Stan Lee, the man who invented Spider-Man

Superhuman speed … jaw-dropping agility … genius-level intellect … and, of course, those unique spidey-senses …

There's no doubt that Spider-Man is one of the best superheroes ever created. And that this definitely isn't him.

The person we have to thank for Spider-Man's existence is this guy: American comic-book writer, editor and publisher Stan Lee. And Spider-Man's not the only hero Stan brought to life. Not by a long shot. He's also responsible for the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, the Fantastic Four … the list goes on. 

Back in the 1930s and 40s, when these iconic characters were nothing more than a twinkle in young Stan's eye, it wasn't the big screens that captivated superhero fans. No, it was the golden age of comic books. 

In 1939, Stan began his career as an assistant with a very small publisher called Timely Comics. But it wasn't until the 60s that he first put his biggest creations to paper. By then, the little publisher had rebranded. And you might recognise the name it went with. 

In the 60s, Marvel characters were brought to life as live action and animated heroes in movies and on TV screens.  

Today, it's a multimedia giant owned by Disney and it's worth billions of dollars …

… pumping out slickly produced blockbusters full of recognisable faces. And – fun fact – as many Marvel fans will already know, over the years, Stan snuck short cameo appearances into dozens of Marvel movies. A game of hide-and-seek that never failed to excite his fans. 

Those fans say it's really sad to say bye to Stan. 

Fan: He's kind of the one who taught me to read a little bit, you know? He's like, one of the greatest of all times. The father of comic books. 

Fan: He was 95 but to us he's a superhero. Could live as long as he wanted to. 

As do the celebs who have been lucky enough to play his characters on the big screen. 

Ioan Gruffudd: He was incredibly kind and generous and the most enthusiastic person that I've ever met on set.

And you guys told us he meant a lot to you as well. 

Fan: It was pretty sad to hear he'd died, especially seeing, um, mainly because he was the original creator.  

Fan: Stan Lee was a very successful man. He created a big franchise that made billions and billions of dollars. And it's been able to connect with me and heaps of other children. 

Critics say what always sets Stan's superheroes apart was that they're not perfect. They're all flawed and have real-life problems their powers can't solve. 

I guess you could say Stan's superpower was showing us, through his characters, that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. 

Spider-Man: Oh, help! Help! Anyone? Help!

Well, most people.

© ABC