Stan Lee is shaping a new generation of heroes by promoting literacy

Full Frame

Stan LeeStan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man®, The Incredible Hulk®, X-Men®, and many other iconic Marvel comic book heroes.

While his claims to fame are co-creating Spider-Man®, The Incredible Hulk®, X-Men®, and many other iconic comic book heroes, Stan Lee has taken on his own heroic efforts with the initiatives of the Stan Lee Foundation.

He joined Full Frame’s Mike Walter to reflect on his life’s “work” as a storyteller (but you’ll never catch him calling it work!) and his everlasting influence on generations of comic book fans and moviegoers.

Twitter: @TheRealStanLee

Founded in 2010, the Stan Lee Foundation is a non-profit that seeks to provide access to literacy, education and the arts for underprivileged children throughout the nation.

Lee is shaping a new generation of writers, thinkers, philanthropists, and innovators by supporting programs and ideas that promote diversity, national literacy, culture and the arts.

Lee’s monumental career as a writer, publisher, and now multi-media producer has had a profound culture not only on American pop culture, but also on the global entertainment industry. Lee revolutionized the comic book world by creating “humanized” superheroes with real-life flaws and personal struggles and used their stories to provide social commentary on issues like racism, bigotry and drugs.

“It’s like play, nothing could have been more fun in the early days than being with those incredibly talented artists,” Lee told CCTV America’s Mike Walter in an exclusive interview. Lee says he never gets tired when he’s working.

An expert on the makings of a great hero, Lee said that “a hero should always be someone that the reader or the audience not only identifies with, but cares about or wants to succeed.”

In an effort to give a new generation of comic book fans heroes they can identify with, Lee issuing his new company, POW! Entertainment, to create characters and story lines from diverse backgrounds. One of the film projects Lee currently has under development features a Chinese superhero, The Annihilator.

As he made very clear in his interview with Full Frame, Stan Lee has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. And for that, the global entertainment industry, and Lee’s legions of fans, can only be grateful.