It wouldn’t be an entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe if Stan Lee didn’t appear, right? Though he doesn’t turn up in the flesh in the Marvel/Netflix series, the granddaddy of the franchise still makes his presence felt in a running gag in which he plays a poster boy cop, often seen in flyers on posters spread around the streets of New York. Putting them all together, we can assume that this version of Lee’s a respected retired police officer.
These aren’t always easy to spot, though, so you might well have missed his poster in Luke Cage season 2. And if you did, we’ve included a screenshot below, where Stan can be seen over star Mike Colter’s shoulder. If you want to check out the scene in the context of the show, go back and watch episode 12 “Can’t Front On Me” and pause it at the 24:40 mark.
While hardly the most exciting cameo, you’ll notice that Lee’s character is named Forbush here, which ties in with the previous posters which have revealed his name as Irving Forbush – a reference to an obscure Marvel comics character. Unlike the earlier nods to Forbush which cast him as a cop, though, Luke Cage season 2 references him as some kind of personal injury lawyer. This is actually similar to Jessica Jones season 2’s Lee cameo, which featured a sign reading “Forbush & Associates.” So maybe he went into the law business after quitting the force?
Of course, fans will know that all of Lee’s many cameos in the MCU see him playing the same character, just with numerous occupations, homes or even planets of origin. This was confirmed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 when he chatted to the Watchers and referenced his role in Captain America: Civil War. Exactly how this all makes sense, though, is unknown. We just hope that some future Marvel movie will finally explain it.
