directors Joe and Anthony Russo) stated they wanted Lee’s cameo to move the story forward in some way. “You’re always looking to keep it different with him and you want to surprise the audience because they get a kick out of it, but you also want to make it relevant in some way, so he delivers a key piece of information in the movie,” said Joe Russo in an interview with Australian radio music station Nova 96.9.
In Captain America: Civil War, the package that Lee delivered to Downey Jr.’s character has a letter from Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), aka Captain America, that apologizes for not disclosing the history between Stark and Bucky (Sebastian Stan). The letter serves as the reconciliation between Captain America and Iron Man, as the Captain offers to be there when Stark needs him.
