Marvel Comics Writer Stan Lee Dies at 95

Stan Lee, the writer, editor, and publisher of Marvel’s Comics died early Monday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles aged 95.

Lee, who is Marvel’s real-life superhero began the business in 1939 and he created and co-created several characters including Black Panther, Spiderman, the Mighty Thor, X-Men, Iron Man, Daredevil, Ant-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk to name a few.

Through his efforts and collaborations with artist/writers Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, Lee made Marvel the world’s number one publisher of comic books and a blockbuster giant.

Lee and Jack Kirby worked together on the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Silver Surfer, and X-Men, where Kirby drew and he filled in the words. He also created Spider-Man and Doctor Strange with Ditko, and with artist Bill Everett, he came up with the blind superhero Daredevil.

Lee was born Stanley Martin Lieber on Dec. 28, 1922, in Manhattan, to immigrants from Romania who moved to the Bronx; Jack Lieber, address cutter, and Celia (Solomon) Lieber.

His interest in comics began with his reading of Shakespeare when he was only 10. At the same time, he also read lots of pulp magazines, the novels of Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Mark Twain, and the swashbuckler movies of Errol Flynn.

With an aspiration of being a writer, he graduated at 17 from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. He tried a few writing jobs before he was hired at Martin Goodman’s Timely Publications. After a while at the company, which had established its name in pulp magazines, Lee found himself writing and editing many superhero stories.

He met Jack Kirby at Timely Publications and with another writer, they came up with the hit character Captain America, whom we can all relate to now. He was appointed the chief editor when the Kirby and the writer were snatched from Timely by another rival company. Nevertheless, that was the beginning of his inspiring journey in the writing world.

His final years were marred with tumultuous happenings. With the death of his wife in mid-2017 and lawsuits he filed against executives at POW! Entertainment, a company he founded in 2001 to develop film, TV and video game properties for 1 billion dollars, as well as his suing of an ex-manager who was handling his affairs, Lee had it rough. There were also cases police investigating elder abuse against him in June this year.

“Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created. A superhero in his own right to Marvel fans around the world, Stan had the power to inspire, to entertain and to connect. The scale of his imagination was only exceeded by the size of his heart,” stated Bob Iger, Chairman, and CEO of Walt Disney.

No one has had more of an impact on my career and everything we do at Marvel Studios than Stan Lee. He leaves an extraordinary legacy that will outlive us all. Our thoughts are with his daughter, his family and the millions of fans who have been forever touched by Stan’s genius, charisma, and heart,” Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios president said.

Even though he made cameos in the Marvel movies, he shall surely be missed. Rest in peace Stan Lee.