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Perhaps an overly pedantic observation, however, in the Guardians of the Galaxy cameo Stan Lee claims to have been a Fed-Ex man. This is presumably a reference to the Stan Lee cameo at the end of Captain America: Civil War. In which Stan Lee is a Federal Express man who (humorously) calls Tony Stark "Tony Stank".

However, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol.2 is supposed to take place soon after the events of GOTG Vol.1, long before Civil War and thus before Stan Lee's character poses as a Fed-Ex man. So what's the deal here? Is time travel involved? Has Stan Lee been a Fed-Ex man twice?

TheLethalCarrot
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Ummdustry
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1 Answers1

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According to James Gunn, the writer/director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, has provided an explanation for this in a Facebook Live session with fans:

“I actually read the Marvel fan sites and the Marvel message boards out there and a lot of times people have ideas that are somewhat off-base or silly or whatever,” said Gunn. “But one thing I found very funny and interesting is the fact that people thought Stan Lee is a Watcher… and that all of these cameos that he’s doing are part of him being a Watcher. So I thought that was one of the greatest things the fans came up with.”

“So, Stan Lee, as a guy who is either a Watcher – or probably a guy who is working for the Watchers – was something that I thought was fun for the MCU.

“And yes, I know I made a mistake. People have written and asked me, and I'll own up to my mistake because Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 theoretically happens in 2014 which is before [Captain America Civil War]. And Stan Lee in the movie says, ‘That time I was the Fed Ex guy,’ which is what he is in Civil War. I screwed up; I wasn't thinking. That’s all that is.”

…

“But I'm going to say that – probably – Stan Lee used the guise of a Fed Ex guy more than one time,” laughed Gunn. “So it’s a mistake, but it can easily be explained away!”

Source: IGN

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Donatello Swansino
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    +1 because more people on this site (and worldbuilders) need to realise how easy it is to explain away "problems" like this. – Nacht Sep 07 '18 at 06:55
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    He could have also said that Stan Lee operates on a different timeline because he is from a transcendent reality with its own timeline. This has the advantage of being literally true. – Nacht Sep 07 '18 at 06:55