Marvel’s Stan Lee died at the age of 95 today, according to a family attorney, J. C. Lee.
Lee is known for revolutionizing the comic book industry in the 1960s. He introduced Spider Man, the X-Men, Thor, the Fantastic Four, and the Incredible Hulk. He offered characters that younger readers wanted.
Lee gave characters self-doubts and things normal people would only typically experience. The characters became more relatable, more personable. He wanted “to make them real flesh-and-blood characters with personalities,” he said in a Washington Post interview.
“That’s what any story should have, but comics didn’t have until that point,” Lee said. “They were all cardboard figures.”
Comics and superheroes would not be the same today without his work.
“I wanted the reader to feel we were all friends, that we were sharing some private fun that the outside world wasn’t aware of,” Lee said.
Lee was born on December 28, 1922 in Manhattan to Jack and Celia Lieber.
He would devour books, aspiring to become a writer after graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School.
Lee was first hired by Timely Publications, where he’d write and edit stories, many superhero-related.
“Almost everything I’ve ever written I could finish in one sitting,” Lee said. “I’m a fast writer. Maybe not the best, but the fastest.”
Lee oversaw the Marvel industry’s growth into an international media entity.
Lee was a writer, editor, publisher, and Hollywood executive that touched many hearts and will continue to do so for many years to come.