Before passing away at the age of 95, comic book legend Stan Lee swooped into Tampa like a superhero to save Florida from a catastrophically villainous adversary.
That adversary was Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest hurricanes to ever wreak havoc on the United States.
Lee doesn’t wear a cape, but in October 2017, he might as well have. The co-creator of comic book superheroes such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the Hulk, spoke at MegaCon at the Tampa Convention Center to support Irma victims in a visit that was planned at the last-minute.
“Lee wasn’t supposed to appear in Tampa originally,” WFLA reported last year. “It was only after Hurricane Irma hit that he decided he’d come to help raise money for relief efforts through a special auction.”
The appearance of Lee helped catapult the event to “must-attend” status for comic book fans across Florida. Lee’s panel at MegaCon was jam-packed, as he recalled how he got his start in the comic book world.
“I didn’t wake up wanting to be in the comic book business, but I wanted to get a job” said Lee at MegaCon. “But it just so happened they needed an assistant in the comic book department.”
It would be Stan Lee’s first and only official comic-con visit to the Tampa Bay area during his illustrious career, but ask any of his fans and they’ll tell you, he did it for reasons Iron Man, the Hulk and Spider-Man would’ve been proud of.
