Intended to be a throwaway creation to end a dying title, writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko had no idea what he had created the day Spider-Man was born. Enraged at his uncle’s murder, Spider-Man finds the burglar, defeats him, and then learns the murder was the same man he saw earlier that day. He had ignored the opportunity he had to stop him. Thus, the burger remained free to kill Spider-Man’s uncle. The high morals that propelled Spider-Man into a life of heroics made him identifiable to his readers and an instant success. Since, Spider-Man has grown to be one of the most popular comic characters ever with blockbuster movies and top selling comics. The imitations followed with teen heroes finding a place on the news racks after Spider-Man stuck himself on them.
Being a teenager’s tough, but being a super-powered mutant sucks even more. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the strangest super-heroes of all time in 1963, a group a genetic freaks just trying to make their way in the world. The X-Men challenged racism and feelings of social alienation, making it captivating reading for geeks who no one loves. It took almost a decade, though, for the X-Men to conquer the comic book world. After barely escaping cancellation, Len Wein and Dave Cockrum launched the all-new, all-different X-Men in 1975 with a multicultural team. Chris Claremont took over the series for almost two decades, building the X-Men into one of the largest comic book franchises, penning the team’s greatest stories and defining its greatest characters.
7. The Hulk as security guard with Lou Ferrigno
Like a glasses wearing, nerdier version of Alfred Hitchcock, Stan Lee makes a cameo in almost every Marvel Comic movie. The famed co-creator of just about everything Marvel finds a few seconds of screen time in most of Marvel’s big movies, starting with the 1989 TV movie, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk. Stan Lee’s appearances are a fun Easter Egg for comic fans who recognize him instantly, whether he’s being rescued by a young Daredevil or acting as the Fantastic Four’s mailman, Willie Lumpkin, the only named character Stan Lee has portrayed that he also co-created.
In 1960, DC Comics realized if you add popular characters together, they equal a more popular comic book. With all new versions of their staple characters like the Flash and Green Lantern, DC Comics decided to join them with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman for the juggernaut of all super-teams. Gardner Fox wrote the Justice League of America and their adventures fending off foes that each hero couldn’t handle on their own. The result was a massive success leading DC’s publisher Jack Liebowitz to brag to the Martin Goodman, the publisher of Marvel Comics. Goodman then charged write and editor Stan Lee to create Marvel’s own super-team. And well, 
When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the Fantastic Four to a new generation of super hero fans, they thought the team would be their swan song. Why else would Stan Lee make such weird characters. Mr. Fantastic spoke with such big words. The Thing was a right from classic literature. And Invisible Girl certainly didn’t know her proper place as a woman. But the Fantastic Four turned out to be a revolutionary success - a fantastic display of what real people might be like if they became superheroes. They had no secret identities, fought with each other, and couldn’t hold on to money for more than an issue. Their pain made for amazing comic books unlike anything before ushering in the Marvel Age of awesome comics.
