Stan Lee’s contribution to Marvel Comics has been extraordinarily regarded. He is seen as a legend who created an entire roster of heroes who children and adults both look up to. Superheroes are currently dominating the world of entertainment. Whether it is the theatres or television, superheroes have become their own genre. A big thanks for that goes to Lee.
A new series just released on Disney+ which looked into the creator’s life and how he felt after having given so many characters life. However, that does not mean he did not face any difficulties or have any regrets. Even if he had a lot to contribute, it was the fact that he was not giving him back enough.
Stan Lee Wanted Rights To His Characters
Stan Lee is amongst the many writers and creators who have used their mesmerizing imagination to create all the characters the audiences love so much. Be it Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Hulk, or the X-Men, quite a few of them came from one mind alone and that was none other than Lee’s. However, it is obvious that when the creative juices flow, not everything can be thought directly or seen clearly. So even he could not think of an idea he regretted later.
“I always resented the fact that when I wrote these stories, I never thought, ‘Gee, I ought to try and copyright something myself and own it.’ It always belonged to the company,” he added. “So, from a business point of view, that was a mistake. I was heartbroken. There wasn’t much I could do about it.”
Copyrighting one’s work can be very beneficial. One unrelated yet accurate example of that would be Taylor Swift re-recording and then releasing all her old albums under her name. Lee spoke about how he never thought about trying and copyrighting some of the stories and characters he created. Instead, they were all under Marvel’s name.
Stan Lee Was Not Happy When Marvel Was Sold
Stan Lee worked with Marvel for the majority of his life and currently, the Marvel Cinematic Universe sits at a total of $7.7 Billion. While he is regarded as the father of many superheroes, he does not individually own their rights. All of those are with Marvel Comics. He was someone who had dedicated his entire life to making the best heroes, having fans left and right geek out over who might be the strongest or the best.
“One of the owners of the new company said, ‘Stan, don’t worry, you’re going to be better than ever,'” Lee continued. “And he was gonna give everyone new contracts. So the new contract I was offered was, instead of a lifetime contract, a two-year contract, which made me very unhappy.”
When the company had new owners, things became very different for Lee. Having worked with the company for his entire life, he expected some good returns. However, he was instead offered a two-year contract. It was not something that made him very unhappy. Although, he was later offered an honorary position. This was something that brought him joy. They settled by making him Chairman Emeritus.
Stan Lee is now streaming on Disney+.
Source: Stan Lee
