Stan Lee Sues Stan Lee

Posted by Josh Radde (josh@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 28, 2009

This Crazy Old Man is Suing Himself

Stan Lee Media, a company that went bankrupt in 2006 is suing Marvel, Isaac Perlmutter, Avi Arad, and Stan Lee for a share of the profits earned by Stan Lee’s properties, notably Spider-Man, X-Men, and Iron Man. According to Coming Soon, the company is suing for the amount of $750 million. So if that sounds like Stan Lee is suing himself, that assumption is both right and wrong.

Stan Lee Media was founded by Lee in 1998 (known then as Stan Lee Entertainment, which was then merged with the Delaware-based Stan Lee Media). Through their website, Lee created 7th Portal, a series of new superheroes whose webisodes showcased the best in the then-relatively-new flash animation. The website went under when the “Internet bubble” burst in 2000 and went into bankruptcy. The characters created in 7th Portal and other series like The Drifter and The Accuser were moved to POW! Entertainment.

Flash forward to this Monday. Four shareholders from different areas of the United States and Canada are suing because “profits from Lee’s comic creations belong to the company,” even though Lee already gets a cut from movies that bear his creations. Marvel has infringed upon “copyright interests” and SLM is “due profits from all properties, including blockbuster films that were made after 1998 and based on Lee’s creations.” So even though Stan Lee’s name is still on SLM, he is not directly involved with the company anymore, having moved his characters to POW! Entertainment (a move that was deemed questionable by bankruptcy court).

So…I’m no lawyer, but this seems like some shenanigans on behalf of SLM. Marvel responded to the allegations saying the claim is “ridiculous” and that the money in question is going to the right people. Martin Garbus, SLM’s attorney, responded by saying that this is entirely different. But how can SLM claim that X-Men, Spider-Man, and Iron Man are their properties when all they ever made were webisodes for original creations that had nothing to do with Lee’s Marvel-based characters? Shouldn’t SLM be suing Lee and POW! (not Marvel and Arad) for rights to any future earnings for 7th Portal?

Let me put it to you in a sports analogy: In 2004, Nomar Garciaparra was traded mid-season to the Chicago Cubs after 10 successful seasons with the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox went on to rally against the New York Yankees from an 0-3 start to clinch the American League Championship Series and eventually sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs missed the playoffs completely. But even though Nomar (No-Mah if you’re in Boston) only played in a portion of the games, he still received a championship ring for sitting on his ass in Chicago during October.

In this equation, Marvel is the Red Sox, Nomar is Stan Lee and SLM is the Cubs claiming that because Nomar got a World Series ring they are, by proxy, World Series champs. And if you know anything about the Cubs, you know that is just not reality.

Did any of that make sense?


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  • 790
    First of all, never assume I'm not drunk,,,
    This makes sense now, to me it sounds like Marvel has nothing to worry about.,.
    Frivolous suit prob brought on by desperate dot-comers.

    Yeah that made sense Josh and thanks for bringing up those damn Red Sox !!!

    Nice photo!!
  • My head hurts.
  • JayJayCAW
    mine too :S
  • Wow. I'm confused. And that sports analogy did NOT help.

    Could you put in the context of "Star Trek: The Next Generation"? Maybe I'd get it then.
  • Okay, It would be like Picard suing Starfleet for...
    No wait, that's not it.
    My head still hurts.
  • OK. Know how both Picard and Kirk were in Star Trek: Generations? Let's say Shatner wanted a royalty check for Star Trek: Nemesis (despite the fact that he isn't in it), BECAUSE he appeared with Patrick Stewart in Generations. Shatner would be claiming any success gleaned by Nemesis would be due in part to his character, who doesn't appear in the film. Does that make more sense?
  • Okay, so someone over at Marvel could be losing a lot of money, right?

    Perhaps that is why we've heard so much about Marvel low-balling everyone they are in negotiations with. Man, I hope this ends up being thrown out of court, or settled for a small amount. If Marvel ends up paying a large sum in settlement, it could really hinder the development of the other films Marvel is planning like Avengers and Captain America. And that would suck. Basically all of their Iron Man money would be gone. That would suck donkey balls!
  • Matt
    Oh man. Im brain pooped after this one.
  • I know I'm confused, and I know that someone is getting some money, somehow. That's a crazy story.

    I really hope Tmak209 is wrong, and all of Marvel's films go on as scheduled. I'm really looking forward to the Avengers!
  • This article was in Yahoo news yesterday. The key here is if the presiding judge gives it (lawsuit) the green light. Then all the low ballin' Marvel has been dealing as of late will make sense. You don't want to go into court with a fat bottom line.
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