Stan Lee Dies at 95

Stan Lee, the co-creator of Marvel Comics, is dead at 95, Lee's daughter tells TMZ. The gossip site reports an ambulance was called to Lee's Hollywood Hills home early Monday and he died at a nearby medical center. His cause of death is not yet clear, but TMZ notes that he's been sick several times over the past year, including with pneumonia. Condolences were pouring out on Twitter for Lee, who created such iconic characters as Spider-Man, Black Panther, Iron Man, and the Avengers. "My father loved all of his fans. He was the greatest, most decent man," his daughter tells TMZ. Celebrities who've played Marvel characters were mourning Lee too; Hugh Jackman, aka Wolverine, tweeted that the world lost a "pioneering force in the superhero universe" while Chris Evans, aka Captain America, noted, "There will never be another Stan Lee."

Lee started working in comics in 1939, first as a gofer at Marvel predecessor Timely Comics. He ultimately rose to editor, and Marvel ultimately became the No. 1 comic book publisher in the world—not to mention its eventual forays into TV and movies. Starting in the 1960s, Lee's comic book characters started to diverge from their DC Comics counterparts: Rather than featuring perfect superheroes, Lee imbued his with all-too-human issues. (See, for example, the love troubles experienced by Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man.) And starting in the 1970s, Lee included such serious topics in his comics as drug abuse. The Hollywood Reporter adds that his last few years have been "tumultuous" and included the death of his wife in 2017, a number of lawsuits filed by him, and reports of elder abuse against him. (The Marvel Universe lost another icon in July.)