Stan Lee was a beloved man that did something no one else could.  He was able to connect with four generations by introducing them to superheros they could relate to.  True, they all had some sort of power, but Stan Lee humanized them in a way that resonated with fans from all walks of life.  Spiderman was a boy that was a nerd, too shy to ask the girl next door out.  The Hulk had to either be the big strong dumb man or the small, timid, smart guy… never both.  Often his heroes battled themselves as much as the villain.

Stan Lee was an icon, but in the last year had spent much of his time in and out of legal battles and conspiracy theories.  Stan Lee fired multiple lawyers, accountants, and advisers over the past few years.  After his wife’s death there were many accounts of infighting among his daughter, household staff, and his then current business advisers.

In February of this year he filed a police report declaring that three men, a lawyer, a memorabilia dealer, and even one of his caretaker’s, had entered relationships with his daughter in order to gain control of his assets, property, and bank accounts.  Stan Lee later withdrew the report, but the accused were dismissed from his staff.  By April he was quoted by the New York Times saying, “my daughter has been a great help to me”, and there are rumors that he was developing a new superhero along side her.

In the past few months he has stated many times about the financial and adviser mistakes that he has made over the years.  From his biggest mistake of taking a 10 Million lump sum payment for all of the marvel universe movies, to his often to trusting nature that ended up with a 1 million theft of his private accounts, Stan Lee seemed to echo some of his creations in becoming his own worst enemy.  He has spent the past 7 months turning over much of his wealth to his daughter.  It is unknown at this time if he was able to trust an adviser in that time enough to put his estate into a trust and allowing the trust to distribute funds. I’m sure we will find out more about his last days and what, if any, plans he made towards his estate.