Stanley Martin Liebe was born in New York City in December 28, 1922. Born during the Great Depression, Stan and his younger brother, Larry, watched as their parents struggled to provide for the family. Lieber, who shortened his name to "Lee" upon becoming a writer, was hired as an office assistant at Timely Comics in 1939 and later became an interim editor for the company in the early 1940's. He also served domestically during World War II.
In the year 1961, Lee and arist Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four--a comic book series that follows four astronauts that suddenly gain new superpowers. This series made Marvel--formerly called Timely Comics, a new superpower in the comic book industry.
After working at Marvel for almost 60 years, Lee formed Stan Lee Media, an internet entertainment company revolving around his creations. Eventually he became chairman emeritus at Marvel. There are many films based on the Marvel comic book series and these movies were highly successful. X-Men (2000) and Spiderman (2002) launched cinematic franchises that earned billions in box office revenue. Lee often played cameo roles in his movies and became known for it.
In July 2017, Lee suffered the loss of his wife of almost 70 years, Joan. In January of 2018, he gave fans a scare due to being admitted to the hospital due to shortness of breath and an irregular heartbeat. He did not remain in the hospital and went back to his full schedule with the latest Marvel feature, Black Panther, soon to be released. Although things seemed to be going nicely for Lee, in April of 2018 a feature in The Hollywood Reporter painted a different side of the story. According to the article, Lee's daughter J.C. and others were engaged in a legal battle over care of Lee and the future of his estate. This incident pitted Lee against formerly trusted associates. Stan Lee died on November 12, 2018 in Los Angeles, California