Born in Manhattan to Romanian Jewish immigrants, Stan Lee graduated from DeWitt Clinton HS in The Bronx at 16 and soon got his start in the comic-book biz as a gopher, refilling inkwells, handling lunch deliveries and the like. He soon started writing and, with a lucky break, became editor for Timely Comics, which became Atlas and then Marvel.

And then, in 1961, he launched a revolution — taking superhero tales to a whole new level, with both more realistic characters (imperfect heroes!) and more cosmic themes.

The Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Thor, Dr. Strange, the Black Panther, the X-Men — and the Amazing Spider-Man: He created or co-created them all, and more, with at least a hand in every aspect of every book. He also made sure every creator got credit, including the colorist and letterer.

And he sold it all with pride and joy, with a short Stan Lee’s Soapbox column each month in all his books — having fun with fictional employee Irving Forbush, jazzily reaching out to readers, making Excelsior! the slogan of Marvel.

Marvel Comics took off, passing DC in the eyes of critics, then in sales. He stopped writing regularly in 1972, but kept running the show as publisher — and eventually laid the groundwork for massive success as the X-Men and the Marvel Cinematic Universe took Hollywood by storm.

If nerds have become cool, Stan Lee bears a huge chunk of the credit. ’Nuff said, and rest in peace.