Spider Man Creator Sues Marvel for Profit Cut
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The creator of Spider-Man and other superheroes sued Marvel Enterprises Inc. on Tuesday, alleging it has trampled on his rights and broken promises to pay him a cut of the profits from the commercial success of his characters.
Stan Lee, the 79-year-old artist behind Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men and Daredevil, is seeking 10 percent of the profits earned from this year’s hit film “Spider-Man: The Movie” and other films and television shows. The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, also names Marvel Characters as a defendant.
The Spider-Man movie grossed $114 million in its record-breaking opening weekend and has earned more than $1 billion worldwide, the suit said. Lee said he created the Spider-Man character about 40 years ago.
The DVD and videocassette versions of the movie went on sale Nov. 1 and executives of Sony Corp.’s Sony Pictures Entertainment reported that sales were expected to generate more than $190 million in North America alone in the first three days on the market, according to the suit.
“Mr. Lee has made contributions to Marvel and the comic book industry in the past, for which he continues to be well compensated,” Marvel said in a statement on Tuesday. “Marvel believes it is in full compliance with, and current on all payments due under, the terms of Mr. Lee’s employment agreement and will continue to be so in the future.”
The company had said in regulatory filing last week that Lee was threatening litigation.
‘SHAMEFUL SCHEME’
Lee alleged in his suit that despite all the acclaim for his characters, the defendants “embarked upon a shameful scheme to keep Mr. Lee from participating in the commercial success of his creations.
“In so doing, the defendants have trampled upon Mr. Lee’s rights — particularly the profit sharing commitment which they made to Mr. Lee which entitled him to share in the profits derived from the Marvel superhero characters,” the suit alleged.
The suit said the defendants’ actions are especially egregious given that Lee was initially employed by the defendants or their predecessors in 1939, and his 60-plus year association with them followed. Lee was first hired at age 17 to be an office errand-boy for Marvel’s predecessor, Timely.
“During these many years, while defendants’ business was built on the wings of his creations, Mr. Lee placed his trust and confidence in defendants — ultimately entering into a profit sharing venture with defendants for the exploitation of his creations,” the suit said.
Under the agreement, Lee said Marvel had a duty to pay Lee 10 percent of the profits from production using his characters in television and movies. The suit alleges that Marvel executives have already received “enormous windfalls” from X-Men and Spider-Man films and related merchandise.
Lee said in the suit that future films will be based on his characters including Daredevil, which is currently in production and scheduled to open in February.
On Saturday, Lee was named one of the winners of the inaugural Golden Panel Awards presented by The New York City Comic Book Museum, the nation’s only museum dedicated to the art of the comic book. Lee was selected “Legend of 2002” for his lifetime achievements in the comic book industry.
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