Stan Lee, the Marvel legend who revolutionized pop culture as the co-creator of iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk, has died.

Lee, the face of comic book culture in the United States, died early Monday in Los Angeles after suffering a number of illnesses in recent years.

Lee was declared dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to Kirk Schenck, an attorney for Lee's daughter, J.C. Lee.

Lee is survived by his daughter and only child Joan Celia, known as 'J.C.' His wife Joan died in July last year after suffering complications from a stroke. The pair had been married for 70 years at the time of her death.

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Stan Lee, the Marvel legend who revolutionized pop culture as the co-creator of iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk, died early Monday in Los Angeles after suffering a number of illnesses in recent years

'JC Lee and all of Stan Lee's friends and colleagues want to thank all of his fans and well wishers for their kind words and condolences,' a statement on behalf of his daughter read.

'Stan was an icon in his field. His fans loved him and his desire to interact with them. He loved his fans and treated them with the same respect and love they gave him.

'He worked tirelessly his whole life creating great characters for the world to enjoy. He wanted to inspire our imagination and for us to all use it to make the world a better place. His legacy will live on forever. Excelsior.'

Lee's death came just one day after he tweeted a photo of himself in his WWII uniform for Veterans' Day.

As the top writer at Marvel Comics and later as its publisher, Lee was widely considered the architect of the contemporary comic book.

He revived the industry in the 1960s by offering the costumes and action craved by younger readers while insisting on sophisticated plots, college-level dialogue, satire, science fiction, even philosophy.

Millions responded to the unlikely mix of realistic fantasy, and many of his characters, including Spider-Man, the Hulk and X-Men went on to become stars of blockbuster films.

'With a heavy heart, we share our deepest condolences with his daughter and brother,' said Marvel Comics and its owner The Walt Disney Company in a statement.

'We honor and remember the creator, voice and champion of Marvel... Every time you open a Marvel comic, Stan will be there.'

Lee's death came just one day after he tweeted a photo of himself in his WWII uniform for Veterans' Day. He served during the war writing for training films before going back to Marvel

Lee was recognizable to his fans with various cameos in Marvel films and TV projects. He filmed a cameo in every Marvel Studios film, with Venom (pictured above) being the most recent

The dapper, friendly comic book genius continued to work into his 90s on numerous projects, including comics, films and DVDs. He is pictured above in 1990

The superhero stars of his movies, including Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Robert Downey Jr. and Josh Brolin were quick to send in their condolences along with Millie Bobby Brown and Kaley Cuoco.

'Captain America' actor Chris Evans was among those to mourn the loss on Twitter: 'There will never be another Stan Lee. For decades he provided both young and old with adventure, escape, comfort, confidence, inspiration, strength, friendship and joy. He exuded love and kindness and will leave an indelible mark on so, so, so many lives. Excelsior!!'

Recent projects Lee helped make possible range from the films 'Avengers: Infinity War,' ''Black Panther' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy' to such TV series as 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D' and 'Daredevil.'

Lee was recognizable to his fans - he had cameos in Marvel films and TV projects - his hair gray and his glasses slightly tinted.

'I think everybody loves things that are bigger than life... I think of them as fairy tales for grown-ups,' he said in a 2006 AP interview.

'We all grew up with giants and ogres and witches. Well, you get a little bit older and you're too old to read fairy tales. But I don't think you ever outgrow your love for those kind of things, things that are bigger than life and magical and very imaginative.'

Lee considered the comic-book medium an art form and he was prolific: By some accounts, he came up with a new comic book every day for 10 years.

'I wrote so many I don't even know. I wrote either hundreds or thousands of them,' he told the AP in 2006.

He hit his stride in the 1960s when he brought the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man and numerous others to life.

'It was like there was something in the air. I couldn't do anything wrong,' he recalled.

Old pals: Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine in the X-Men films, posted this snap of himself with Stan, writing, 'I'm proud to have been a small part of his legacy'

'RIP legend': Ironman Robert Downey Jr., shared this snap saying, 'I owe it all to you'

'RIP Stan Lee'; Ryan Reynolds in character as Deadpool kept his message to Lee simple

Glowing tribute: John Brolin. who played both Cable and Thanos in the Marvel universe shared ths photo of the veteran, captioned, 'Rest in Peace Dear Stan. You made our time here a better one'

Lee scripted most of Marvel's superhero comics himself during the 1960s, including the Avengers and the X-Men, two of the most enduring.

In 1972, he became Marvel's publisher and editorial director; four years later, 72 million copies of Spider-Man were sold.

CBS turned the Hulk into a successful TV series, with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno portraying the doomed scientist from 1978-82. A Spider-Man series ran briefly in 1978. Both characters were featured in animated TV series as well.

The first big-budget movie based on Lee's characters, 'X-Men,' was a smash in 2000, earning more than $130 million at North American theaters. 'Spider-Man' did even better, taking in more than $400 million in 2002.

A Marvel movie empire would emerge after that, one of the most lucrative mega-franchises in cinema history, with the recent 'Avengers: Infinity War' grossing more than $2 billion worldwide. In 10 years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe film shave netted over $17.6 billion in worldwide grosses.

Stanley Martin Lieber was born December 28, 1922, in New York. He grew up a fan of 'Hardy Boys' adventure books and Errol Flynn movies, and got a job at Timely Comics after graduating from high school.

Within a few months, the editor and art director quit, leaving a then 17-year-old Lee with creative control over the company. It grew and was renamed Atlas Comics and, finally, Marvel.

Lieber changed his name, thinking Lee would be used for 'silly little comics' and his real name would be reserved for novels.

His early work largely reflected popular movies - westerns, crime dramas, romance, whatever was the rage at the time. He worked for about 50 cents per page.

After a stint in the Army during World War II, writing for training films, he was back at Marvel to begin a long and admittedly boring run of assembly line comic book production.

Big moment: President George W. Bush congratulates comic book legend Stan Lee after presenting him with the 2008 National Medal of Arts awar

Lee is survived by his daughter and only child Joan Celia, known as 'J.C.' (right). His wife Joan (left) died in July last year after suffering complications from a stroke

Comics in the 1950s were the subject of Senate hearings pushed by the Comics Code Authority, which frowned on gore and characters that questioned authority. Major comic book companies adopted the code as a form of self-regulation to avoid sanctions.

Lee said he was also working for a publisher who considered comics as fare only for children.

'One day I said, 'This is insane,'' Lee told the Guardian in 1979. 'I'm just doing the same type of stories as everybody else. I wasn't taking pride in my work and I wanted to quit. But my wife said, 'Look, why don't you do the kind of comics you want for a change?''

The result was the first issue of 'The Fantastic Four,' in 1960, with the characters, plot and text from Lee and the illustrations by famed Marvel artist Jack Kirby.

The characters were normal people changed into reluctant superheroes through no fault of their own.

Writing in 'Origins of Marvel Comics,' Lee described the quartet this way: 'The characters would be the kind of characters I could personally relate to; they'd be flesh and blood, they'd have their faults and foibles, they'd be fallible and feisty and - most important of all - inside their colorful, costumed booties they'd still have feet of clay.'

'The Amazing Spider-Man' followed in 1962 and before long, Marvel Comics was an industry behemoth.

Lee knew his work was different, proudly noting that stories were drawn out over several issues not to make money but to better develop characters, situations and themes. He didn't neglect his villains, either. One, the Moleman, went bad when he was ostracized because of his appearance, Lee wrote, adding it was 'almost unheard of in a comic book' to explain why a character was what he was.

Lee's direct influence faded in the 1970s as he gave up some of his editorial duties at Marvel. But with his trademark white mustache and tinted sunglasses, he was the industry's most recognizable figure. He lectured widely on popular culture.

'I adored his visits': Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco paid a gushing tribute to Lee

Legend: Actor Tom Hardy, who starred in Marvel's Venom, kept his tribute simple, writing 'With the greatest of respect'

'You will be missed'; Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown posted this snap of herself with Lee

'Revolutionary': Many other Hollywood stars took to Twitter to share condolences

Sebastian Stan, who has appeared in several Avengers movies as Winter Soldier, wrote 'I wouldn't be here without you.'

Lee moved to Los Angeles in 1981 to head Marvel Productions, an animation studio that was later purchased, along with Marvel Comics, for $50 million by New World Entertainment.

As sales of comics declined, Marvel was forced into bankruptcy proceedings that meant it had to void a lifetime contract prohibiting Lee from working for anyone else. Lee later sued Marvel for $10 million, saying the company cheated him out of millions in profits from movies based on his characters.

In 2000, Lee agreed to write stories for DC Comics, reinventing Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and other signature characters for Marvel's one-time rival. DC Vice President and Publisher Paul Levitz had nothing but praise when the agreement was made.

The dapper, friendly comic book genius continued to work into his 90s on numerous projects, including comics, films and DVDs.

In the late 1990s, he looked to capitalize on the Internet craze, offering animated 'Webisodes' of comic-like action. Stan Lee Media also sought to reach out to Web-savvy youth through deals with pop artists the Backstreet Boys and Mary J. Blige.

The company went bankrupt, and three men were indicted for allegedly defrauding the business in a check kiting scam. Lee wasn't implicated.

After that initial failure, Lee formed the successful Pow! Entertainment company to launch animated Internet-based projects.

Lee's wife and partner in nearly everything, Joan Lee, died on July 6, 2017, leaving a void that made her husband, by then in mental and physical decline, vulnerable to hangers-on who began to surround him.

Lawsuits, court fights and an elder abuse investigation all emerged in the fight over who spoke for the elderly Lee.

The relationship between Lee and Marvel had grown contentious in his final months however, and in May he filed a billion-dollar lawsuit against the company.

The complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleged that POW! Entertainment CEO Shane Duffy and co-founder Gill Champion failed to fully disclose to Lee details of the firm's 2017 sale to Camsing International.

Millions responded to the unlikely mix of realistic fantasy, and many of his characters, including Spider-Man, the Hulk and X-Men went on to become stars of blockbuster films

The first big-budget movie based on Lee's characters, 'X-Men,' was a smash in 2000, earning more than $130 million at North American theaters. 'Spider-Man' did even better, taking in more than $400 million in 2002

Lee said that the company took advantage of him at a time when he was despondent over the death of his wife Joan and suffering from macular degeneration, a condition affecting the eyes.

As a result, he was duped into signing an agreement giving away the rights to his image and likeness, states the complaint.

Lee also argued that he was unable to read the document due to his eye condition and suggested the signature on the paperwork was not his own.

The comic-book legend was still a big part of the Marvel universe until his death though, making a cameo in every Marvel Studios film since 1993, with his most recent appearance being in Venom, which has proven to be yet another blockbuster.

That film, released in early October, had grossed $674 million at the worldwide box office as of Sunday on a $100 million budget.

Lee also served as an executive producer on these titles, which helped boost his fortune in a very big way in recent years.

In fact, in the past 10 years alone, Marvel Studios has released 20 films in the Marvel universe which have made over $17 billion at the box office.

This has easily earned it the title of the highest-grossing film franchise of all time.

Four of Marvel Studio's pictures - Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers and Black Panther -are among the the top 10 grossing films of all time.

This success caused much fighting over Lee's wealth in his final days.

His legal woes began back in January, when DailyMail.com revealed that Lee had been accused of groping his nurses in a lawsuit, which was dismissed by his daughter as a shakedown of the old man.

Lee then sought a restraining orders against one manager and fired his road manager claiming he was victim of elder abuse.

At the same time, some are pointing a finger at his daughter J.C, with allegations her penchant for shopping and buying luxury goods was eating away at her father's fortune.