Backstage at the most recent Los Angeles Comic-Con, two massive titans of nerd culture finally met. One has been an icon for over half a century now, while the other is a relatively new player on the scene, and yet both are very much in our collective nerd hearts. Thanks to Comic Book, and captured on Instagram, you can now see the moment that Stan “the Man” Lee met Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ lovable little droid, BB-8.
While you might watch this adorable moment and think “well, that’s cute, but what does Stan Lee have to do with Star Wars anyway?” Well, what if I told you that Star Wars helped save Marvel Comics once? Yup, back in the late ’70s, Stan Lee chose to license the Star Wars series from George Lucas, even though the film hadn’t yet come out in theaters, and most people thought it would end up a flop. This was at a time when Marvel was in serious financial trouble, and many thought the publisher might go away for good.
Well, the opposite happened—as we all know—and Star Wars comics sold something like five times what the best selling Marvel comics like Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four were selling at the time, helping save the company and keep them afloat until the ’80s rolled around, and they’d become a publishing juggernaut again. So Stan Lee and Marvel owe quite a bit to that galaxy far, far away. Now of course, both have landed under the Disney umbrella. Funny how these things work out, eh?
Did this adorable moment melt your geeky heart like it did ours? Let us know down below in the comments.
Need More From the Two Cutest Things in Nerddom?
- Stan stood up for diversity and inclusion at Marvel and it was wonderful.
- Meet BB-8’s evil twin, BB-9E!
- This BB-8 kid cosplay is literally too cute.
Images: Lucasfilm