Stan Lee, who well known as a successful comic book writer and editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, died at the age of 95 in Los Angeles.

Lee, the son of Romanian Jewish immigrants, was born and raised in New York City. He enjoyed writing at an early age and started a job as an assistant for Timely Comics in the late 1930’s. During that time, he learned a lot about the comic book industry and eventually began writing comic book stories for the publication that eventually would become Marvel Comics.

Lee was also a pioneer who changed the comic book world because he was aware of the changing political, social, and cultural environment. In 1969 Lee created the Falcon who was the first African-American superhero. In 1971, Lee helped to reform the Comics Code. At the request of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Lee wrote a comic book story about the drug addiction of Peter Parker’s best friend. The story was an attempt to educate the public about the dangers of drug addiction. Due to the drug addiction story line, Lee was unable to get the seal of the Comics Code Authority (CCA) for his comics, but he still published the comic book. Without the seal, the comic book was well-received and Marvel Comics became known as a culturally and socially aware company. In time, the CCA approved of negative drug depictions in comic books.

While he worked for Marvel Comics Lee married and eventually became editor-in-chief. Lee was the co-creator of several popular superheroes such as the Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, X-Men, the Avengers, Iron Man, Black Panther, and many more. A lot of the superheroes in the comic books he wrote became international blockbuster movies, and from time to time, Lee was an actor with a small part in some of those films.

Lee’s superhero legacy will continue for many generations to come. His wife passed away last year, and he is survived by his daughter and younger brother.