A still from 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2'. Source: Marvel

The man who co-created Spider-Man, the Hulk and the X-Men has filed a $1 billion suit against a company he co-founded in 2001. Stan Lee, a former editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, is alleging that his name and likeness were taken fraudulently so that a company called "Pow Entertainment" could be sold to another firm in China. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in state Superior Court in Los Angeles, says the defendants "forged or fraudulently obtained a signature from Lee" as part of the scheme.

Lee claims that co-founders of Pow, Shane Duffy and Gill Champion, used deception to make him sign over his name, image and likeness on a wholly exclusive basis. The 95-year-old's signature was either forged, imposed from another document or induced by a bait-and-switch tactic where Lee thought he was signing another contract due to his failing eyesight, according to the lawsuit.

A promotion image from Marvel's 2018 hit "The Black Panther". Source: Marvel