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The Amazing Life of Stan Lee.
In these words, we see historys best-known comics creator in full spectrum.
There is the fictional universe he co-created, a cornucopia of concepts that eventually reshaped the entire entertainment economy.
And then, it gets complicated.
Did he know why his greatest collaborators hated him?
Did he understand his mixed reputation among comics historians and journalists?
When he looked in the mirror in his final days, what did he see?
His biggest worries were legal, familial, and above all financial.
Ever since the death of his beloved wife Joan in 2017, Lees life had spiraled into disrepair.
Then things got worse.
Lee was not going out in quietude and peace.
That messiness was too much for even Lees detractors to publicly revel in.
But that doesnt mean they forgave him.
Lee was a writer on the comics that made him a household name but he wasnt the only one.
Later in life, he caved and started referring to writer/artists likeSteve DitkoandJack Kirbyas co-creators.
There are thus those who argue that he deserves none of the credit.
Lees words sparkled even more in the letters columns and promotional backmatter of those Marvel classics.
There, he would perform another great trick, which was stoking the fires of fandom.
Its hard to explain how nutso people went over those disarmingly informal interactions.
Ditko and Kirby were unbelievable writer/artists, but neither of them had anything even resembling Lees deftness with hype.
We can also credit him with the innovation of the shared universe.
These days, such shared universes are what every studio in Hollywood is attempting to create.
But even those movies were, in a way, cold comfort for the late Lee.
He got to make cameos in the pictures, but he never actually had any creative input on them.
It was never totally clear why he needed to still be hustling at that advanced age.
But theres a slightly more hopeful one, too: Maybe he just didnt want to stop working.
Lee was a child of the Great Depression.
Needed is a complicated word in this context.
In his final days, did people need odd, fizzled forays likeStan Lees Mighty 7orStan Lees Hero Command?
But did we still need Stan Lee?
He was a link to the earliest days of the American comic book.
He remained one of the best showmen in the culture industry.
His legacy will have asterisks, yes, but he gave more than he took.
