Of course, Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee has appeared in cameos in several of the films based on his creations, from the first "Fantastic Four," the "Spider-Man" films and "The Hulk," to "Daredevil" and the "X-Men" movies.

But perhaps no appearance of Lee's will resonate more with fans more than his turn in "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," where Lee shows up as himself, unsuccessfully trying to crash the wedding of Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and Sue Storm (Jessica Alba). It's a move that effectively creates a parallel universe for die-hard fans of classic comic book series co-created by Lee and artist Jack Kirby.

"In the comic book, when Reed and Sue got married, Jack Kirby drew the last panel of the story which showed him and me trying to get into the wedding, but not being allowed in," Lee recalled in a recent @ The Movies interview. "We thought that it would make a great, funny ending. It's just a shame that Jack is no longer with us because it would have been great if he would have been in the cameo with me."

In the film, opening Friday, the Silver Surfer (voiced by Laurence Fishburne, motion-captured movement by Doug Jones) descends upon the Earth as an intergalactic herald to warn of the planet's pending destruction.

The mystery as to why is something the Fantastic Four (in addition to Gruffudd and Alba, Michael Chiklis and Chris Evans return as The Thing and the Human Torch, respectively) only has days to unravel, and the return of nemesis Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon) further complicates matters. Tim Story also returns as director.

Lee is jazzed about the return of the Fantastic Four to the big screen, following the blockbuster success of the 2005 original (which featured Lee in a cameo as Baxter Building mailman Willy Lumpkin). But oddly enough, it's not so much about the "First Family of Superheroes" coming back as much as it is the big-screen debut of The Silver Surfer ? a character that he's wanted to see more than any of the others he and Kirby created.

"I've always had a warm spot for the Surfer because he was the most philosophical of all of our characters," Lee explained. "I was able to put a lot of my own thoughts and theories in his dialogue. He always wondered why the human race, which is blessed with such wonderful weather, all the food we could want, change of seasons and such beautiful scenery, could have wars and have trouble getting along. Those are thoughts that I always had, and I've been able to have him say those things and seemed appropriate, because he was seeing us with fresh eyes, having come from another planet."

The amazing thing is, The Silver Surfer debuted in the Fantastic Four comic book more than 40 years ago, yet Lee's words are just as relevant today as they were back then.

"Every writer tries to write things that speak of the human condition," Lee said. "That's something that never changes."

The poignant words of The Silver Surfer won't mark the first time Lee makes a profound statement on the big screen this year. Earlier this summer, in "Spider-Man 3," Lee, in a brief scene with Tobey Maguire, comments on the web-slinger's achievements by saying, "You know, one person can make a difference," and punctuates the line by saying his trademark phrase, "'Nuff said."

Coming from anybody else, the line would have seemed like an average piece of dialogue. But coming from Stan the Man, as he's affectionately known to many, the line was profound because it was coming from him. After all, given the characters he's created over his illustrious career, he's undoubtedly made a tremendous impact on popular culture.

The funny thing is, Lee is so humble that the thought of speaking of his own achievements when delivering the line didn't even cross his mind.

"I was thinking of the heroism that Peter Parker had shown and how Spider-Man had made such of a difference," Lee said.

Contemplating his own impact, Lee credits the filmmakers that brought his characters to life on the big screen as much as his stories.

"I wrote a lot of stories and I was very lucky that some of the stories seemed to catch the imagination of the readers," Lee said. "But lucky for me, when movies were made of them, Marvel picked the best directors, screenwriters and the best actors, and that tended to make the things that I wrote years ago seem very profound and perhaps clever."

"So much of it has to do with the way the story is presented on the screen. If these things were badly done, people would say, 'Ah, that Stan Lee is just a hack,'" he said with a laugh. "So, I owe a lot to the incredibly talented people who have done these movies."

Turning 85 in December, Lee shows no signs of slowing down. Currently he's filming the second season of the Sci-Fi Channel reality series "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" -- where everyday people create their own superhero and are tested in areas of physical endurance and character -- which this year expands from six episodes to eight; and, of course, he'll be appearing at the world renowned San Diego ComicCon next month.

But even more thrilling for comic book guru is that his company, POW! Entertainment, has entered into a deal with Walt Disney Studios to develop new entertainment properties, including feature films.

"I've been a fan of Walt Disney himself since I was a little kid, and a fan of what the studio has done ever since with the movies and television shows and the theme parks," Lee enthused. "To me, they are one of the truly great entertainment organizations in the world."

Lee said that what he loves about Disney is the fact that everything they do is family oriented.

"You can take your kids to their films, yet their work is intelligent enough and absorbing enough for a grown-up," Lee said. "They represent the types of things I've tried to write all my life -- stories that are clean enough for youngsters yet interesting enough for older people. Professionally, I think this is the best thing that has happened to me."