The legacy of the man will stay with us forever despite his demise.

If you are a fan of Marvel movies or comic books, there’s a high chance you have heard about Stan Lee: an American comic book writer, editor, and publisher. Stanley Martin Lieber passed away on 12^th November 2018. His family fulfilled his wish of being given a private burial. Earlier this year, Mr. Lee made it public that he was battling pneumonia. His demise took place after a medical emergency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Pow! Entertainment, the company Mr. Lee worked for, hinted a tribute for Stan Lee which might end up being a comic book about his life. The company has already created a memorial wall on their website which fans can visit and pay tribute to the legend.

He is one of the masterminds behind the rise of Marvel Comics’ from a small company to a huge multimedia corporation. He co-created many fan-favorite superheroes including X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and Hulk to name a few. He began working as a full-time writer for Marvel during the creation of Fantastic Four. For Marvel, Stan Lee worked as a writer and publisher and he assisted in the evolution of Marvel throughout the years. A lot of characters, when adapted for movies, became massive hits. His highest grossing film is Marvel’s The Avengers followed by Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man 3, and Spider-man.

Lee was also the member of Marvel Comics’ editorial board. As the co-founder of Pow! Entertainment, he became the Chief Creative Officer for the company. As humble as he was in reality, Lee was incredibly famous at comic cons. His autographs sold for $100 per piece at Comic-Con 2016. Over the years, Lee received several awards for his work: Saturn Award from The Academy of Science Fiction, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Inkpot Award are some of the popular ones.

Lee recalled reading Shakespeare at the age of 10 and a lot of novels. At 17, he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and started pursuing his love for literature. He had a few unsuccessful jobs at the start, but he wanted to become a different kind of writer. Eventually, Timely Publications hired him. They were well-known for magazines and were just starting the comics business. Lee started off at a low wage but slowly made his way into editing and writing stories, mostly about superheroes. Creative as he was, Lee not only revolutionized the comic book industry, he also had a significant impact on the current pop culture.

His company confirmed that he was working on more characters such as Dirt Man. The fictional heroes that define most of today’s pop culture were created and polished by none other than Stan Lee himself. Lee’s comics also focused on current trends, social problems, and a genuine sense of humor. As a tireless promoter of Marvel, Lee turned out to be an effective ‘salesman’ as he bolstered the company’s strength to push it to the heights it is at today. The name ‘Lee’ was used often with him and was stuck with him so much that, in 1970, Lee legally changed Lieber in his name to Lee.

Stan Lee is well known to keep flaws in his character to give them a sense of realism. He wanted to flesh out his characters with personality, so they could be much more than drawings and cardboard figures. In 1992 when talking to the Washington Post, Lee said,

“That’s what any story should have, but comics didn’t have until that point. They were all cardboard figures.”

An interesting word Lee often used in his comics was ‘Excelsior’. He never revealed its actual meaning lest his competition copied it. But now, the word is used to remember him as a comic book legend. The age of 30 brought a turning point in his career when he was encouraged by his wife Joan Boocock to write comics. He was also encouraged by his boss who had high hopes after the popularity of Flash and Green Lantern. All in all, Stan Lee will always be remembered for providing this generation with one of the most sought-after entertainment in the form of superheroes. Kids and adults alike have admired his work and will continue to do so. Mr. Lee may have passed away from our world but his legacy will go on.