Stanley Martin Lieber, better known as Stan Lee was born today in 1922. Stan co-created many of today’s multi-media icons including, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, Thor, the X-Men, and many more.
With the help of his uncle Robbie Solomon, Stan became an assistant in 1939 at Martin Goodman’s Timely Comics, Timely would eventual change their name to Marvel Comics. Stan’s cousin Jean was Martin Goodman’s wife, so it wasn’t that hard to convince Martin to hire Stan. Martin Goodman preferred to hire relatives as a general rule.
Stan’s duties included refilling artist inkwells, picking up lunch for the staff, proofreading, and erasing the pencils from the finished comicbook pages. Stanley Lieber made his comic-book debut with the text filler “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge” in Captain America Comics #3 (May 1941), using the pseudonym Stan Lee, because he intended to save his given name for more literary work.
When Joe Simon and Jack Kirby left Timely Comics in 1941, in a dispute with Goodman over royalty payments on Captain America, Stan was named, interim editor, where he showed a knack for the business that led to him becoming the editor-in-chief, and art director, until 1972, when he would succeed Goodman as publisher.
At the dawn of the Silver-Age Stan Lee would created the multi-billion dollar empire that Marvel Comics would become; first working with Jacob Kurtzberg, who drew under the pen name Jack Kirby, created the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, and the X-Men; with Bill Everett he co-crated Daredevil; and with Steve Ditko, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby gathered several of the characters they created together into the team The Avengers.
Below is a more complete list of the comic characters Stan Lee has added to the Modern Mythology of comics…
A
Abomination
Absorbing Man
Acrobat
Actor
Adria
Aged Genghis
Agent X (Jim Burley)
Agon
Air-Walker
Liz Allan
Amphibion
Ancient One
Anelle
Angel (Warren Worthington III)
Annihilus
Ant-Man
Ape-Man
Ares
Asbestos Man
Athena
Attuma
Avengers
Awesome Android
B
Balder
Batroc the Leaper
Beast
Beetle
Bird-Man
Black Bolt
Black Knight (Nathan Garrett)
Black Knight (Sir Percy)
Black Panther (T’Chaka)
Black Widow (Natasha Romanova)
Blastaar
Blizzard
Blob
Bluebird
Boomerang
Bor
Betty Brant
Brotherhood of Mutants
Burglar
C
Captain Marvel (Kree)
Peggy Carter
Sharon Carter
Cat-Man
Chameleon
Circus of Crime
Clea
Clown
Cobra
Izzy Cohen
Collector
Crime Master
Crimson Dynamo
Crystal
Cyclops
Cyttorak
D
Daredevil
Death-Stalker
Destroyer
Diablo
Dionysus
Doctor Strange
Doctor Doom
Dormammu
Dorrek VII
Dragon Man
Dredmund the Druid
Doctor Druid
Dum Dum Dugan
E
Eel
Egghead
Ego the Living Planet
Electro
Elektro
Enchantress
Enclave
Enforcers
Eternity
Executioner
F
Fafnir
Falcon
Fancy Dan
Fandral
Fantastic Four
Farley Stillwell
Doctor Faustus
Fenris Wolf
Fin Fang Foom
Richard Fisk
Vanessa Fisk
Fixer
Forbush Man
Bill Foster
Jane Foster
Frederick Foswell
Frankenstein’s Monster
Freak
Frigga
Frightful Four
Frog-Man
Nick Fury
G
Galactus
Galaxy Master
Mac Gargan
Gargoyle
Giant-Man
Gibbon
Gladiator (Melvin Potter)
Googam
Goom
Gorgilla
Gorgon
The Governator
Great Gambonnos
Gregory Gideon
Grey Gargoyle
Jean Grey
Dr. John Grey
Grizzly
Groot
Growing Man
The Guardian Project
H
H.E.R.B.I.E.
Agatha Harkness
Hate-Monger
Hawkeye
Heimdall
Hela
Hera
Hercules
Hermes
High Evolutionary
Hippolyta
Happy Hogan
Hogun
Hulk
Human Cannonball
Human Torch
I
Iceman
Idunn
Immortus
Impossible Man
Inhumans
Invisible Woman
Iron Man
J
Jack Frost
Jack Murdock
Jackal
J. Jonah Jameson
John Jameson
Edwin Jarvis
Abner Jenkins
Jester
Gabe Jones
Rick Jones
Erik Josten
Juggernaut
Junior Juniper
K
Ka-Zar
Kala
Kaluu
Kang the Conqueror
Kangaroo
Karnak
Karnilla
Master Khan
Kid Colt
Kingpin
Klaw
Eric Koenig
Krang
Kraven the Hunter
Kree
L
Laufey
Leader
Leap-Frog
Ned Leeds
Living Brain
Living Laser
Living Tribunal
Lizard
Lockjaw
Loki
Looter
Lucifer
Willie Lumpkin
M
Machinesmith
Mad Thinker
Madame Masque
Magneto
Maha Yogi
Man Mountain Marko
Man-Beast
Man-Thing
Mandarin
Dino Manelli
M
Mangog
Marvel Boy (Robert Grayson)
Masked Marauder
Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde)
Alicia Masters
Matador
Maximus
Aunt May
Medusa
Melter
Mentallo
Mephisto
Merlin
Metal Master
Midgard Serpent
Millie the Model
Mimic
Mindless Ones
Miracle Man
Mister Fantastic
Mister Fear
Mister Hyde
MODOK
Mole Man
Molecule Man
Molten Man
Monsteroso
Montana
Baron Mordo
Mordred
Morgan le Fay
Morrat
Mother Night
Mysterio
N
Count Nefaria
Foggy Nelson
Nightmare
O
Doctor Octopus
Odin
Olympians
Harry Osborn
Norman Osborn
Overmind
Owl
Ox
P
Karen Page
Painter
Richard and Mary Parker
Pinky Pinkerton
Plantman
Plunderer
Pluto
Porcupine
Pepper Potts
Princess Python
Prowler
Psycho-Man
Punisher
Puppet Master
Purple Man
Hank Pym
Q
Quasimodo
Quicksilver
R
Radioactive Man
Rebel Ralston
Rattler
Ravage 2099
Ravonna
Rawhide Kid
Red Barbarian
Red Ghost
Redwing
Rhino
Franklin Richards
Ringmaster
Randy Robertson
Robbie Robertson
Ronan the Accuser
Betty Ross
Thunderbolt Ross
S
Sandman
Happy Sam Sawyer
Scarecrow
Scarlet Witch
Scorpion
Seeker
Sentinel
Sentry
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Shalla-Bal
She-Hulk
Shocker
Sif
Silver Surfer
Silvermane
Sinister Six
Jasper Sitwell
Skrull
Sleeper
Spencer Smythe
Space Phantom
Spider-Man
Spider-Slayer
Spymaster
George Stacy
Gwen Stacy
Stilt-Man
Franklin Storm
Stranger
Stripperella
Mendel Stromm
Strongman
Baron Strucker
Super-Adaptoid
Super-Skrull
Supreme Intelligence
Surtur
Swordsman
T
Glenn Talbot
Thing
Flash Thompson
Thor
Tiboro
Tigra
Tinkerer
Titanium Man
Toad
Trapster
Bolivar Trask
Triton
Tumbler
Two-Gun Kid
Tyr
Tyrannus
U
Uatu
Ulik
Ultimo
Uncle Ben
Unicorn
Unus the Untouchable
V
Vanisher
Vision
Voice
Volla
Volstagg
Vulture
W
Walking Stiletto
Adam Warlock
Warriors Three
Wasp
Watcher
Mary Jane Watson
Whiplash
Whirlwind
Wyatt Wingfoot
Witness
Wizard
Wonder Man
Wong
Wong-Chu
Wrecker
X
X-Men
Professor X
Xemu
Y
Yancy Street Gang
Yeti
Ho Yinsen
Ymir
Yon-Rogg
Z
Zabu
Zarrko
Baron Zemo
Helmut Zemo
Zeus
Zom
Zombie
Thank you Stan for all the joy your creations bring to us all, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!