JC Lee says the late co-creator of Marvel was helping her develop Dirt Man, after ‘trying to get him to do a character with me my entire life’

The late Stan Lee’s daughter has revealed that the comics legend was working on one final superhero before he died: Dirt Man.

JC Lee told TMZ that she had been “trying to get [Stan Lee] to do a character with me my entire life”. “We have been working on a character called Dirt Man. The last little angel we’ve got tucked away is called Dirt Man,” she said. “I said, ‘Daddy please, no clatter, no steel, no any of that. Let’s get down and dirty … Let’s do Dirt Man.”

An audibly choked Lee revealed nothing else about the character, but said: “It is very interesting. It’s not over yet, we still have a little trickery,” and saying that she hoped it would be made into a film.

Why Smilin' Stan Lee was the greatest superhero of them all Read more

Lee died on 12 November at the age of 95, leaving the world iconic superhero characters including Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and Spider-Man. His death prompted an outpouring of tributes from fans around the world.

His daughter told TMZ that she was also planning to create a childhood literacy foundation in his name. “The importance of the written word and the importance of reading is not to be underestimated. One reason Stan is ‘Stan the Man’ is he took his craft very seriously,” she said. “There’s a lot to be passed on to children about reading and writing, maybe doing competitions – we’re taking this as far as we can take it.”

Marvel Comics, which published many of the hundreds of characters co-created by Lee, has been approached for comment.