Marvel: Stan Lee's lies revealed in this book

Last month, we revealed that Stan Lee was jealous of not having had this role in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. And speaking of the famous screenwriter of the House of Ideas, a new book about him was recently announced, returning to a dark side of the one who was known under the nickname “Stan the Man”.

A new book on the dark side of Stan Lee

On the occasion of its 85th anniversary, Marvel has published various tribute videos, looking back on the evolution of the franchise, which is probably the best-known superhero license in the four corners of the globe today. And when we think of Marvel, the less young will then think of comics. And when we say comics, we necessarily say Stan Lee, who has become a true standard-bearer of the Marvel universe.

As such, the American screenwriter also served as a producer on many films. He has also had cameos in most of the Marvel film adaptations as a tribute, whether in the X-Men filmsFox, but also in Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and of course in all the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films, until his death in 2018.

But if Stan The Man remains an emblematic figure of the Marvel franchise that rocked an entire generation, he was only a man, with his flaws and his faults. And among the main criticisms that could be attributed to him during his life, we find in particular his tendency to want to take sole credit for Marvel Comics, even if it means excluding some of his collaborators, in particular Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. This had already been addressed in the biography True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee by Abraham Riesman released in 2021.

And more recently, another book has sought to shed light on another dark side of the writer, namely that he was often prone to exaggeration, leading him to stray too far from reality. That's why, as reported by Bleeding Cool, author Chaz Gower has published a new book called Stan Lee Lied: Your Handy Guide to Every Lie in The Origins of Marvel Comics. Here's his synopsis:

In 1974, Stan Lee published 'Origins of Marvel Comics', in which he claimed credit for creating some of the greatest superheroes in comic book history. For 50 years, the lies and inaccuracies in the book were overlooked, if not ignored, by the mainstream media and many journalists who specialize in the field.

For the first time, a thorough examination reveals just how inaccurate Lee's story is, verified by modern means of newsgathering and interviews with people who were around at the time.

Stan Lee lied. A LOT.

And that's a fact.

In this book, Gower returns to the book Origins Of Marvel Comicswhich celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and aims to refute as many of the claims contained therein as possible. It should be noted that Gower's book is deliberately impartial, being conceived as a kind of incriminating dossier against Stan The Man.

The author's goal here is not only to show that Stan Lee lied on multiple occasions, but that he did so for a specific purpose, namely to promote himself by increasing the role he may have had in the development of Marvel Comics. He believes that all of his lies were used to construct a story in which he would have the leading role, in order to take advantage of this reputation.

And to continue on the same theme, here is a selection of iconic characters from the Marvel universe who were not created by Stan Lee.