NATION
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
East Oregonian
Page 7A
STAN LEE 1922-2018
Creator of a galaxy of Marvel superheroes, dies
By ANDREW DALTON AND
DAVE ZELIO
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Stan
Lee, the creative dynamo
who revolutionized the
comic book and helped
make billions for Holly-
wood by introducing human
frailties in Marvel superhe-
roes, such as Spider-Man,
the Fantastic Four and the
Incredible Hulk, died Mon-
day. He was 95.
Lee was declared dead at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Cen-
ter in Los Angeles, accord-
ing to Kirk Schenck, an
attorney for Lee’s daughter,
J.C. Lee.
As the top writer at Mar-
vel Comics and later as its
publisher, Lee was widely
considered the architect of
the contemporary comic
book. He revived the indus-
try in the 1960s by offer-
ing the costumes and action
craved by younger readers
while insisting on sophis-
ticated plots, college-level
dialogue, satire, science fic-
tion, even philosophy.
Millions responded to
the unlikely mix of real-
istic fantasy, and many of
his characters, including
Spider-Man, the Hulk and
X-Men, went on to become
stars of blockbuster films.
He won the National Medal
of Arts in 2008.
Recent projects Lee
helped make possible range
from the films “Avengers:
Infinity War,” “Black Pan-
ther” and “Guardians of the
Galaxy” to such TV series
as “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D”
and “Daredevil.” Lee was
recognizable to his fans,
having had cameos in
many Marvel films and
TV projects, often deliv-
ering his trademark motto,
“Excelsior!”
“Captain America” actor
Chris Evans mourned the
loss on Twitter: “There will
AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File
In this April 16, 2002, file photo, Stan Lee, 79, creator of comic-book franchises such as “Spider-Man,” “The
Incredible Hulk” and “X-Men,” smiles during a photo session in his office in Santa Monica, Calif. Comic book
genius Lee, the architect of the contemporary comic book, has died. He was 95.
never be another Stan Lee.
For decades he provided
both young and old with
adventure, escape, com-
fort, confidence, inspiration,
strength, friendship and joy.
He exuded love and kind-
ness and will leave an indel-
ible 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 some-
thing in the air. I couldn’t do
anything wrong,” he said.
His heroes, meanwhile,
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
’60s America, for exam-
ple, while The Black Pan-
ther and The Savage She-
Hulk mirrored the travails
of minorities and women.
“I think of them as fairy
tales for grown-ups,” he
told The AP. “We all grew
up with giants and ogres and
witches. Well, you get a lit-
tle bit older and you’re too
old to read fairy tales. But
I don’t think you ever out-
grow your love for those
kind of things, things that
are bigger than life and mag-
ical and very imaginative.”
Lee scripted most of Mar-
vel’s superhero comics him-
self during the ’60s, includ-
ing 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 cop-
ies of “Spider-Man” were
sold.
CBS turned the Hulk into
a successful TV series, with
Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno
portraying the doomed sci-
entist from 1978-82. A Spi-
der-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 char-
acters, “X-Men,” was a
smash in 2000, earning
more than $130 million at
North American theaters.
“Spider-Man” did even bet-
ter, taking in more than
$400 million in 2002. A
Marvel movie empire would
emerge after that, one of the
most lucrative mega-fran-
chises in cinema history,
with the recent “Avengers:
Infinity War” grossing more
than $2 billion worldwide.
In 10 years, the Marvel Cin-
ematic Universe film share
netted over $17.6 billion in
worldwide grosses.
Lee’s direct influence
faded in the 1970s as he
gave up some of his edito-
rial duties at Marvel. But
with his trademark white
mustache and tinted sun-
glasses, he was the indus-
try’s most recognizable fig-
ure. He lectured widely on
popular culture.
As sales of comics
declined, Marvel was forced
into bankruptcy proceedings
that meant it had to void a
lifetime contract prohibit-
ing Lee from working for
anyone else. Lee later sued
Marvel for $10 million, say-
ing the company cheated
him out of millions in prof-
its from movies based on his
characters.
In 2000, Lee agreed to
write stories for DC Com-
ics, reinventing Superman,
Batman, Wonder Woman
and other signature charac-
ters for Marvel’s one-time
rival. In the late 1990s, he
looked to capitalize on the
Internet craze, offering ani-
mated “webisodes” of com-
ic-like action.
Lee’s wife and partner in
nearly everything, Joan Lee,
died in 2017, leaving a void
that made her husband, by
then in mental and physical
decline, vulnerable to hang-
ers-on who began to sur-
round him. Lawsuits, court
fights and an elder abuse
investigation all emerged in
the fight over who spoke for
the elderly Lee.
Lee is survived by his
daughter, Joanie, and a
younger brother who also
worked in comics, Larry
Lieber.
“I think of them as fairy tales for grown-ups”
— Stan Lee, creator of comic book franchises
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