--- title: Celebrities on Stan Lee's Death and What Excelsior Means description: Lee, the mind behind characters like Spider-Man, was remembered by celebrities like Ryan Reynolds, Elon Musk and Jamie Lee Curtis. canonical: https://time.com/5452256/stan-lee-died-reactions/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-12T19:56:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:55:57.953Z og:title: 'Excelsior' Celebrities React to Legendary Stan Lee's Death og:description: Here's why people are using the word "excelsior" to pay tribute to Stan Lee og:url: https://time.com/5452256/stan-lee-died-reactions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1b56ea97fd3ba67/69893ed2ab6d77dbe86b4294/stan-lee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4784 og:image:height: 2691 og:image:alt: World Premiere Of "Avengers: Infinity War" og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Excelsior' Celebrities React to Legendary Stan Lee's Death twitter:description: Here's why people are using the word "excelsior" to pay tribute to Stan Lee twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1b56ea97fd3ba67/69893ed2ab6d77dbe86b4294/stan-lee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Excelsior.' Celebrities Pay Tribute to Comic Book Legend Stan Lee Who Has Died at 95 > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=3228dc58-dc40-48ed-9596-981a8cc4f735&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Nov 12, 2018 7:56 PM UTC  Stan Lee attends the premiere of Disney and Marvel's 'Avengers: Infinity War' on April 23, 2018 in Hollywood, California. Stan Lee attends the premiere of Disney and Marvel's 'Avengers: Infinity War' on April 23, 2018 in Hollywood, California. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin—FilmMagic  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Nov 12, 2018 7:56 PM UTC On Monday, the world learned of the passing of [Stan Lee](http://time.com/5452261/marvel-stan-lee-dead/), the 95-year-old co-creator of many of [Marvel Comics](http://time.com/3908613/marvel-comics-new-universe/)‘s most beloved franchises, including [Spider-Man](http://time.com/5256584/avengers-infinity-war-spider-man-iron-man/), the X-Men and the Incredible Hulk. Lee was remembered by a chorus of fans online, who thanked him for his legacy — of humanizing superheroes, creating indelible characters and, in the words of comedian Seth Rogen, “making people who feel different realize they are special.” Ryan Reynolds, Mark Hamill, Robert Downey Jr., [Jamie Lee Curtis](http://time.com/5434332/jamie-lee-curtis-halloween-movie/), Elon Musk and more paid tribute to Lee and his contributions to pop culture. One common phrase popping up in tributes to Lee is the term “Excelsior.” Even CNN’s Jake Tapper used the word “excelsior” in his Tweet honoring the late creative, while _Iron Man_‘s Robert Downey Jr. hashtagged it in his post. ## What does it mean when Stan Lee said Excelsior? “Excelsior” was Lee’s catchphrase, which he used to close out his comic book columns. [He once explained](https://io9.gizmodo.com/335419/stan-lee-shouts-excelsior-at-io9) to an interviewer that it was “one expression that they’re not going to know what it means, and they won’t know how to spell it,” since he didn’t want it to get copied by his competition. “And that’s where excelsior came from, and they never did take up on it, thank goodness,” he added. Of course, it is being taken up now as a way to remember the late, great icon. Besides his work as a writer and publisher for Marvel, Lee was also known for his memorable cameos in Marvel movies, where he would pop up to play a side character, becoming a cult favorite in front of the camera as well. “They say you should never meet a childhood idol. They are wrong,” _Star Wars_‘s Hamill wrote, calling Lee “revolutionary.” ## Read celebrity reactions to the death of Stan Lee below: > [](https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/1062057799037935616) > [](https://twitter.com/Sethrogen/status/1062061436376100864) > [](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1062064062383550464) > [](https://twitter.com/jamieleecurtis/status/1062063291470675973) > [](https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/1062069217631956994) > [](https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1062063437713457153) > [](https://twitter.com/questlove/status/1062059039423574018) > [](https://twitter.com/MAJORLAZER/status/1062059415602266113) > [](https://twitter.com/jakepaul/status/1062059459105644544) > [](https://twitter.com/LupeFiasco/status/1062063553287319552) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5452256/stan-lee-died-reactions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5452256/stan-lee-died-reactions/"},"headline":"'Excelsior.' 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