Stan Lee, Marvel’s greatest real-life hero, passed away Monday. The 95-year-old revolutionized the comic book industry with a new wave of superheroes.
According to Kirk Schneck, an attorney for Lee’s daughter, he was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center that morning. He died from pneumonia.
Lee got his start as an office assistant at Marvel’s predecessor — Timely Comics — in 1939.
At the time, he thought the job would serve as a temporary way to make money — another of the many odd jobs he held as a teenager. But thankfully for the comics industry — and myself — Lee’s work did not end there, and the job became more permanent.
Three years later, Martin Goodman named Lee interim editor of Timely Comics. He was only 19 years old. During that same time, he also enlisted in the United States Army and served in the Signal Corps.
After World War II, Lee returned to Timely Comics, serving as its editor for a few decades.
Lee and Jack Kirby, who passed away in 1994, created “The Fantastic Four” in 1961 for Marvel. He also co-created Marvel staples such as the Hulk, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Black Panther and the X-Men.
Lee became publisher of Marvel in 1972, moving to Los Angeles eight years later to set up an animation studio.
Lee launched Stan Lee Media in 1998, but the company went bankrupt in 2001, causing him to return to Marvel.
He published his autobiography “Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee” in 2002 and attended comic conventions up until 2017. He regularly made cameos in movies, which were part of franchises he was associated with.
Four Marvel movies — “Captain Marvel,” “Avengers 4,” “Dark Phoenix,” and “Spider-Man: Far From Home” — are still in the works.
Lee’s agent, as well as director Joe Russo, said multiple times Lee’s last set of cameos extended through “Avengers 4,” so it is likely Lee cameos will be found in “Captain Marvel,” as well.
It is still unknown if Lee will have cameos in “Dark Phoenix” or “Spider-Man: Far From Home” — but I and other fans can only hope. Lee is survived by his daughter, Joan Celia Lee, and his younger brother, Larry Lieber. However, his legacy will live on in his characters beyond his lifespan.
“I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers,” Stan Lee told The Washington Post. “And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing.”
Throughout his life, Lee entertained people with his ingenuity and creativity, especially me.
Rest in peace, Stan Lee. Excelsior!