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It is with a profoundly sad heart that we hear the news that legendary comic book creator and personality, Stanley Lieber, also known to the millions of comic book fans world wide as Stan Lee has passed away at the age of 95.

Stan was responsible for helping to create some of the most iconic characters in comics that we know. Spider-man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, The Fantastic Four and a whole host of other. Partnering with great artists like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita and more, he helped to build a entertainment empire that started small and humble and is now one of the most profitable in the world. All while never getting royalties for those works, as back then, creators did not receive any ownership of those works.

After many years as a writer and editor at Marvel, Stan left to create his own media company caled POW Entertainment and created new characters and stories, while not as popular as those he made while at Marvel Comics, still did very well, showing that he hadn’t lost his touch over the years.

Stan became an even cultural star when Marvel began creating movies starting with Iron Man in 2008, and Stan making his cameo in the movie as Hugh Hefner. With the sucess of Iron Man and the subsequent releases of the following movies, Stan’s cameos became a staple for them, much like John Ratzenberger in all the Pixar movies. It even spawned a fan theory that Stan was an eternal because of all his various apperances, which ended up being made into a scene in the Guaridian’s of The Galaxy Vol. 2 movie.

Stan was also a veteran of World War II, having the official US Army title of Playwright. The day of his passing being Veteran’s Day here in the United State, it’s fitting that he should be doubly honored for the work he has done through out his life. We here at X1, will miss not seeing Stan in the movies, but will be content knowing he lived a very fulfilling life, even with the family and personal strife that found him these last few years. We also hope he rests easy knowing, that he has made a mark on the world ensuring him immortality, like the character he played in his cameos. We send out deepest condolences to the family and the rest of the fans as we mourn his passing.