Marvel Legend Stan Lee may have died back in 2018, but his presence is forever felt in the fandom, from his cameos in the movies to stories of his interactions with fans. With of Lee being taken advantage of in the days after his passing, it looks like more people are willing to exploit his brand for their own personal gain.
Just recently, the official Stan Lee account on Twitter shared a post promoting an NFT of Lee’s first Indian superhero, Chakra The Invincible. Here’s the post:
From championing diversity to embracing new tech, Stan was 1 step ahead of the curve. To honor his innovative spirit, Stan's 1st Indian hero, Chakra The Invincible, debuts in his own NFT (digital art) collection from 7:30pm PT 12/27-12pm PT 12/29! Sign up: https://t.co/Crub8yo09X pic.twitter.com/p9cQcKxiUI
— Stan Lee (@TheRealStanLee) December 14, 2021
Immediately a lot of Marvel fans had replied and retweeted with outrage at whoever was running the account. While keeping an account is good for memorials and tributes, almost everyone agrees that they shouldn’t be used to promote/sell a product.
Fucking vultures using Stan Lee's account to sell a fucking NFT. Close the fucking account or make it a memorial. But stop fucking using it to shill. Ghouls, all of em. https://t.co/IAIalrEew7
— Weaponized Nerd Rage (@WeaponizedRage) December 15, 2021
Yo… Are we really tweeting from a dead man’s twitter account about NFTs? Who on earth okayed this?! https://t.co/Fc5EI17whf
— Lauren Walsh • TalDorei Reborn Hype! (@LaurenWalshArt) December 15, 2021
https://twitter.com/AnsgarTOdinson/status/1470867433258950662
Probably the biggest slam of the post comes from Dictionary.com who had replied:
The verb 'defile' was first recorded in 1275–1325, and comes from the Old French word 'defouler,' meaning "to trample on, violate."
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) December 14, 2021
With the rise of cryptocurrency and NFTs, there have been several artists online who have been finding ways to break into the crypto game by selling exclusive art in exchange for actual money. It was only a matter of time before more famous artist who actually have followings start jumping in on the trend. You would think that the people running Stan Lee’s Twitter would have more class than that though.
For now, the tweet is still up, and Lee’s estate haven’t posted up any retort. If reports of Stan Lee’s life toward his death are to be believed, it’s no surprise that people who were taking advantage of him in life would be doing the same after he died.
