
He was born Stanley Martin Lieber on Dec. 28, 1922, in Manhattan, the older of two sons born to Jack Lieber, an occasionally employed dress cutter, and Celia (Solomon) Lieber, both immigrants from Romania. The family moved to the Bronx.
Lee, who began his career as a comic book writer in 1939, helped launch the Marvel Universe in 1961 and co-created the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, The Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, the original X-Men and many other immortal icons. Lee’s Marvel creations are credited with advancing the art form of comics, by introducing heroes with real world flaws and problems. His style of crafting comics was also innovative, with him penning a story outline, which artists like jack Kirby and Steve Ditko would then drawn, with Lee (and later others) going back and filling in the dialogue.
Fans have been delighted by his frequent cameo appearances in various movies and TV series based on Marvel characters. Ironically, his last film appearance was in the animated DC Comics movie ‘Teen Titans GO! To the Movies’. Reportedly, he has filmed additional cameos to be inserted into future films. He also recorded a part for the Disney XD series ‘Avengers Assemble: Black Panther’s Quest’. Prior to his film cameos, Lee often narrated animated Marvel television shows like ‘Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends’ and ‘The Incredible Hulk’.
Lee is survived by his daughter Joan Celia “J.C.” Lee as well as a younger brother Larry Lieber, who also worked for Marvel. His wife, Joan, passed away in 2017.