Marvel film and TV stars pay tribute to Stan Lee

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - After the comic book legend Stan Lee—the co-creator of hundreds of characters both seminal and obscure—died Monday, many actors and filmmakers associated with the hit movies and television shows based on Marvel characters paid tribute to Lee, who has made cameos in many of the productions.

A former editor, publisher, and chairman of Marvel Comics, Lee co-created Spider-Man, Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Daredevil, and many, many more.

"Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created. A super hero in his own right to Marvel fans around the world, Stan had the power to inspire, to entertain, and to connect," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. "The scale of his imagination was only exceeded by the size of his heart." (Disney has owned Marvel since 2009.)

Chris Evans, who rocketed to superstardom as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, tweeted that Lee "exuded love and kindness." (Diehard fans will remember that Evans also played the Human Torch in two Fantastic Four movies.)

"Overwhelmed with love and gratitude for the late, great hero, Stan Lee. Rest In Paradise. Thank you for your imagination, creativity, tenacity, inspiration and love!!!" tweeted Rosario Dawson, who portrays nurse Claire Temple in several Marvel shows on Netflix.

While the poorly received DC film "Green Lantern" almost derailed Ryan Reynolds' comic book movie career, he later found massive success playing Marvel's Deadpool, a trash-mouth mercenary.

"Damn... RIP Stan," Reynolds tweeted. "Thanks for everything."

Here are those tributes and more (app users, click here):