Commentary: Stan Lee vs. Stan Lee Media

August 19, 2008 In a twist worthy of an "Incredible Hulk" serial, 85-year-old fanboy legend Stan Lee is escalating his battle against the shareholders of Stan Lee Media, the company he co-founded with an unsavory character and has spent the better part of a decade trying to escape. In an amended complaint filed quietly this week, Lee, the forefather of Iron Man and X-Men, claims the eponymous company has hijacked his name and image and is thwarting his effort to develop such new properties as "The Accuser," "The Drifter," "Stan's Evil Clone" and others via his first-look deals with Disney and Virgin Comics. Lee is asking for more than $50 million on his various claims -- a massive sum, sure, but a pittance compared with the billions his former company thinks it is owed by Marvel Entertainment.

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