While comic book fans mourn the death of Marvel legend Stan Lee, who passed away on Monday at 95, HBO host Bill Maher has penned an essay suggesting that America would be a smarter place had it not been for the success of Lee’s comic-book creations such as Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man.

Taking to his blog, the “Real Time with Bill Maher” host dismissively writes about fans who are in “deep, deep mourning for a man who inspired millions to, I don’t know, watch a movie, I guess.”

He continues: “Someone on Reddit posted, ‘I’m so incredibly grateful I lived in a world that included Stan Lee.’ Personally, I’m grateful I lived in a world that included oxygen and trees, but to each his own.”

RELATED: Legendary Comic Book Writer, Marvel Co-Creator Stan Lee Dead At 95

Insisting he has nothing against comic books, Maher recalls the days when comics were consumed primarily by children, and weren’t pop-culture touchstones that inspired multimillion-dollar Hollywood blockbusters.

About 20 years ago, Maher recalls, “something happened — adults decided they didn’t have to give up kid stuff. And so they pretended comic books were actually sophisticated literature. And because America has over 4,500 colleges — which means we need more professors than we have smart people — some dumb people got to be professors by writing theses with titles like Otherness and Heterodoxy in the Silver Surfer.”

RELATED: Armie Hammer Apologizes After Backlash For Slamming Celebrities Who Shared Pictures With The Late Stan Lee

Maher concludes by admitting that he doesn’t think people have “necessarily gotten stupider. The average Joe is smarter in a lot of ways than he was in, say, the 1940s, when a big night out was a Three Stooges short and a Carmen Miranda musical. The problem is, we’re using our smarts on stupid stuff. I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to suggest that Donald Trump could only get elected in a country that thinks comic books are important.”

As you might expect, Lee’s legions of fans had a bone to pick with Maher’s opinion, and picked it they did on social media:

Bill Maher: Man, I'd really love an excuse to tell the world that I think comic books are dumb and the people who create them are worthless, but when should I bring it up? Stan Lee: *dies* Bill Maher: pic.twitter.com/oW6Qcaccac — Hannah Shaw-Williams (@HSW3K) November 17, 2018

Bill Maher disrespected Stan Lee? Wow this totally changes my previously high opinion of that smug Islamophobic racist misogynistic attention-whore. — The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) November 17, 2018

I have no idea what Bill Maher said about Stan Lee. Bill Maher is an unremarkable piece of shit. That’s all there’s worth saying about Bill Maher. — tom fowler (@tomfowlerbug) November 17, 2018

Bill Maher is just upset because he knows deep down in his heart that when he dies there won’t be a fraction of the outpouring of love for him that there is for Stan Lee. Or he’s just a condescending prick. Or both… — Brian Huberd (@BrianHuberd) November 17, 2018

@billmaher, C.S. Lewis once said something you might find interesting in light of your comments about #StanLee : "Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. " — CT (@CTZealot) November 17, 2018

#BillMaher is a special kind of stupid. Didn’t know who he was until he talked shit about Stan Lee. In a world of Bill Maher’s, Be a Stan Lee. — Tim Smith 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@tjs_smith) November 17, 2018

Bill Maher is a dick so instead of taking offence to his rant about comic books and disrespecting the importance of Stan Lee to our modern culture, I’m just going to post this. pic.twitter.com/U4mHRkrxA6 — Ruda (@RoyalDrones) November 17, 2018

Bill Maher dismisses Stan Lee, comic books and their relevance much the same way people dismissed Lenny Bruce and stand up comedy. — Darick Robertson (@DarickR) November 17, 2018

"Deep, deep mourning for a man who inspired millions to, I don't know, watch a movie I guess?" That is such a gross understatement of the inspiration millions of people found from Stan Lee I wonder if Bill Maher was inspired by anything. https://t.co/4dgIRTShJS — Tristan Oram (@TheRealTrustan) November 17, 2018

Bill Maher isn't an idiot.

He doesn't own liberals, and we don't own him.

He's a pretty smart guy, who has really smart things to say, and sometimes has really STUPID things to say, because… well… he doesn't understand what pure joy is.

That's sad.

Stan Lee ROCKED, @billmaher — Daphne NoOneIsAboveTheLaw Shepherd (@antifashyst) November 17, 2018

The fact that the only way Bill Maher can score heat anymore is saying Stan Lee is responsible for Donald Trump should inspire some introspection in that dude about how pathetic he is now. But if that was possible, he wouldn't be Bill Maher — Nathan Bernhardt (@jonbernhardt) November 17, 2018

I love Bill Maher, but this feels so cruel. Stan Lee brought joy to so many people, myself included. It's not high art, but his work sparked our imaginations and inspired us to try to be our best selves. Surely, that can be valuable, even for grown-ups? https://t.co/ZHFPDm6brg — Marshall Honorof (@marshallhonorof) November 17, 2018

On Monday, Lee’s team responded with an open letter of their own, posted to Lee’s official website.

“One lesson Stan taught so many of us was tolerance and respect, and thanks to that message, we are grateful that we can say you have a right to your opinion that comics are childish and unsophisticated. Many said the same about Dickens, Steinbeck, Melville and even Shakespeare,” the letter reads.

“But to say that Stan merely inspired people to ‘watch a movie’ is in our opinion frankly disgusting,” the letter continues. “Countless people can attest to how Stan inspired them to read, taught them that the world is not made up of absolutes, that heroes can have flaws and even villains can show humanity within their souls. He gave us the X-Men, Black Panther, Spider-Man and many other heroes and stories that offered hope to those who felt different and bullied while inspiring countless to be creative and dream of great things to come.”

RELATED: Hugh Jackman And Stephen Colbert Pay Tribute To ‘Creative Genius’ Stan Lee: ‘He Was A True Gentleman’

The letter concludes by referencing one of Lee’s best-known phrases: “Our shock at your comments makes us want to say ‘Nuff said, Bill,’ but instead we will rely on another of Stan’s lessons to remind you that you have a powerful platform, so please remember: ‘With great power there must also come — great responsibility!’”

A few days later, Maher sat down with veteran interviewer Larry King, where he addressed the controversy. Admitting he wasn’t aware of the level of outrage because he “doesn’t follow every stupid thing people lose their s**t about” on social media, Maher clarified his comments.

“But talk about making my point for me. Yeah, I don’t know very much about Stan Lee and it certainly wasn’t a swipe at Stan Lee,” Maher said, with King telling him, “You would have liked him. He was a really nice guy.”

“Yeah, fine,” Maher added. “I am agnostic on Stan Lee. I don’t read comic books. I didn’t even read them when I was a child. What I was saying is, a culture that thinks that comic books and comic book movies are profound meditations on the human condition is a dumb f**king culture. And for people to get mad at that just proves my point.” Watch: