Lee was born Stanley Martin Lieber on Dec. 28, 1922, in New York City to immigrant parents from Romania. He was raised in the Bronx and attended DeWitt Clinton High School, where he studied Shakespeare in hopes of becoming a writer.

Later, Lee was hired at Timely Publications where he worked his way up from an office gofer to an editor. He met future business partner Jack Kirby while at Timely.

Lee then moved to Marvel, where he became executive vice president and publisher of Marvel Comics in the '70s.

In 2001, Lee co-founded POW! Entertainment, a media production company in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Lee helped create a number of comic book franchises as Spider-Man, Black Panther, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, Iron Man and The Avengers.

Lee, who had a signature look of big sunglasses and styled grey hair, made frequent cameos in film and TV adaptations of comics in the Marvel Universe.

In 2017, Lee was named a Disney Legend, its hall of fame program that recognizes individuals who have made huge contributions to The Walt Disney Company.