Marvel Comics maverick Stan Lee has reportedly passed away at the age of 95 after a long battle with pneumonia.
The world of Marvel will never be the same after today, with Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee having passed away at 95.
TMZ and The Hollywood Reporter both have confirmations that the comic book giant passed away Monday morning, with TMZ reporting that Lee was rushed to the hospital from his Hollywood home.
Stan Lee’s legacy at Marvel Comics far surpassed the diehard fans who kept glued to the comics, television shows and movies. In the ’60s, Lee worked to revitalize and create many of Marvel’s characters, including the Fantastic Four (the most popular superhero group before the Avengers) and Spider-Man. The characters he created in the Marvel Comics Universe overall are countless, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe would take quite some time to include every single one of them into their films before they exhaust his work.
A celebrity in his own right, Lee most recently became a fan favorite for his numerous cameos in Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Lee found a way to appear as much as he could, and his entertaining cameos were almost as highly anticipated as Marvel’s end-credit scenes. Now, Marvel movies going forward will be missing a huge part of comic book history. It is unknown whether Lee will appear in cameos for the 2019 MCU movies Captain Marvel, Avengers 4 and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Marvel released an official statement and look back at Lee’s life shortly following his passing, writing:
"Today, Marvel Comics and The Walt Disney Company pause and reflect with great sadness on the passing of Marvel Chairman Emeritus, Stan Lee. With a heavy heart, we share our deepest condolences with his daughter and brother, and we honor and remember the creator, voice and champion of Marvel."
Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger, also released a statement, saying:
"Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created. A super hero in his own right to Marvel fans around the world, Stan had the power to inspire, to entertain, and to connect. The scale of his imagination was only exceeded by the size of his heart."
You can read Marvel’s entire touching tribute to Lee here.