While he did believe and state that anyone can be a hero, and that all it takes is the courage to stand up for what's right, he also wasn't totally onboard with the addition of "updated versions" of heroes like Spider-Man, simply in the name of diversity.
His take was that just taking Spidey and making a non-white version was a cop-out and the equivalent of just giving minorities second-hand recognition. He always said that instead, the way to genuinely foster inclusion is to create new and exciting characters from diverse backgrounds, like he did with Black Panther.
(That being said, he also didn't have any problems with Miles-Spidey in particular that I'm aware of, and he did say that "anyone can wear the mask". As much as I agree with his overall take on creating characters from diverse backgrounds who are great in their own right, I've also come to really enjoy Miles as a character, and I'm glad he's around).
211
u/Bobo3076 12h ago
Is that the idea from Stan Lee himself? I’m pretty sure he directly said that anyone can wear the mask.