Welcome to the Deep Dive, the place where we
take a monumental stack of sources filter out
the noise and deliver the insights you need to
truly understand the world's most massive cultural
forces. And today, wow, we are talking about
a true giant. We are strapping on our web shooters,
testing our gamma tolerance and shouting Excelsior
because we are launching a deep dive into the
extraordinary life, the towering legacy and the
total revolution engineered by Stanley Martin
Lieber. The one and only Stanley. Exactly. You
know, Stanley, born in 1922, was so much more
than just. comic book writer or an editor for
two crucial decades he was really the primary
creative leader for what became marvel comics
he took what was basically a small struggling
publishing division timely comics a family -run
business and he transformed it using this revolutionary
approach to storytelling into the multimedia
giant that i mean let's be honest dictates so
much of the global film industry today so our
mission today is to unpack exactly how How does
a kid who dreamed of writing the great American
novel end up co -creating the most successful
fictional universe in history? It's an incredible
journey. We're going to trace it from the poverty
of the Depression era Bronx through that white
-hot creative crucible of the 1960s Marvel Revolution
all the way up to his incredibly complex and
sometimes, well, fraught late -life role as Hollywood's
favorite figurehead. And that late -life role,
it gives us this staggering opening statistic
because of his ubiquitous, you know, his highly
anticipated cameo appearances in all those Marvel
films. You waited for them in every movie. We
did. And because of them, our source materials
confirm that Stan Lee holds the almost unbelievable
distinction of being the actor with the highest
grossing film total ever recorded. That's just
wild. The scale is immense, stretching from,
what, a $2 .50 essay contest prize all the way
to a multi -billion dollar box office talent.
That's the scope of the life we are analyzing
today. OK, so let's unpack that foundation. To
really get Stanley the man, we have to go back
to Stanley Martin Lieber, the kid. Yeah. He was
born December 28th, 1922 in Manhattan. Right.
But his early circumstances, they deeply shaped
everything he would go on to write. For sure.
His parents, Celia Solomon and Jack Lieber, were
Romanian -born Jewish immigrants. And the defining
context of Stanley's early childhood was the
Great Depression. It hit them hard. His father
was a dress cutter. A dress cutter by trade,
yeah. Yeah. But work became sporadic, sometimes
non -existent. And that economic strain, it forced
the family to move all the time, eventually settling
in this cramped apartment at 1720 University
Avenue in the Bronx. And that location, that
apartment in the Bronx. is so crucial. It speaks
directly to the lack of space, the lack of comfort
in his youth. Totally. He and his younger brother,
Larry Lieber, who, you know, also became a longtime
Marvel writer and artist himself. Right. The
whole family was in. The whole family. They shared
a single bedroom while their parents were sleeping
on a fold -out couch in the main living space.
This is not the life of a future celebrity. It
was a life defined by instability. Which made
him desperately seek an escape. And that escape
came through pure imagination. They often talked
about how he was just profoundly influenced by
books and movies, these grand, heroic narratives.
He loved figures like Errol Flynn, the swashbucklers.
Oh, absolutely. But the most revealing influence
he ever cited was the Scarlet Pimpernel. He actually
called that character the first superhero I had
read about. Think about that for a second. It's
perfect, isn't it? A masked figure with a secret
identity fighting for justice against oppressive
forces, completely outside that typical capes
and tights mold. It perfectly foreshadows his
own later creations. So he had the spark, this
desire for grand, heroic stories. But his core
ambition, his career goal, was all about one
thing. Literary respectability. Yes. He was grinding
away at all these part -time jobs, not just to
survive, but specifically to finance his real
dream, writing the great American novel. And
he looked down on comics. The field that would
make him famous, he considered it, well, completely
beneath that ambition. It's the ultimate irony.
The list of his part -time jobs is an absolute
testament to that early grind. He wrote obituaries
for a news service. Imagine a future comedic
powerhouse writing strictly about death. I know.
He created press releases for the National Tuberculosis
Center. He was an usher at the huge Rivoli Theater
on Broadway. He sold newspaper subscriptions.
He was building up this rich supply of real world
experiences, even if he found the jobs, you know,
frustrating. And his literary ambition wasn't
just a dream. There's that great anecdote about
the essay competition that really shows his unrelenting
drive. Oh, the New York Herald Tribune story.
Yeah, he claimed he won their biggest news of
the week contest three straight weeks in a row,
forcing the newspaper to ask him to step down
to give other people a chance. It's such a great
Stanley story. And as much as we want that dramatic
version to be true, our sources note that the
reality was a bit more modest, though still impressive.
What actually happened? He likely won a seventh
place prize of $2 .50 and earned two honorable
mention awards. But even those smaller achievements
got him recognized as this promising, persistent
young writer. And crucially, he graduated early
from DeWitt Clinton High School at just 16 and
a half in 1939. And that early grade. in 1939,
that brings us right to his reluctant entry into
the world of comics. And it was all because of
family connections. 100%. His uncle, Robbie Solomon,
helped him get a job at Martin Goodman's new
Timely Comics division, which was the direct
ancestor of Marvel. Goodman, the publisher, was
married to Lai's cousin, Jean. It was a deeply
familial setup. And he was hired as a general
assistant by the editor, Joe Simon. And the initial
duties were famously... Menial, right? Oh, decidedly
so. A world away from the literary salons he
dreamed of. He was the office boy. He filled
the inkwells for the artists. He was the runner
who fetched lunch. He did proofreading. And maybe
most tellingly, he had to erase all the initial
pencil lines from the finished pages. And that
menial start is precisely what leads to the most
famous pen name in pop culture. It is. He made
his official comic book debut in Captain America
Comics No. 3, May 1941, writing this tiny text
filler piece called Captain America Foils the
Traitor's Revenge. And he used the pseudonym
Stanley. Deliberately. It was a shortened version
of Stanley, and he used it specifically to save
his birth name, Stanley Martin Lieber, for the
serious literature he still planned to write
one day. He felt genuine shame about working
in the low -status, you know, pulp medium of
comic books. It's the ultimate historical irony.
The name he used to hide his identity became
the identity that defined him for the entire
world. And even in that tiny text story, there's
a significant creative milestone, isn't there?
There is. Within that little text filler, Lee
debuted Captain America's trademark move, the
ricocheting shield toss. Where it bounces off
multiple opponents and comes right back to his
hand. Exactly. This seemingly small contribution
was later adapted back into the actual sequential
art. It just shows that even in the very early
days, he was already focused on defining the
iconic visual language of heroism. And then he
moved up incredibly quickly. So fast. The original
creative partners, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby,
they had a falling out with the publisher Goodman,
and they left timely in late 1941. And Goodman
needed a new chief editor and art director, so
he installed the barely 19 -year -old Stanley
Lieber in the role. That is a staggering promotion.
The young man who was hired to erase pencil lines
was suddenly the editor and art director, and
he stayed in that position, in one form or another,
until 1972, a three -decade tenure. But that
incredible run was interrupted by World War II.
He served in the U .S. Army Signal Corps from
42 to 45, initially focused on repairing communications
equipment. But he was soon transferred, leveraging
his writing skills, into the training film division.
There he worked on writing manuals, training
films, slogans, all designed to help the war
effort. And his military classification was unique.
Playwright. He would later joke that only nine
men in the entire U .S. Army held that exact
title. He was always distinguishing himself even
in the service. And he was working alongside
some truly incredible talents during that time.
He really was. The training film division was
this hub of creative genius. He worked alongside
the legendary Hollywood director Frank Capra
and the children's author Theodore Geisel. Better
known to us as Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss. It was a
fascinating, high -level creative environment,
totally separate from comics. And that wartime
service also gifted us the ultimate anecdote
about his dedication to deadlines. Yes, the deadline
incident. This is great. Lee was still sending
in assignments to timely on a weekly basis, and
he had to meet this strict Monday deadline. Yeah.
Well, one week, the mail clerk failed to deliver
the assignment letter. Lee saw the envelope from
Timely inside his closed mailbox and in a complete
panic refused to wait. What did he do? He took
a screwdriver and physically unscrewed the hinges
of the mailbox to get the assignment. That's
audacious. It is. He ended up facing tampering
charges for illegally accessing federal property.
But thankfully, a colonel intervened, recognized
the absurdity of the situation and saved him
from discipline. But it illustrates this deep.
almost obsessive dedication to his commitments.
Even for a job he supposedly didn't respect.
Exactly. So after the war, by the mid -1950s,
the company is now operating under the name Atlas
Comics, and it was essentially a genre factory.
They published everything. Everything. Romance,
westerns, sci -fi. horror, crime. And Lee, as
editor in chief, was responsible for generating
a huge volume of this material. And the sheer
breadth of it led to this creative exhaustion.
He was burning out. Totally. By the end of the
decade, he was so dissatisfied with the low status
and limitations of the medium that he was seriously
considering quitting comics for good. It was
a creative lull. Kind of existential crisis for
his career. But it was exactly that moment of
resignation and dissatisfaction that set the
stage for the massive, unexpected creative explosion
of the 1960s. OK, so we're transitioning now
to the moment the sources identify as the biggest
catalyst for change. The superhero genre was
reviving. Right. DC Comics had struck gold again,
first with The Flash and then with the formation
of the Justice League of America. They were a
huge success. And Martin Goodman, the publisher
of what was now Marvel, saw the money. dc was
making and he challenged lee directly create
a new superhero team for us and lee was approaching
this final decision about whether to leave the
industry and this ultimatum gave him this unexpected
freedom and this is where his personal life intersects
with history in a truly profound way his wife
joan bucock offered the critical advice that
changed everything. She knew how dissatisfied
he was. And she suggested that since he was ready
to quit comics anyway, he should just use this
final assignment to write the stories he wanted
to read without worrying about what a comic book
was supposed to be. He had nothing to lose. Exactly.
Nothing to lose by experimenting. And that pivot,
it wasn't just about trying something new. It
was about shifting the entire philosophical framework
of the superhero. He took that advice and introduced
what he famously called flawed humanity. into
his characters this fundamentally moved away
from the traditional perfect ideal archetypes
that dc was still largely promoting that's the
key distinction right there DC's heroes were
gods among men, perfectly adjusted. They never
worried about rent. They had this unquestioning
moral certainty. But Marvel's heroes were people
first. Yes. The characters they created in the
60s, they weren't just powerful. They had bad
tempers like The Thing, crippling vanity like
Iron Man, real financial woes like Spider -Man,
and profound inner angst like the Hulk. Comics
historian Peter Sanderson famously compared the
resulting Marvel output. to the French New Wave
in filmmaking. Because it was revolutionary.
It used pioneering storytelling methods focused
on deep characterization, and it attracted this
massive new demographic of older readers, college
students and teens by addressing serious contemporary
themes. It was a genius move. Relatability made
the characters immortal. You didn't just admire
a Marvel hero. You empathized with them. Right.
They got bored. They argued amongst themselves
constantly. I mean, look at the Fantastic Four.
And sometimes they even got physically sick.
They were subject to the same mundane pressures
as their readers. And the first result of this
shift was the Fantastic Four in 1961, co -created
with Jack Kirby. The immediate explosive success
of that title confirmed the market wanted this
complexity and it launched an unbelievable creative
cascade. The creative partnerships of this era
are, of course, the stuff of legend. But they're
also the source of so much historical tension.
With Jack Kirby, Lee co -created the Hulk, Thor,
Iron Man, the X -Men, the Avengers. While also
successfully modernizing and reviving Golden
Age characters like Captain America and the Sub
-Mariner. A prolific run. But the sources are
clear that despite this, there was significant
contention later on, particularly over the creation
credit for the Fantastic Four. Why was that initial
credit so complicated? Because of the working
method they developed, which we now call the
Marvel method, it fundamentally blurred the lines
of creation. While Lee generated the concept,
the title, the character names, Kirby the artist,
often had immense input on the actual plot structure
and the visual look. Giving him a powerful claim
to co -creation. A claim that was never formally
acknowledged at the time. Then, of course, we
have the equally crucial partnership with Steve
Ditko. Which yielded Doctor Strange and, of course,
Spider -Man. Marvel's undisputed most successful
character. And Lee's vision for Spider -Man was
a direct reflection of this new philosophy. He
chose Ditko for the project over Kirby because
Kirby's initial sketch of Peter Parker was, well,
it was too heroic, handsome, and muscular. He
wanted the opposite of that. He wanted a neurotic,
awkward, physically unimpressive, even nerdy
kid. A character that Ditko was uniquely skilled
at visually realizing. And with Bill Everett.
They created Daredevil. But the narrative thread
binding all these figures together, the final
piece of the revelation, was the commitment to
a truly thoroughly shared universe. Game changer.
Before Marvel, if one company published three
heroes, they might as well exist in separate
vacuums. Lee insisted that if the Hulk rampaged
in New York, Spider -Man might hear about it
and the Fantastic Four would definitely read
about it. This shared reality made the entire
world feel tangible and interconnected. And this
incredible output, we're talking about generating
multiple successful titles every single month
under crushing deadlines. It necessitated an
entirely new way of working. The famous Marvel
method. Let's break down exactly how it worked
and why it defined their legacy for both good
and for ill. It was pure necessity born from
Lee's massive workload. Instead of writing a
full panel by panel script, which would have
been impossible for one man managing so many
titles, Lee would first brainstorm the core story
with the artist. Who then became a co -plotter.
Exactly. And Lee would only write a brief. Two
to three page synopsis. So the artist didn't
just receive a script to draw. They received
a prompt and were expected to construct the narrative
flow visually. Precisely. The artist, whether
it was Kirby or Ditko or someone else, was expected
to act as the true co -plotter. They had to determine
the panel arrangement, the pacing, the action
sequences. The whole narrative structure needed
to fill the page count. They were penciling the
visual first draft of the story. And only after
the artist turned in those penciled pages did
Lee step back in. Correct. Lee would then fill
in all the dialogue, the word balloons, the captions,
and supervise the final finishing steps like
lettering and coloring. In essence, the artists
were determining the beats of the story. And
Lee was providing the voice, the bombast, and
the witty banter that defined the Marvel brand.
But that leads to the big question, right? If
the artist was the co -plotter, visually determining
where the story went, why was Lee credited as
the sole writer? That's the vulnerability. The
fact that the artists were performing such a
high level of creative work, that's what eventually
led to the deep, longstanding tension between
him and figures like Kirby and Ditko. Absolutely.
The tension was inherent in the method itself.
For Lee, he was the primary writer because he
created the original concept, the core characters,
and ultimately provided every single line of
dialogue the reader consumed. But for the artists?
For the artists, they felt they were creating
80 % of the narrative, structurally, visually,
rhythmically. They felt they were writers who
just happened to use pictures. It was a structural
conflict over ownership and credit that overshadowed
much of Lee's later life because the work -for
-hire contracts of the era just ignored the artist's
immense contribution to the plot. It's a fascinating
and complicated dynamic, but beyond the internal
process, Lee's recognizable dialogue style was
a massive selling point. It wasn't simple, it
was often bombastic and surprisingly verbose.
Oh yeah, his dialogue was full of flair, sophistication,
and a surprisingly advanced vocabulary for a
supposed children's medium. He had a great quote
about that. He did. He famously defended the
practice, playfully noting that forcing a kid
to stop and go to a dictionary is not the worst
thing that could happen. He wanted the comics
to elevate the reader, not pander to them. And
the revolution extended directly to the readership.
Lee was a master of building fan culture and
loyalty, creating a connection that no other
publisher could match. He was the first to standardize
and normalize the practice of introducing clear
credit panels on the splash page of every story.
He didn't just name the writer and penciler.
He included the inker and the letterer. Which
gave a level of transparency and recognition
that was previously unheard of in the industry.
He also basically invented the modern editorial
persona. He wrote the incredibly lively, chatty,
personality -driven bullpen bulletins column
and managed the letter pages with this friendly,
informal style. His explicit goal was to make
fans feel like the creators were friends, not
these distant, anonymous professionals. And it
worked. That's why letters started addressing
them by their first names, like Dear Stan and
Jack, instead of the highly formal Dear Editor
that rivals used. It fostered this unprecedented
and long -lasting sense of community. This cultural
creation even extended to merchandising and clubs.
He co -founded the Mary Marvel Marching Society
Fan Club in 1965. And of course, he created his
own personal iconic brand with his trademark
sign off. Excelsior. Excelsior. Which is also
the New York state motto, tying his personal
ambition directly back to his New York roots.
So as the 1960s roared on, the social relevance
and depth of Marvel's characters increased dramatically.
And this was primarily driven by the phenomenal
success of Spider -Man. Right. After Steve Ditko
left Marvel in 1966, John Romita Sr. took over
as the primary artist on The Amazing Spider -Man.
And the book just exploded. The transition was
seamless. The book quickly surpassed Fantastic
Four to become the company's absolute top seller.
And Lee and Romita used this platform not just
for action, but for a deeper character study.
They focused heavily on Peter Parker's dual existence.
His social life, his college life. They used
Empire State University as this perfect setting
for topical storytelling. They weren't just telling
superhero stories anymore. They were actively
engaging with contemporary cultural currents.
So what were some of the most challenging issues
they tackled? Well, they dove right into the
political and social issues facing their young
adult readership. They addressed the reality
of the Vietnam War draft through the storyline
with Flash Thompson, who volunteers for service.
Wow. They dealt with political elections and
social manipulation through the Richard Raleigh
subplot, and they constantly explored student
activism and protest culture within the fictionalized
setting of Empire State University. It proved
superhero comics could be relevant, serious literature.
the topical issues of the day, Lee used this
era to make genuine strides in racial representation.
In 1966, he and Kirby co -created Black Panther.
This was monumental. T 'Challa the Black Panther
was not a sidekick or some token figure. He was
mainstream comics' first black superhero. introduced
as a respected, sophisticated, technologically
advanced African king. Which was a hugely significant
step away from the historically stereotypical
or simplistic depictions of black characters
in American media at the time. A year later,
in 1967, Lee introduced Robbie Robertson in The
Amazing Spider -Man. And Robbie was an important,
more subtle form of representation. How so? He
was one of the first African -American characters
in comics to hold a serious, complex, professional
supporting role. He was J. Jonah Jameson's highly
respected colleague at the Daily Bugle, frequently
serving as Peter Parker's mentor and a voice
of reason. His complexity was a quiet revolution.
And then in 1969, Lee teamed up with artist Gene
Colan to create the Falcon. The Falcon, Sam Wilson,
was the first Black American superhero. This
brought the concept of Black empowerment and
heroism closer to the American domestic sphere,
and he often worked alongside Captain America.
These moves really demonstrated Marvel's willingness
to use their platform to reflect and maybe influence
contemporary social discourse. But the most famous
confrontation Lee engineered against the established
norms involved the Comics Code Authority. Ah,
yes, the CCA. The self -regulatory body from
the 1950s that policed content with this incredibly
strict set of rules. This showdown in 1971 fundamentally
changed the industry. And the challenge wasn't
even initiated by Lee, which makes the outcome...
Right. The U .S. Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare actually approached Lee and requested
that Marvel create an anti -drug storyline. They
recognized the reach and influence of Spider
-Man. So the government asks for it, and Lee
delivers a three -issue subplot in The Amazing
Spider -Man about prescription drug addiction
and its real -world consequences. What was the
Code Authority's reaction? They outright refused
to grant its seal of approval because the Comics
Code strictly forbade the depiction of drugs.
any drugs. It didn't matter what the context
was, whether it was positive, negative, instructional,
cautionary. The CCA was rigid and totally incapable
of interpreting intent. So Lee found himself
in this impossible position. A government agency
wants the story published, but the industry's
own gatekeeper refuses. And Lee. Confident that
the credibility lent by the government request
outweighed the authority of the CCA seal, made
a truly unprecedented and brave decision. He
published it anyway. He published the entire
story arc without the seal. At the time, that
was a huge commercial risk. Distributors and
newsstands often refused to carry uncoded comics.
But the gamble paid off massively, didn't it?
It did. The comics sold well. Marvel received
widespread praise for its socially conscious
efforts. And more importantly, the absurdity
and rigidity of the CCA's refusal. I mean, they
were censoring a federally requested anti -drug
message, came under intense public scrutiny.
And that indirect pressure forced the Comis code
authority to loosen its restrictions shortly
after. It paved the way for more mature, realistic
storytelling for the entire industry. And Lee
used this momentum to continue his advocacy,
not just in the stories, but explicitly in his
editorial voice. In Stan's Soapbox. Exactly.
He regularly addressed social issues like racism,
intolerance, and prejudice directly in his monthly
column. He genuinely believed that if you had
a powerful platform like Marvel, you had a responsibility
to speak out against injustice. This period really
marks the culmination of his creative leadership.
In 1972, after a 30 -year tenure, he finally
stopped writing monthly titles to succeed Martin
Goodman as publisher. His final regular issues
were The Amazing Spider -Man No. 110 in July
72 and Fantastic Four No. 125 in August 72. And
it's telling that he briefly served as the company
president and ostensibly higher role, but he
intentionally stepped down. Why reject the presidency?
Because he found the role was too focused on
the financial side, on numbers and finance, and
it took him too far away from the creative energy
he thrived on. He preferred the hands -on creative
publisher position. He always identified as a
creator first. And even after stepping away from
the monthly comic grind, he kept writing. In
1977, he launched the amazing Spider -Man newspaper
strip. Which became a long -standing fixture
in papers across the country. And in 1978, he
re -teamed with Jack Kirby for the Silver Surfer.
the ultimate cosmic experience. That's considered
Marvel's first true graphic novel, right? It
is. Another pioneering move, this time into the
adult bookshelf publishing space. He also co
-created Savage She -Hulk with John Busama in
1980, so his creative hand was still visible
right before his next big transition. And that
transition takes us away from the New York bullpen
and into the entirely different high -stakes
arena of Hollywood. Right. In 1981, Lee physically
moved to California with a very specific future
-forward goal to focus exclusively on developing
Marvel's vast potential for TV and movie properties.
This marked his official, if gradual, shift from
being the chief creative officer to becoming
the ultimate corporate figurehead and media producer.
Totally. He was instrumental in developing early
adaptations and, of course, began his ubiquitous
presence as an executive producer and the king
of the cameo in nearly all Marvel media. But
he still did some comics. He'd make these occasional
high -profile returns, yeah, notably The Silver
Surfer. Parable limited series with the legendary
French artist Mubius. So by the 1990s, the official
change was complete. He stepped away from regular
Marvel operational duties, though he was maintained
as chairman emeritus with a highly lucrative
$1 million annual salary. And that financial
stability, it allowed him to explore entrepreneurial
ventures outside the direct Marvel structure.
This leads to the highly complex and, well, often
problematic business phase of his life. Starting
in 1998 with Stanley Media. Yes, an internet
-based superhero studio he co -founded with a
man named Peter Paul. And this was during the
height of the dot -com boom, so Stanley Media
grew incredibly rapidly. It went public in 1999,
valuing Lee's name incredibly high. But the sources
indicate the collapse was swift and tied to some
severe illegality. It was catastrophic. By late
2000, investigators uncovered illegal stock manipulation
orchestrated by Peter Paul and another corporate
officer, Stephen Gordon. The company filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2001. And it's
crucial to emphasize, as our source material
does, that Lee himself was never implicated in
the illegal stock manipulation scheme. He was
a victim of it, too. Following that collapse,
he quickly formed his next venture, POW Entertainment.
Purveyors of Wonder. Formed in 2001 with Gil
Champion and Arthur Lieberman, specifically focusing
on developing film, TV, and video game properties.
VW had a much longer run, but it produced some
famously unconventional projects. Showcasing
Lee's willingness to experiment, for sure. This
included the risque animated superhero series
Stripperella for Spike TV, and he also hosted
the reality competition show Who Wants to Be
a Superhero? Continuing his brand is that accessible,
friendly mentor. And we can't overlook the fascinating
moment where he crossed the corporate aisle and
worked for the competition. DC Comics. In the
early 2000s, DC published the Just Imagine series,
where Lee reimagined their iconic heroes, Superman,
Batman, Wonder Woman, collaborating with top
-tier artists like Jim Lee and Joe Kubert. It
just showed that his cultural status transcended
corporate boundaries. Now we enter the challenging
era defined by intellectual property disputes
and a long string of lawsuits, starting with
the very company he built, Marvel. In 2002, Lee
sued Marvel. Yes, he did. And let's talk about
the nuances of that complaint. Lee sued Marvel
because he claimed they were failing to pay him
his agreed -upon 10 % share of the profits from
films featuring his co -created characters. This
is where we need to be very clear about the legal
history. He didn't own Spider -Man or the Hulk
outright, did he? No, he didn't. Like Kirby and
Ditko, Lee created those characters under the
traditional work -for -hire model. If you were
a salaried employee, the characters you created
were legally owned by the company. company. But
Lee Unlike many of his former collaborator, had
managed to secure a separate agreement in the
1990s that guaranteed him a specific percentage,
10 percent of future profits from media licensing
of those characters. So the lawsuit wasn't about
creation rights. It was about breach of contract
on profit sharing. Exactly. It was a fight for
the money generated by the media boom that he
himself had catalyzed. And that lawsuit was ultimately
settled in 2005 for an undisclosed but massive
seven figure amount. It confirmed he was owed
a significant share of that revenue. The business
complications continued, though, and they escalated
dramatically in his final years. POW Entertainment
was acquired in 2017 by a Chinese company called
CanSing International. And this happened at a
time when Li was dealing with his wife's terminal
illness and his own failing eyesight. The situation
quickly deteriorated. In May 2018, Lee filed
a staggering $1 billion lawsuit against POW Entertainment.
A billion dollars. What was the specific nature
of the alleged deception? Lee alleged he was
systematically misled. He claimed he was convinced
to sign a document that he believed was a non
-exclusive license for his name, image, and IP
to be used by Camzing. It turned out to be an
exclusive license. Which he asserted he would
never have knowingly signed. Especially while
he was so emotionally vulnerable after his wife's
passing, he also contended that POW had illegally
taken control of his social media accounts and
was impersonating him online. That is a staggering
claim of manipulation. What was the outcome of
that billion -dollar lawsuit? In a complex turn,
the suit was dramatically dropped just two months
later, in July 2018, before it could advance
through the courts. The reasons for the withdrawal
remain ambiguous, but were widely tied to the
various power struggles that were surrounding
Lee at the time. Unfortunately, the legal battles
continued even after his death. His daughter,
J .C. Lee, entered the fray. She filed a new
lawsuit in 2019 trying to regain IT rights from
the earlier Stan Lee Entertainment period, claiming
that partners had misled her father about various
deals. And that lawsuit did not go well for her.
Not at all. In 2020, the court dismissed her
claims, calling the lawsuit frivolous and improper
and resulting in severe sanctions, $1 .25 million
against both J .C. Lee and her legal team. This
entire period, it just reveals a man who had
always been the energetic, in -control face of
his company becoming so vulnerable. And that
vulnerability led to the darkest part of this
story. serious allegations of elder abuse and
isolation that emerged after his wife's death.
The Hollywood Reporter published a detailed investigation
claiming Lee, whose wealth was estimated around
$50 million, was a victim of financial and emotional
elder abuse. It's a tragic irony that the creator
of so many heroes was left so unprotected in
his final years. Kia Morgan, who had become Lee's
business manager and was a known memorabilia
collector, was the central figure in these allegations.
Morgan was accused of isolating Lee from long
-trusted friends, professional associates, even
his family, in an effort to gain increasing control
over his substantial wealth. A temporary restraining
order was issued against Morgan in August 2018,
and allegations eventually led to criminal charges.
Right. In May 2019, Morgan was charged with multiple
counts of elder abuse, including grand theft,
embezzlement and forgery, underlining the severity
of the alleged financial exploitation. And Morgan
wasn't the only manager Lee sued, was he? No.
He also filed a fraud lawsuit against his former
manager, Gerardo Olivares, with similarly serious
allegations, claiming Alarez convinced Lee to
allow transfers of millions of dollars and manipulated
him into changing his will. It paints this deeply
unsettling picture. We also have to mention the
sexual harassment allegations that surfaced in
early 2018. A small number of nurses working
for Lee came forward with claims of sexual harassment.
Lee immediately denied the allegations, countering
that they were fabricated attempts to extort
money from him. It's just a complex, messy, and
profoundly sad final chapter for such a beloved
public figure. And despite the profound business
and personal turmoil of his later years, Stan
Lee's monumental cultural legacy remains utterly
unquestionable. Oh, absolutely. On a personal
note, he was married to Joan Bukock for 70 years,
from 1947 until her death in 2000. They had two
daughters, Joan Celia J .C., born in 1950, and
their second daughter, Jan Lee, who sadly died
just three days after her birth in 1953. And
that loss undoubtedly contributed to the emotional
weight of his life. Lee's lifelong commitment
to education and the arts found a major outlet
in his philanthropy. In 2010, he founded the
Stan Lee Foundation. The foundation was specifically
focused on literacy, education, and the arts,
and it actively promoted diversity across creative
fields. He also had a deep appreciation for history.
He regularly donated massive amounts of personal
papers, photographs, and effects to the American
Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming.
Providing invaluable primary source material
for future historians. Exactly. And of course,
the role he is best known for by the current
generation is the king of the cameo. Every single
Marvel film. Every one. These cameos... were
a vital link between the history of the comics
and the new media. He received an executive producer
credit and the appearances became this essential,
highly anticipated, and often self -aware nod
to his creations, a personal signature. What's
truly remarkable is that his status as the universal
elder statesman of comics transcended traditional
corporate battle lines. He literally appeared
in the rival universe. He did. Lee was so beloved
and respected that he was granted a cameo as
himself in the DC Comics film Teen Titans Go.
It just illustrates his status as a universally
acknowledged cultural icon. His final emotional
cameo was in Avengers. Endgame. But that final
appearance also marked an ending for that tradition.
Yeah. Following his passing, Marvel Studios enacted
a formal policy out of deep respect that forbids
the use of archive footage for any future cameos.
They wanted his final appearance in Endgame to
serve as his true definitive curtain call. In
terms of formal recognition, the accolades he
received are extensive. He was inducted into
the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994. and
notably the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995.
He received the National Medal of Arts in 2008,
a truly high honor, recognizing the profound
literary and cultural impact of the medium he
helped legitimize. And in 2017, he was recognized
as a Disney legend alongside his sometimes contested
creative partner, Jack Kirby. That Disney legend
ceremony included having his hands, feet, and
signature imprinted in cement at the TCL Chinese
Theater. permanently enshrining him in Hollywood
history, right where he had worked as an usher
all those decades earlier. It's incredible. Furthermore,
his impact was recognized locally by numerous
cities that declared Stan Lee Day. Los Angeles,
Boston. New York City. And in a beautiful tribute
connecting his roots back to his success, a specific
section of University Avenue in the Bronx, right
where his family settled during the Depression,
was officially named Stanley Way in 2019. Stanley
died on November 12, 2018, at the age of 95 in
Los Angeles. The official underlying causes of
death included respiratory failure and congestive
heart failure. Roy Thomas, his successor as editor
in chief at Marvel, visited him just two days
before he passed. And Thomas recounted that Lee
was still incredibly enthusiastic, already discussing
potential future cameos. Just demonstrating his
lifelong excitement and dedication to the creative
process right to the end. And his very last known
words to Roy Thomas provide a touching and familiar
sign -off to his long, complex history with the
company. What were they? Lee's final recorded
words to Thomas were, God bless, take care of
my boy Roy, referring to Thomas' long -standing
nickname, Roy the Boy Thomas. It was a final,
familiar salutation, linking him back to his
familiar persona, Stan the Man Lee, and the familial
atmosphere he fostered at the Marvel bullpen.
So looking back at this tremendous, decades -long
journey. We trace the path of a writer who transformed
global culture, not by meticulously sticking
to his initial plan, but by embracing the creative
freedom that came from abandoning his self -imposed
limitations. Exactly. He began life as Stanley
Martin Lieber, this ambitious young man who believed
pulp writing was inherently beneath him, dreaming
of that lofty conventional great American novel.
And the irony is profound and truly defines his
life. By adopting the pen name Stan Lee, to shield
his serious identity, and by giving himself explicit
permission to just have fun with the despised
medium of comics, a suggestion sparked by his
wife, he created a monumental, multifaceted,
and enduring legacy far larger than any single
novel could ever achieve. He innovated storytelling
with the Marvel method, which simultaneously
enabled massive output and created deep creative
tensions. He humanized superheroes, built an
unparalleled personal fan culture, and directly...
challenged industry censorship to bring maturity
to the medium. And his characters now form the
basis of our modern cinematic mythology. So as
we wrap up this deep dive, we have to ask you,
the listener, a final provocative thought. Reflect
on the massive discrepancy between Stanley Lieber's
youthful, conventional goal of writing the high
-minded great American novel and the actual world
-changing legacy he achieved by embracing a medium
he initially considered beneath him. So the question
is this. Was his world -changing success driven
by the very fact that he gave himself permission
to be commercially successful and culturally
profound only after he gave up on his original
loftiest and perhaps most creatively restrictive
literary goal. It's something to think about.
Truly something to think about and perhaps apply
to your own ambitions. Thank you for joining
us for the deep dive on the incredible complex
life of Stan Lee. Excelsior. We'll catch you
next time.