By: Ethan Smith, News Editor
es15173@georgiasouthern.edu
This week, the world lost a legend in the form of former Marvel CEO and Co-Creator died at age 95. The news broke early on Monday afternoon on numerous major news outlets that stated his daughter and manager made the news official.
Lee is regarded as the Godfather of Marvel Comics, and rightfully deserves that title. He was with the company for over 70 years and created fan favorites such as Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four and Black Panther. Before he was with Marvel, he began his comic book career with Timely Comics in 1939, at the young age of 17.
By the early 1960s, Lee had been involved with Timely Comics for some time and continued to climb up the ranks of the company. The company went with a brand change at this time to rival DC Comics, changing its name to Marvel Comics. Around this time, Lee and his good friend Jack Kirby would create The Fantastic Four.
In 1972, Lee was named the Editorial Director and Publisher of Marvel Comics. He remained in the position for some time before deciding to create his own company in 1998, which was known as Stan Lee Media. His own company filed bankruptcy a few years later, which led Lee to go back home to Marvel and Pow! Entertainment in 2004.
More recently, Lee has been responsible for Marvel Comics’ major success on the big screen, scoring numerous #1 box office hits such as The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange and Thor. Marvel Comics has been successful for most of the 21st century, and Lee has had multiple cameos in all of his movies that fans enjoy with delight.
Lee’s wife, Joan, died of a stroke over a year ago in July of 2017. He recently connected with New York memorabilia collector Keya Morgan, but their relationship had its issues.
With Marvel Comics at an all-time high, this news comes with great sadness to comic book fans and everyone involved with his life. Hits such as Avengers: Infinity War and Venom broke enormous numbers money wise and also smashed numerous records for box office openings and gross money earned. In the coming months, Marvel is releasing Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, Captain Marvel and Avengers 4, all of which are likely to be major box office hits.
Lee is leaving behind a legacy that most cannot match. He has touched comic book lovers from generation to generation, and his early and recent work have pleased everyone impacted by them. Anything that Marvel has released has been impacted or innovated by Stan Lee at some point. We would not have nearly any of our beloved fictional heroes from Marvel without the work of Stan Lee. Dying at age 95 means he lived a full life and a life that some would give anything to have. Rest easy, you are your own hero now. “With great power comes great responsibility.”
