A big part of every D23 convention is the Disney Legends Awards, where the company honors its own and celebrates artists and executives who have made major contributions to the Walt Disney Company. This year’s honorees include Oprah Winfrey, Mark Hamill, and the late Carrie Fisher. The Marvel portion of the event honored two of the comics company’s most important creators: Writer and editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Kirby passed away in 1994, so his son accepted his award on his behalf, but Stan “The Man” was on hand to accept his Disney Legends honor. He gave a great speech, and a very emotional one as well.

Anyone who’s read about Lee (he wrote an autobiography, which isn’t bad, but I also like this unauthorized biography, which is a bit more of an investigation into his life and career) and knows his history can tell you that he grew up idolizing Walt Disney. That, coupled with the fact that they also honored Kirby (with whom he created characters like the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and the Avengers) at the same event, and the fact that Lee’s wife Joan passed away less than two weeks ago, made this an extremely emotional moment. Here’s what he had to say.

Gotta get that “Excelsior!” in there.

Congratulations to Stan Lee and all the Disney Legends Awards winners for 2017. We’ll have plenty more news from D23 throughout the weekend as well.

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