Stan Lee the former editor-in-chief, publisher and chairman of Marvel Comics has died at the age of 95. Although the cause of his death is still unknown Kirk Schneck an attorney for Stan Lee’s daughter told CNN that Lee was taken by an ambulance to Cedar’s Sinai Medical Center and later died. He is survived by his daughter Joanie and younger brother Larry Lieber.
Lee along with artists such as Steve Ditko who also died earlier this year co-created comic book characters such as Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Black Panther, the X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, Iron-Man and Ant-Man to name a few. Eventually Lee became the public face of Marvel Comics. He also worked on the Marvel Fireside Books series, which many consider to be Marvel’s first graphic novel.
In 2010 the Stan Lee Foundation was founded. The purpose of the foundation was to focus on education and the arts. Lee donated large portions of his personal fortune various times between 1981 and 2001.
Many comic book fans praised Lee for writing about more than superheroes, but also writing about the personal lives of his fictional characters. He is considered to be one of the first comic book writers to have looked beyond the characters as heroes and looked at them as people with personal lives and real relatable problems as well.
In recent years Lee had become known for his famous cameos in the Marvel television series and films, especially the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Additionally he was credited as an executive producer on almost every Marvel film and television project since the 1990 Captain America film.
In July of last year Lee’s wife of 69 years Joan died from a stroke at the age of 95. In April reports stated that Lee was a victim of elder abuse. The reports claimed that Lee was being blackmailed by associates after his wife’s death in an attempt to gain access to his wealth. Following the reports a restraining issue was issued against the associates.
Below are Marvel Actor’s reactions to Lee’s Death :
Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk)
Tom Holland (Peter Parker/Spider-Man)
Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron-Man)
Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier)
Hugh Jackman (Wolverine)
Zoe Saldana (Gamora)
Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Falcon)
Evangeline Lilly (Janet Van Dyne/The Wasp)
Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye)
Karen Gillan (Nebula)
In closing to quote Lee in Spider-Man 3 “I guess on person can make a difference” Stan Lee certainly made a difference and will be remembered fondly by comic book fans. RIP Stan Lee!