The late Stan Lee was no stranger to making small cameos across the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Lee appeared in more than 15 MCU films, his very first Marvel cameo came in the pages of the Fantastic Four. Nearly 60 years ago, Lee and Jack Kirby appeared in their own Doctor Doom-starring story.
Lee was one of the driving forces at Marvel Comics, as he co-created some of the most iconic characters in comic book history, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Hulk, and Black Panther with frequent collaborators Kirby and Steve Ditko. Lee would serve as the publisher's editor-in-chief from the '40s into the early '70s and played an instrumental role in shaping Marvel to what is today. In his later life, he would appear in multiple Marvel properties, including the MCU, video games, television, and more. But, the very first time Stan would be a character in the universe he helped co-create was in Fantastic Four #10 (1963).
In Fantastic Four #10, Lee and Kirby made a faceless appearance on both the cover and the interiors of the comic. On the cover, Lee and Kirby are chatting with their backs turned away, talking about the twist in store for the Fantastic Four. Inside the book, Lee and Kirby (intentionally blocking their faces) are seen having a conversation about supervillains - lamenting the difficulties of creating them and how the greatest villain of all, Doctor Doom (in Fantastic Four #6), was lost in space. However, Doom shows up to their doors, much to the shock of Lee and Kirby. It's a very meta made sillier as Doom doesn't care to explain how he was still alive, "it is a long story! We will not discuss it now." Lee and Kirby are horrified when Doom takes off his mask and forces the comic creators to call the Fantastic Four.
It's pretty incredible that just ten issues into the Fantastic Four, Lee and Kirby would cameo in the series and star in Doctor Doom's return. The moment would be the first of many cameos Lee would make inside multiple Marvel Comics stories and eventually the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fantastic Four #10 doesn't even try to explain why Lee and Kirby exist within their own universe or why Doctor Doom is suddenly alive and well on Earth - it's meta and hilarious. Stan Lee's first cameo ranks among his best - even if his face (like Doom's) was never shown.