Stan Lee
Lee at the 2014 Phoenix Comicon
Born	Stanley Martin Lieber (1922-12-28)December 28, 1922 New York City, U.S.
Died	November 12, 2018(2018-11-12) (aged 95) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Areas	Comic book writer editor publisher producer
Collaborators	Jack Kirby Steve Ditko John Romita Sr. Don Heck Bill Everett Joe Maneely Dick Ayers Joe Simon
Awards	Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame Jack Kirby Hall of Fame National Medal of Arts Disney Legends
Spouse	Joan Boocock ​ ​ (m. 1947; died 2017)​
Children	2 (1 deceased)
Relatives	Larry Lieber (brother)
Signature
Military career
Branch	United States Army
Service years	1942–1945
Rank	Sergeant (Sgt.)
Unit	1st Motion Picture Unit, Signal Corps
Conflicts	World War II
therealstanlee.com

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber^[1] /ˈliːbər/; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics, which later became Marvel Comics. He was Marvel's primary creative leader for two decades, expanding it from a small publishing house division to a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics and film industries.

In collaboration with others at Marvel—particularly co-plotters and artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko—he co-created iconic characters, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Ant-Man, the Wasp, the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, the Scarlet Witch, and Black Widow. These and other characters' introductions in the 1960s pioneered a more naturalistic approach in superhero comics. In the 1970s, Lee challenged the restrictions of the Comics Code Authority, indirectly leading to changes in its policies. In the 1980s, he pursued the development of Marvel properties in other media, with mixed results.

Following his retirement from Marvel in the 1990s, Lee remained a public figurehead for the company. He frequently made cameo appearances in films and television shows based on Marvel properties, on which he received an executive producer credit, which allowed him to become the actor with the highest-grossing film total ever.^[2] He continued independent creative ventures until his death, aged 95, in 2018. Lee was inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995. He received the NEA's National Medal of Arts in 2008.