A Spider-Man Battle

Stan Lee Media, a California-based online company, is suing Stan Lee and Marvel comics, claiming that they own the rights to Spider-Man. Lee was a founding partner in the company in 1998, and planned to use the power of the Internet to keep his characters alive for the public. However, Lee's association with the company was short-lived, and his co-founder Peter F. Paul later pled guilty to stock manipulation after the company went bankrupt. Now, the new owners of the company are claiming that Lee gave the company rights to all of his Marvel comic book characters in exchange for salary and company stock a decade ago. They are suing for half the profits from the Spider-Man films; what is unclear is why they are not suing for Fantastic Four, X-Men, or Incredible Hulk money, based on their claim of ownership of ALL Stan Lee / Marvel characters. Lee himself had this to say: "I do not support this action and believe the suit to be baseless." Marvel agrees. In fact, HE sued THEM earlier this year, saying the current owners of Stan Lee Media are "rogue opportunists."