Though he is already no longer with us, Stan Lee, the driving mind behind Marvel Comics, is still among the most respected people in the entertainment sector. Still, his last years were marked by financial troubles, legal battles, and personal hardships. Jon Bolerjack directs a new documentary, Stan Lee: The Final Chapter, meant to expose the tragic truth of his last years.
An assistant to Lee and an important member of his inner circle, Bolerjack has filmed first-hand evidence of the difficulties Lee encountered. The film reveals how former business partners used the Marvel legend for financial gain in an unfair and dishonest way.
Insights the documentary offers
Few are familiar with the private hardships Lee suffered while fans keep honoring his memory. By revealing how he was exploited and how his great body of work in the comic book sector did not provide financial stability, the documentary brings to light these issues.
Viewers will get a taste of the battles of the Marvel legend in the first official trailer for Stan Lee: The Final Chapter, which has already been published.
A net worth of Stan Lee at the time of his passing
Notwithstanding the fact that he helped to create some of the most recognizable superheroes, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the X-Men, Lee’s net worth was calculated at $50 million upon his 2018 passing by IMDb and Celebrity Net Worth.
Lee fielded questions about his money from Marvel, particularly after the business was bought by Disney for $4 billion, in a March 2014 interview with Playboy. He was tellingly reacting:
“300M dollars I do not have!” I have no $150 million. I lack $100 million or anything close.
Questioned on whether he felt this was appropriate, particularly against George Lucas, worth $7.3 billion, Lee noted their different business models:
George Lucas did everything on his own. His ideas were born. He was the head of film production. He wrote and directed them and owned the resale rights. Everything was his. For me, I worked for the publisher. The publisher would go bankrupt if the books did not sell; a lot of publishers did.
Litigating profits
Had a legal issue in the early 2000s ended otherwise, Lee’s net worth could have been far greater. November 2002 saw him suing Marvel, alleging the company did not respect a contract pledging him 10 percent of all film and television projects based on his characters in profit.
Although a judge originally sided with Lee, the final settlement left him with a one-time payment of $10 million—small somewhat of what he could have made if he had kept a share in Marvel’s expanding business.
A Review of Lee’s Contributions
Notwithstanding all the financial and personal hardships he encountered, Stan Lee’s influence is still peerless. Inspiring generations of artists and followers, his works in films and comics help to define pop culture.
“Viewers of Stan Lee: The Final Chapter will see behind the scenes of the fight behind the success, thereby uncovering the unknown history of Marvel’s most iconic character,” claimed.
