Vale Stan Lee

Today Marvel Comics and The Walt Disney Company released a statement announcing the passing of Stan Lee.

“Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created. A super hero 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,” said Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.

Stanley Martin Lieber was arguably the most famous and popular American comic book writer and former president of Marvel comics. Some of the comics he helped create are Spiderman, X-Men and the Fantastic Four. He has also done cameos in many of the movies based on Marvel characters. Lee voices the narrator for many Marvel animated television series.

Ike Perlmutter, Chairman of Marvel Entertainment said of Stan Lee “[his] contributions to Marvel, a company he helped forge into a household name, will forever live on and we will continue to celebrate the imaginative characters he helped create and the fantastic universe he helped build. My thoughts and prayers go out to his daughter and brother at this time.”

He married Joan Clayton Boocock on December 5, 1947. On July 6, 2017, Joan Lee died of a stroke at the age of 95.

“There are so many of us who would not be the men and women we’ve become, and be where we are today, without the influence Stan Lee had on our lives; not only through the heroes he created and the lessons we learned from them, but from the example ‘The Man’ himself set in life. The more I got to know Stan, the more I saw how he put a little piece of himself in each and every character he created, and by doing so, he allowed readers to see their own reflection and imagine the possibility that they, too, could transcend their problems and become something amazing, uncanny, and fantastic.”

C.B. Cebulski
Editor in Chief, Marvel Entertainment

At the 2007 Comic-Con International, Marvel Legends introduced a Stan Lee action figure.

“Stan Lee’s passion, charisma, and his love for the characters and stories he created shaped Marvel into what it is today. His relentless drive and dedication to tell imaginative stories changed the lives of countless fans for over 75 years, and his spirit lives on in the people he’s inspired. His legacy will never be forgotten. My thoughts go out to his family at this difficult time.” said Dan Buckley, President of Marvel Entertainment.

Stan Lee had donated parts of his personal effects to the University of Wyoming between 1981 and 2001.

Lee received the 2,428th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 4, 2011.

Beloved by many, Joe Quesada (Chief Creative Officer, Marvel Entertainment) said about Stan Lee “To so many of us he was a father figure, a mentor, a best friend. Stan let us into the pages of his comics and into his world. He told us all about himself, warts and all. He made us laugh when things were bleakest, he let us in and made us feel like we were a part his family so that when he creatively took a chance and leaped off the precipice of that building, we were always right there with him. He wasn’t just a guy in a suit, he was Stan ‘The Man’ Lee! Goodbye my friend and of course… EXCELSIOR!”

Lee’s younger brother, Larry Lieber, is a comic book artist who helped Lee develop Iron Man and Spider-Man comics.

Lee died at the age of 95 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California on November 12, 2018 from complications of pneumonia.

Banner Image: WikiCommons.