Stan Lee

Stan Lee (December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was the editor-in-chief, publisher, and chairman of Marvel Comics, and one of the most influential figures in the history of American comic books. Born Stanley Martin Lieber in New York City, Lee co-created some of the most iconic characters in comics alongside artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, and the Scarlet Witch. He revolutionized the medium by writing characters with genuine emotional complexity, personal problems, and moral ambiguity at a time when superhero comics treated heroes as infallible ideals. Lee served as Marvel's public face for decades, championing the medium's legitimacy as a storytelling art form, and became beloved worldwide through cameo appearances in Marvel films.