Stan Lee (born
Stanley Martin Lieber, December 28, 1922) is an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, media producer, television host, actor and former president and chairman of
Marvel Comics. In collaboration with several artists, including
Jack Kirby and
Steve Ditko, he co-created
Spider-Man, the
Hulk, the
Fantastic Four,
Iron Man,
Thor, the
X-Men, and many other fictional
characters, introducing complex,
naturalistic characters and a thoroughly
shared universe into
superhero comic books. In addition, he headed the first major successful challenge to the industry's censorship organization, the
Comics Code Authority, and forced it to reform its policies. Lee subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large
multimedia corporation.