The man who created a universe with comics: Who is Stan Lee?

Stan Lee, whose real name is Stanley Martin Lieber, was born on December 28, 1922, in New York, to a Jewish family of Romanian immigrants. When his childhood came to the difficult years of the Great Depression, he left school to support his family and started working at a young age. At the age of 17, he was hired as an office assistant at Timely Comics, a big step for his future career. In the early 1940s, Lee made his comic book debut and contributed to an issue of Captain America. We know the Timely Comics of those days as Marvel Comics these days. Let's also note that Stan Lee worked as a writer and illustrator in the army during World War II in the same years.

Stan Lee (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 would later become Marvel Comics. He was the primary creative leader for two decades, leading its expansion from a small division of a publishing house to a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics and film industries.

The 1940s were also important to Lee's personal life: he married Joan Boocock in 1947 and they remained together until Joan's death in 2017. They had two daughters from this marriage; Joan Celia “J C” Lee and Jan Lee. Unfortunately, Jan Lee died a few days after his birth.

His work at Marvel Comics was progressing to the same standard, until 1960. His bosses asked him for a comic that could compete with DC Comics' Justice League franchise. Thus, this rivalry between Marvel and DC was instrumental in the birth of the Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Four that Stan Lee created with Jack Kirby made such a big impression that Lee's career took off rapidly from that point on. Continuing to work with Kirby, he created today's popular superheroes such as Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and the X-Men.

A sort of savior of Marvel, Lee took the position of editor in 1972, and in 1981 he was given the direction of adapting the comics to TV and cinema. Spider-Man by Sam Raimi, produced by Sony Pictures, was released in 2002 and was the first strong representation of Marvel comics in cinema. In 2008, Marvel began to establish its own cinematic universe with the movie Iron Man. The movie was so loved that new movies and new heroes continued to be added to the universe before long. As of now, there are 25 movies released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and 13 of them are on the way. In addition to being a part of films as a creator and producer, Stan Lee has multiplied his popularity with small roles in each of them. It's so heartbreaking for many of us that we won't be able to see him in new movies. The popularity that came with the great power perhaps also brought great responsibility, and Lee used this visibility to get the comic book creators the pay they deserve.

Stan Lee continued to produce and create independently of Marvel as well. He founded POW Entertainment in 2001 and published his autobiography the following year. In 2010, he created a History Channel series called Stan Lee's Superhumans. In the following periods, he wrote comics such as Romeo and Juliet: The War and Zodiac with Stuart Moore. This hardworking writer was reportedly working on a new character called Dirt Man before he died at the age of 96, but unfortunately, these works were left unfinished.

Alongside all his achievements, unfortunately, there are also tragic allegations about Stan Lee's life. In 2019, Lee's manager, Keya Morgan, was arrested for manipulating and abusing Lee but was later found not guilty. In Abraham Riesman's book The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee, it is said that Lee's daughter, Joan Celia Lee, exploited the author with her endless desires, and even inflicted violence on him.

Regardless, Stan Lee has earned himself an unforgettable place in this world with his works that add color to the lives of generations and inspire them. The Marvel universe he created continues to grow day by day and is getting even more exciting for fans. Although we feel the absence of Lee, who reminds us at every opportunity of the value of dreaming and being able to tell a good story, as he says, we see and remember him in "every good man" he creates.

Some facts about Stan Lee:

• He actually wrote obituaries before he started working at Marvel.
• He took his first step into the world of comics with Captain America.
• Stan Lee got his name later.
• Influenced by many important writers such as Mark Twain.
• Had to appear in Marvel movies.
• Became a "playwright" in the army.
• He was awarded the National Medal of Arts for his comic book writing, which was long despised by the public.
• He has a comic book convention he founded and is still operating.
• He also had a charitable side.
• He designed the Iron Man character so that no one would actually like it.
• He didn't want a Spider-Man of different ethnicity.
• He didn't talk much about his partners with whom he had achieved success.
• Didn't get a penny from Marvel's sale to Disney.