Albert L. Ortega/WireImage

of, Stan Lee is referred to as "a revered elder statesman" and a "living legend." That was written in 1995. Nearly two decades later, Lee embodies those words more than ever. The 89-year-old recently launched a YouTube channel and runs his own entertainment company, all while his old creations keep printing money in Hollywood. Asreaches theaters, we talked to Lee on the phone about the people who bring his characters to the screen, the challenges of naming superheroes, and if he plans to slow down.

ESQUIRE.COM: So, another Spider-Man movie. When you watch these adaptations, is it possible to forget your history in them?

STAN LEE: Absolutely. When I watch these movies, I watch them just as any fan.

ESQ: You don't notice all the changes to the story you invented?

SL: Oh, hell no. I'm aware that you have to make a lot of little changes. Everything has to be done in its own style. So long as they keep the spirit and the integrity of the character, that's all that maters.

ESQ: Andrew Garfield is now the third Peter Parker. What's your unbiased assessment?

SL: Andrew is as perfect as Tobey Maguire was. He looks the part. He acts the part.

ESQ: He's not a little too good-looking?

SL: I never pictured Peter Parker as not being good-looking. He was just a little nerdy. That's all. You can be a nerdy good-looking guy. I always thought of myself as an incredibly nerdy kind of guy.

ESQ: And good-looking, too?

SL: Of course.

ESQ: Talk about your cameo work. People are now as excited to see you as your characters.

SL: Well, that's the main reason they go to the movie. That's common knowledge.

ESQ: It's a little odd how much people look forward to seeing a 90-year-old man onscreen for fifteen seconds.

SL: They don't look forward to it as much as I do. When I go to the movie, I can't wait for my parts.

ESQ: You're not one of those guys who can't watch himself act?

SL: Oh, no. I'm my biggest fan.

ESQ: So you've got this new YouTube thing, "Stan Lee's World of Heroes." Did you start to feel like you weren't busy enough?

SL: We just didn't want to feel that any phase of entertainment was suffering because we weren't included in it.

ESQ: I watched some of "Stan's Rants." You don't seem like an angry person. Where are these rants coming from?

SL: I have to force myself to get angry. But I want to show the world that there's another side to me, that I am capable of deep, deep anger and fury. They better watch out for how I'm treated.

ESQ: And there's a show where you get drunk with friends.

SL: I know so many colorful people, and I thought it would be fun to interview them. And not do the normal type of interview — you know, asking their favorite food. Of course, the best part is that we all get a drink.

ESQ: And your preferred drink?

SL: I'm big into screwdrivers.

ESQ: You really are ridiculously busy. You never think about slowing down a little bit?

SL: You just said a dirty word. I don't know if that'll be allowed in this interview. They may have to censor that.

ESQ: I'll take that as a no.

SL: That's right.

ESQ: What part of all this work is your favorite?

SL: When you can sit down with a plain sheet of paper in front of you and make some notes, and, little by little, you see it take shape and become a concept for a movie or a TV show. That's a real thrill. You watch it go from notes on a paper to a meeting with writers and directors and actors. I can't think of anything that's more exciting.

ESQ: You're doing a reality comic book. What is that, exactly?

SL: Right. Mighty 7. It has real people in the story. I'm a character in the story, and the publisher of Archie Comics is a character in the story. We're going to introduce a lot of celebrities, and a lot of people who might not be quite as celebrated.

ESQ: And you're just yourself, without any super powers?

SL: Yeah. I'm really sorry about that. I know the world expects me to have superpowers, and it'll be quite a disappointment. But I just play myself.

ESQ: Tell me about the Chinese superhero, the Annihilator.

SL: We needed a superhero, and we decided to make him Chinese, because we hadn't seen one before. This isn't just for the Chinese market though — this is a movie for the whole world. I just thought the Annihilator was a great name. It sounds dramatic, and I think people will want to know why he's called the Annihilator, but they'll have to plunk down their few bucks in order to find out.

ESQ: I've read that you have trouble coming up with names.

SL: It's a tremendous challenge, because there have been so many characters created over the years. Every time you think you come up with a great name, you find out somebody has already done it. Dreaming up the stories isn't that hard, but coming up with a good title it the toughest part.

ESQ: Is there a name you've come up with that you think is perfect?

SL: I came up with the name the Destroyer some time ago. Someone reminded me, though, that I'd done a character with the same name for Marvel forty or fifty years ago.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io