Stan Lee, the writer behind some of the world’s best-known comic book characters including Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Panther, the Avengers and the X-Men, has died aged 95 on Monday, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
In 1961, Lee created The Fantastic Four for Marvel Comics, and went on to create titles including Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk. The comic book writer’s daughter confirmed her father’s death to the website and the Reuters news agency.
Lee had suffered from pneumonia in February this year. He also struggled with vision issues and had revealed in 2016 he could no longer read the comics he created.
CEO Shane Duffy called him “a true iconic pioneer with no comparable second”.
Lee’s wife, Joan, died in 2017, also aged 95, but he is survived by his daughter, JC Lee.
JC Lee said her father was “the greatest, most decent man”. She told, “He felt an obligation to his fans to keep creating.”
“He loved his life and he loved what he did for a living. His family loved him and his fans loved him. He was irreplaceable.”
A native of Manhattan, New York City, Lee started out in 1939 as an assistant at Timely Comics, the company that would ultimately be rebranded as Marvel Comics.
He eventually became the face of Marvel, and published his last comics in 1972 to focus on his duties as publisher.
Lee was also famous for making cameo appearances in almost all of the Marvel movies. His creations have been made even more popular over the past decade with the release of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the highest-grossing film franchise of all time.
Its 20 films have grossed more than $US17.5 billion ($24.3 billion) at the box office. This year’s release of Avengers: Infinity War broke the record for the highest opening week, raking in $831 million worldwide.
He never received copyright ownership or royalty payments for his writing, although he was reportedly paid $1.3 million a year by Marvel.
His final years were also marked by a legal battle against his company POW! Entertainment and allegations of elder abuse.
>Juthy Saha
Legendary Comic Writer Stan Lee Dies Aged 95
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