Stan Lee, the creative dynamo who revolutionized the comic book and helped make billions for Hollywood by introducing human frailties in Marvel superheroes, such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk, died on Monday. He was 95.
Lee was declared dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said Kirk Schenck, an attorney for Lee’s daughter, J.C. Lee.
As the top writer at Marvel Comics and later as its publisher, Stan Lee was widely considered the architect of the contemporary comic book.
Photo: Reuters
He revived the industry in the 1960s by offering the costumes and action craved by younger readers while insisting on sophisticated plots, college-level dialogue, satire, science fiction and even philosophy.
Millions responded to the unlikely mix of realistic fantasy, and many of his characters, including Spider-Man, the Hulk and X-Men, went on to become stars of blockbuster films.
Recent projects Lee helped make possible range from the films Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy to such TV series as Agents of SHIELD and Daredevil.
Lee was recognizable to his fans, having had cameos in many Marvel films and TV projects, often delivering his trademark motto: “Excelsior!”
Captain America actor Chris Evans mourned the loss on Twitter: “There will never be another Stan Lee. For decades he provided both young and old with adventure, escape, comfort, confidence, inspiration, strength, friendship and joy. He exuded love and kindness and will leave an indelible mark on so, so, so many lives. Excelsior!!”
Lee hit his stride in the 1960s when he brought the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man and numerous others to life.
“It was like there was something in the air. I couldn’t do anything wrong,” he said.
His heroes were a far cry from virtuous do-gooders such as rival DC Comics’ Superman. The Fantastic Four fought with each other. Spider-Man was goaded into superhero work by his alter ego, Peter Parker, who suffered from unrequited crushes, money problems and dandruff. The Silver Surfer, an alien doomed to wander Earth’s atmosphere, waxed about the woeful nature of man. The Hulk was marked by self-loathing. Daredevil was blind and Iron Man had a weak heart.
Some of Lee’s creations became symbols of social change — the inner turmoil of Spider-Man represented 1960s US, for example, while The Black Panther and The Savage She-Hulk mirrored the travails of minorities and women.
“I think of them as fairy tales for grown-ups,” he told reporters. “We all grew up with giants and ogres and witches. Well, you get a little bit older and you’re too old to read fairy tales. But I don’t think you ever outgrow your love for those kind of things, things that are bigger than life and magical and very imaginative.”
Lee scripted most of Marvel’s superhero comics himself during the 1960s, including ones about the Avengers and the X-Men, two of the most enduring.
In 1972, he became Marvel’s publisher and editorial director; four years later, 72 million copies of Spider-Man were sold.
CBS turned the Hulk into a successful TV series, with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno portraying the doomed scientist from 1978 to 1982. A Spider-Man series ran briefly in 1978. Both characters were featured in animated TV series as well.
The first big-budget movie based on Lee’s characters, X-Men, was a smash in 2000, earning more than US$130 million at North American theaters.
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