What if death was just a plot twist waiting for a reboot? Enter the undead return of Marvel maestro Stan Lee, zapped back to life as a $15-20 AI hologram at L.A. Comic Con—because nothing screams “excelsior!” like digitizing a legend’s likeness for selfie ops and small talk, all while his estate cashes in like Thanos snapping for infinity stones. The 95-year-old icon kicked the bucket in 2018, but tech wizards at Proto Hologram and Kartoon Studios (holders of his IP empire) couldn’t resist exhuming his avatar for a 1,500-square-foot booth where fans can chat with a glowing Stan in a box, potentially crashing panels unannounced. It’s part of a “rapid commercial expansion” frenzy: think refreshed wax figures at Madame Tussauds and collectible cards that’d make any nerd’s wallet weep. Defenders swear it’ll stay true to Lee’s spirit—no hallucinating AI rants on politics or his own controversies—drawing from decades of footage to keep it “faithful in context,” says ex-Marvel exec Bob Sabouni. But skeptics smell elder abuse 2.0: Lee was wheeled to cons in his frail final years amid abuse allegations, and now this digital puppet feels like grave-robbing with extra CGI. Imagine asking Holo-Stan about divisive hot takes—will it glitch into “With great power comes great server error”? It’s dystopian fan service at its ghoulish best, blurring lines between tribute and cash grab faster than a speedster. In a Marvel multiverse, this is the variant where the true believers pay to play god—proving even superheroes can’t escape the con circuit, dead or (re)animated.
