Free seminar! Space limited. Register now. A heartbreaking tragedy about the alleged abuse of the Marvel Comics creator by those who swear they loved him. It was recorded on a cellphone at the Silicon Valley Comic Con, a comic book convention where Stan Lee was a star attraction. A dark-haired man in his 40s, dressed like an MTV gangster, in a black skinny suit, black fedora and sunglasses, coached the barely cognizant writer through the task.
In the video, Lee looks unsteady, propped up in a chair, while a line of fans snakes out of the frame, each waiting for a chance to meet their hero. Though only 58 seconds long, the video is painful to watch. Reports of his abuse had been slowly gathering since the death of his beloved wife, Joanie, in Strong-willed and outspoken, the British-born former model had run the Stan Lee family business with a firm hand.
She had also been more adept at managing their mercurial daughter, Joan Celia Lee, called J. Lee was credited as a producer for many of these blockbusters, but what drew cheers were his acting turns in 39 of them. He was a crackerjack bit player, appearing on-screen for five seconds or less Vanity Fair noted that Lee might have surpassed Alfred Hitchcock as the most recognizable cameo actor in Hollywood and usually dropping a droll line with a wink and a grin. Fans when he died, he had 3.
Marvel himself! The courts have yet to shed light on many of the details and the veracity of the elder-abuse charges against several people. Elder-abuse cases are difficult to bring to trial, tough to litigate and hard to win. Was Stan Lee, like 1 in 10 Americans over age 60, a true victim of elder abuse, which can include physical violence, emotional torment, financial exploitation and willful deprivation?
Plenty of evidence and testimony suggests that may be true. But uncomfortable questions will arise along the way: Is it possible that our real-life hero, like many others in his situation, was complicit in his own abuse?
