In brief: On November 12 last year, Marvel co-creator Stan Lee passed away at the age of 95, leaving the world a darker place. Numerous tributes have been paid to the creator of so many superheroes, including a newly spotted appearance in World of Warcraft.

Twitter user Bas Schouten discovered that an NPC character called Stanley had been added to the long-running MMO in the 8.1.5 patch on the Public Test Realm.

Stanley can be found wandering around the Alliance's Stormwind Keep. In addition to sporting Lee's distinctive sunglasses and grey mustache, he occasionally shouts out the comic book legend's "Excelsior" catchphrase.

While only the Alliance version of Stanley has been discovered, Wowhead has uncovered two more models of the character within the game. One of them is wearing Orgrimmar gear, so he's likely to appear in a Horde city, while the other shows him wearing a black shirt. The location of these two alternative NPCs is currently unknown.

Born in December of 1922, Lee got his start in the comics industry in 1939. He co-created some of the most popular superhero franchises, including Spider-Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Daredevil.

Lee was also known for his movie cameos, appearing in more than 50 films over his career. He pops up in each Marvel Cinematic Universe movie from Iron Man to Avengers: Endgame, which is released this year. He also makes a posthumous cameo in the upcoming Captain Marvel.