Original artwork, not a still
Excelsior!
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
One Latin word meaning "ever upward" became the cheeriest catchphrase in comics. It was Lee's way of treating readers as friends in a club, and it fits a house style built on hype and exclamation marks. Fans shout it back at conventions, it closes his cameos in the Marvel films, and it stays shorthand for his boundless, salesman's optimism.
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In context
May contain spoilersShow the scene
From the 1960s, Stan Lee closed his monthly "Stan's Soapbox" column on Marvel's pages with one word: "Excelsior!" The Soapbox was his chatty editorial to readers, and the sign-off carried over into his promotional writing. It was still turning up in Marvel comics in January 1992, and it gave its name to his 2002 autobiography, Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee. The word is also the motto of New York State, Lee's home state.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: Stan LeeQuotes section, entry for Excelsior!Reference checked
- Wikipedia: Stan Lee1960s Marvel section and BibliographyReference checked
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