American comic book writer Stan Lee was the human behind the superheroes.
Many marvel at the man who gave his characters extraordinary powers and everyday headaches - a formula which revolutionised comics.
The Hulk, Iron Man, Daredevil and the Fantastic Four all sprang from his fertile imagination and spilled onto the page.
Born in 1922 to poor working-class Jewish immigrants from Romania, Stanley Martin Lieber got a job in Timely Publications - that would eventually become Marvel Comics - a company owned by a relative.
In its heyday, Marvel was selling 50 million copies a year. Until he retired from editing in 1971, Stan Lee wrote all the copy for Marvel's covers.
Lee, who once “used to be embarrased because I was just a comic book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers,” is the man behind many superhero creations that endeared him to comic book fans everywhere.
