Stan Lee, the co-creator of Marvel Comics and an icon to superhero fans everywhere has sadly passed away at the age of 95 according to various sources. According to multiple reports, Lee experienced a medical emergency and was rushed to Cedars-Sanai Medical Center earlier in the day.
Over the course of his life, Lee co-created several notable characters such as Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, and the X-Men to name a few.
Stan Lee was born in 1922 as Stanley Martin Lieber in New York City. As a young man, Lee dreamed of being an author and penning the next Great American Novel. His career would embark down a different track though when he took a job at Timely Comics (the precursor to Marvel Comics) in 1939. Like most careers, Lee’s first job in the comic book industry was far from illustrious. For the first 2 years as an assistant, Lee mainly was responsible for keeping the artists’ instruments prepared and picking up lunches for the rest of the staff.
In 1941, he would finally get to dabble in the creative aspect of the business. His first writing job for the company was to write text filler for an issue of “Captain America”. Lee excelled at his first creative task and soon after, more assignments followed.
By this time, it was the 1940’s and the comic book industry was in its golden age. As the demand for superheroes grew, Lee had the opportunity to create and co-create several different characters for comic books. His early superheroes included the Destroyer, Jack Frost, and Father Time.
Like any era, the superhero fad of the forties began to fade. Lee no longer found himself creating stories about Spider-Man saving the people of New York. Instead, he found himself writing about anything but superheroes. As the demand for romance comics, Westerns and other types of comics grew in popularity, Lee found that something was missing and consider pursuing a new career.
Eventually, superhero comics came back to the limelight with DC Comics’ introduction of the Flash, and eventually the superhero ensemble the Justice League. This reemergence of the genre brought a new creative flair and the introduction of several new characters. During this period, Lee worked closely with fellow Marvel collaborator, Jack Dorsey. The pair would work together on many of the household superheroes that fans still love today.
What really helped set Lee’s characters apart from others was the human element to his characters. Unlike the characters from the 1940’s that were perfect, moral, and incorruptible, Lee’s new characters were real people. They had faults, and lives, which helped readers relate to them. These new complexities made them more appealing to mass audiences and helped usher comic book heroes into the mainstream media.
Lee’s success did not go unnoticed as he rose through the ranks eventually becoming the publisher for Marvel Comics. For a brief period, he served as the company’s president before stepping down to focus his energy on more creative tasks.
Lee continued to work well into his 90’s. His notable cameos in various Marvel Cinematic Universe films have always been something fans look forward to. Outside of Marvel, Lee continued to find success. He dabbled in different genres like manga, as well as working various projects such as a musical, a novel, and even a YouTube channel.
Lee is survived by his wife Joan Lee and their daughter Joan “J.C.” Lee. He was preceded in death by the passing of another daughter, Jan Lee, who died shortly after birth.
Following the news of his passing, many celebrities and fans have taken to social media to express their condolences.
In true Marvel fashion, how could we end this post without something post-credits?
Fans will be happy to learn that Lee will make his final cameo in The Avengers Infinity War Part 2.