Stan Lee: The Godfather of Marvel Comics

**Stan Lee: The Godfather of Marvel Comics**

Stan Lee spent most of his career as the writer, director, editor, and producer of Marvel Comics. He created some of the world’s most popular comic book characters, like Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Hulk, and the rest of The Avengers. What started out as the creative ideas of a teenage boy evolved into one of the most profitable movie franchises in history. Today on Biographics, we’re going to talk about the legendary life of Stan Lee.

**Early Life**

On December 28, 1922, Stanley Martin Lieber was born in New York City. His parents, Jack and Celia, were Romanian Jewish immigrants who sought a better life in the United States. His father was a tailor but was laid off during the Great Depression, leading to constant struggles to make rent. They could only afford a one-bedroom apartment and did their best to provide for their son. His parents slept on the couch to allow him to have a real bed. Most of Stan Lee’s memories of his father involve seeing him at the kitchen table, flipping through want ads in the newspaper, trying to find a new job. These jobs usually didn’t last long. Eventually, his father found steady work, and their lives improved, at least a little.

When he was 9 years old, his mother gave birth to his younger brother, Larry. That same year, he received a bicycle for Christmas, which he rode all over New York City, spending little time at home getting to know his brother. Since his parents struggled financially, they encouraged Stan to get good grades for a brighter future and to find part-time jobs as soon as possible. He took this seriously, even skipping a few grades to graduate from high school sooner. He attended an all-boys school and, being smaller and younger than his classmates, struggled to make friends. He often daydreamed about his favorite movies and always had his nose in a book.

As soon as he was old enough to work, he got his first job at a garment factory. A year later, he became an usher at a movie theater called The Rivoli, where he loved being able to see as many movies as he wanted for free. This job helped relieve his parents’ financial stress, and he began to pay for his own expenses, allowing his parents to focus more on Larry. Even at a young age, his parents and teachers recognized that he would grow up to be someone special. Stan imagined he would be involved in the movie business as either an actor or a screenwriter. His favorite movie growing up was the 1935 film *Captain Blood*, which featured swashbuckling pirate adventures. He loved the elaborate fight scenes and often imagined becoming the hero of those films.

At 15, Stan entered a writing contest for the New York Herald Tribune and won. The editor encouraged him to pursue writing as a full-time career. Since he graduated high school early, he got a job writing obituaries for a newspaper, but found it boring and morbid, so he sought other writing opportunities. At 16, he got a job at Timely Comics, assisting head artist Jack Kirby and head writer and editor Joe Simon. The overarching publishing company primarily made income from pulp fiction, with comics being an afterthought. Initially, Stan was hired to make coffee, erase pencil marks on Kirby’s drawings, and perform various errands, earning only $8 per week (equivalent to about $141.60 today).

Timely Comics followed the trends of the time, with DC Comics as their main competitor featuring Superman. The characters they created were often recycled ideas. At this point, Kirby and Simon had already invented superheroes like The Human Torch and Captain America. Eager to move beyond making coffee, Stan pitched a story for a Captain America script after the third issue was published. They liked his ideas and agreed to use them in the following issue. This is when he adopted the pen name Stan Lee, a shortened version of his first name, Stanley. He hoped to eventually become a novelist under his real name, Stanley Martin Lieber.

By 18, Stan Lee had been working at Timely Comics for two years, assisting Kirby and Simon with various duties. When Kirby and Simon had a financial dispute with Marvel Comics’ publisher, Martin Goodman, they decided to quit. Stan was the only one left, and his boss asked if he would be willing to step into the roles of head writer, editor, and art director. This was meant to be a temporary fix while Goodman searched for an experienced replacement, but Stan excelled in these roles. He focused mainly on producing Captain America comics, as the comic book industry was booming during World War II, with people seeking escapism through stories of heroes.

Jack Kirby and Joe Simon had established a theme of Captain America facing Adolf Hitler, and Stan Lee continued this legacy, acting out his fantasies of combat overseas. Inspired by Captain America, Stan enlisted in the army, feeling that he couldn’t live with himself as a civilian while others fought. However, he was assigned the role of “playwright,” writing scripts for training films and public service announcements shown to soldiers. This role was significant, and many army playwrights went on to have successful careers, including Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss.

At 23, Stan Lee was discharged from the army and returned to New York City, where Timely Comics had become Marvel Comics.

**Personal Life**

Upon returning to New York City, Stan began dating and attending parties. Despite the popularity of Captain America among children, adults looked down on comic books, making him embarrassed to share his profession. Many women would walk away mid-conversation upon hearing he worked in comics. Throughout his life, Stan doodled pictures of the perfect girl he hoped to find. One night, he attended a party where he met a young woman named Joan Clayton, who resembled the girl he had always imagined. He blurted out, “Hello, I think I’m going to fall in love with you.” Joan laughed, finding his charm appealing, but she was married to someone else. Originally from England, she had moved to the U.S. with her husband to pursue a modeling and acting career. Once she met Stan, she knew it was time to finalize her divorce.

When Stan was 25, he and Joan got married. Instead of a fancy wedding or honeymoon, they used that money to move to Long Island, where they lived in a penthouse apartment. When Joan first got pregnant, she painted their entire house pink, hoping for a daughter. This wish came true with the birth of their daughter, Joan Jr., nicknamed “JC.” A couple of years later, they had a second daughter, Jan, who sadly passed away after just seven days in the hospital. This traumatic experience deeply affected Joan, leading her to not want more children. They attempted to adopt but faced numerous challenges due to their differing religious backgrounds—Stan being Jewish and Joan Episcopalian—resulting in many adoption agencies rejecting them. This difficult period opened Stan’s eyes to various societal issues, becoming a catalyst for his motivation to inspire others.

**Evolving Marvel Comics Into a Cultural Phenomenon**

At work, Stan Lee was incredibly dedicated to Marvel Comics. Their staff was referred to as “the bullpen,” as they produced one complete comic book every working day. He ensured that everyone on the team received credit with their names on the cover of each comic book, which was innovative at the time. He also nicknamed the group “The Merry Marvel Marching Society.” After establishing a leadership role, Stan convinced artist Jack Kirby to return to Marvel Comics, as Kirby’s artwork brought Stan’s ideas to life in a unique way. Although not an actor in the traditional sense, Stan was known for acting out character roles to explain his vision for storylines. Instead of providing a fully written script, he would give a general storyline and wanted everything to be overly dramatic, reminiscent of silent films. After the artwork was completed, Stan would fill in the dialogue, a process known as “The Marvel Method.”

In the 1950s, psychologist Frederic Wertham claimed that comic books and television were corrupting American youth. In 1954, the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency announced that comic books were dangerous, leading to the establishment of The Comics Code Authority, which imposed strict censorship rules on comic book content. Every new storyline had to be approved, and any mention of crime could result in rejection. This censorship severely impacted Marvel, forcing Stan to lay off almost all artists and discontinue many comics. He had to write bland stories aimed at young children for over a decade.

After 20 years in the comic book industry, Stan Lee faced a midlife crisis. Writing children’s stories for so long made him question his future in comics. He was already writing screenplays and newspaper articles on the side and considered leaving the comic book industry to write a novel. However, he had a family to support and couldn’t afford to walk away from a paycheck. After discussing it with his wife, Joan encouraged him to take a chance and write a comic for adults, even if it went against censorship rules. They agreed that if his publisher hated it, the worst that could happen was he would be fired, but he was ready to quit anyway.

This led to the creation of *The Fantastic Four*, characters who were multidimensional and faced real issues, unlike the one-dimensional superheroes of the time. The audience responded positively, and Marvel’s publisher couldn’t ignore the success, leading to more issues despite the lack of approval from the Comics Code Authority. Once Stan could express his ideas freely, he rediscovered his love for the industry, creating characters like Spider-Man, based on his teenage experiences. Each character was a reaction to the world around him; for example, The Hulk was a response to Cold War fears, Iron Man addressed concerns about the military-industrial complex, and the X-Men served as a commentary on tolerance for differences.

In 1966, Stan Lee created Black Panther, the world’s first black superhero, revolutionizing the industry. During an interview, he noted that the 1960s and 70s were some of the best years of his career. He toured universities across the U.S., where the children of the 1950s, who had been told comic books were corrupting, embraced them as they reached their teens and 20s. Young people looked up to Stan, and he gave lectures on story writing, gathering data on his fans to improve Marvel Comics storylines.

**From The Page to the Screen**

In the 1970s, Stan Lee became the head publisher of Marvel. He delegated script responsibilities to other writers and moved to California, opening new offices called Marvel Productions. He started cartoon TV series like *Iron Man* and *Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends*. In 1988, he became the head of Marvel Films and began producing feature-length movies, a successful business move that made Spider-Man a household name. However, not all projects were successful; Stan thought the CBS show *The Amazing Spider-Man* was poorly executed. He tried to provide creative direction, but CBS ignored his input, leading to the show’s cancellation after just a few episodes.

Hollywood studios struggled to see the potential of comic book stories for the big screen. Stan expressed frustration, saying, “We had these characters, and we knew how they should be portrayed, and there were people who wanted to do them. But nothing really gelled.” In 1997, comic book popularity dropped dramatically. While children still enjoyed Marvel animated series like *X-Men*, the company’s profits declined, leading Marvel Comics to file for bankruptcy. Fortunately, they retained the copyrights to their characters, which were immensely valuable.

During this uncertain time, Stan Lee was approached by investors to start a new company called Stan Lee Media, specializing in creating cartoons and comics for the internet. Launched in 1999, the venture was successful enough to hire over 200 staff members. Unfortunately, some executives were arrested for securities fraud, exploiting Stan Lee’s name and reputation for personal gain. To avoid the scandal, Stan started his own company, POW! Entertainment, creating popular characters like Stripperella, voiced by Pamela Anderson.

Eventually, Marvel regained its footing and kept Stan Lee under contract for his creative guidance on movies. After decades of dreaming of being on the big screen, Stan Lee finally appeared in Hollywood blockbusters, ensuring his contract included cameo roles in each new Marvel movie.

Stanley Martin Lieber passed away on November 12, 2018, at 95 years old. He lived every moment to the fullest with joy and enthusiasm. Even though he is gone, the legend of Stan Lee will live on forever as one of the most influential figures in comic book history.