I was impressed by Marvel comics when I was ~10. Yeah, Superman and other DC comics were the most prevalent, but he brought an edge to the superheros. It instantly captured the attention of all of "us". I still get a kick out of youngsters now that have no idea where/when those superheros that appear in so many movies came from.
Speaking of that, I was unaware of all of his cameos in the movies (have seen only a few) - very nice touch.