The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog confirmed Spider-Man's inclusion, and mentions that, although the character first appeared in a story by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Kirby was "key in the character's early development." But how key, exactly?

Lee has gone on record (more than once) naming Ditko, not Kirby, as the character's co-creator, and Ditko's account of Kirby's involvement tends to support that argument:

Kirby had pencilled five pages of his Spider-man. How much was pure Kirby, how much Lee, is for them to resolve.

The splash was the only one with a drawing of Spider-man. A typical Kirby hero/action shot. But the costume is what is important... I'm uncertain about the abstract chest design. The closest thing to it is the one on Ant-man. Kirby's Spider-man had a web gun, never seen in use. The only connection to the spider theme was the name.

The other four pages showed a teenager living with his aunt and uncle. The aunt was a kindly old woman, the uncle a retired police captain, hard, gruff, the General Thunderbolt Ross type (from The Hulk), and he was down on the teenager.

Next door or somewhere in the neighborhood there was a whiskered scientist-type involved in some kind of experiment or project. The end of the five pages depicted the kid going toward the scientist's darkened house.

That is the Spider-man "given" to me.

That is the total of Kirby's Spider-man "creation." That is what he "created," brought into existence - five un-used pencilled pages of an unfinished story... Almost all of the bits of this "creation" (the scientist, magic ring, etc.) were discarded/never used. So what is left of the "original creation"? A name, a teenager, an aunt and uncle. Is it to be believed/held that a name or its "idea" could "cause" a rejection "creation" and "cause" others to "create" a complete, accepted, and successful one? How is that accomplished?

Above: Ditko's comparison of Kirby's Spider-Man design to the finished character.

The Kirby family claim seems to be based in Kirby's rejected work - which didn't resemble the character as he eventually appeared, other than the name - and a claim Kirby made in a 1982 interview with Spirit creator Will Eisner:

Spider-Man was discussed between Joe [Simon] and myself. Spider-Man was not a product of Marvel.

This is, again, misleading; that "Spider-Man" also never saw print, but instead became 1959's The Fly, and was a reworking of a previous Joe Simon character (co-created with artist CC Beck) called the Silver Spider. Simon has suggested that the discussion of a character called "Spider-Man" - or actually "Spiderman," according to the unused logo from that time - led to Kirby suggesting the name to Stan Lee years later, at Marvel Comics.

According to comics historian Al Nickerson, as recently as the start of this year, Lisa Kirby, the artist's daughter, rejected the idea that her father was involved with Spider-Man's creation:

I had asked Lisa Kirby (daughter of Jack and Roslyn Kirby) about her father's connection to the creation of Spider-Man. Lisa told me: "Neither one of my parents ever mentioned that my father created him, in fact I have heard my mother correcting people if they alluded to that fact."

So why does he end up on the list of characters named in the lawsuit - and will the battle over Kirby's contributions to this character derail discussion over characters he has a much clearer claim over?

Rhett Reese, one of the screenwriters for the Sony movie, was happy to tell Superhero Hype that Lee's place in the evil Spider-Man's solo movie debut was assured:

Oh, yeah. Stan Lee is in it.. I feel like that's the one thing we can say. He does appear in our script, and we're very specific about where he is and why.

Considering that Lee had nothing to do with Venom's creation - unlike Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man and Fantastic Four, all of whose movies he's blessed with his presence - we're curious to see where he turns up... and whether Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck, Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, David Micheline or Todd McFarlane (all of whom were involved in the creation of Venom in one way or another) also get cameo appearances in the movie.

Stan Lee to Appear in the Venom Spin-Off [Superhero Hype]

Collider received a tip from the set of Iron Man 2 leaking Stan's big on-screen cameo, which sounds a lot better than last year's dialog-free Hugh Hefner reference (although we liked seeing Stan surrounded by the ladies). According to their tipster, Stan has already filmed his spot and

"he was dressed as Larry King. The scene has Stan asking Tony Stark when he's going to be on his show."

Should be interesting to see how Stan works the curmudgeon-face-and-suspenders look. Here's a round up of some of the more recent Stan Lee cameos:

To some, Henstridge will always be the half-alien/half-human/all-hottie Sil, but her debut in Species was 14 years ago. Now 34, she's done a lot since then, much of it in the genre arena.

Like her forthcoming Impact, a four-hour ABC miniseries that debuts June 21. In Impact, a spectacular meteor shower hits the moon and throws it out of orbit; it's up to a team of scientists led by astrophysicist Maddie Rhodes (Henstridge) to save the earth from a lunar collision. (Watch the trailer here.) Henstridge called us this morning from Los Angeles to talk about the project.

What appeals to you about science fiction that keeps you coming back to the genre again and again?

Well, I think the science fiction community just supports me, so why the heck not? No, there is an attraction to some of the stories. In this particular case, I just thought it was a really cool story: interesting, educational — and not even fiction at the end of the day, as I found out. I think that kind of curiosity – there are stories that keep you turning the page, stories that make you think "What if?" And that kind of natural curiosity we all have as humans. Whatever it is — in my case, an alien-human hybrid thing, or many other things that I've done — they're just action-packed, they're exciting, they keep you on the edge of your seat, and they're page-turners. So I always find it interesting to see how they'll turn out. And there are great fanbases as well.

What did you find out was accurate about the science behind Impact?

Up in Canada, I was working at an observatory, and I met an astrophysicist, and we went through the script, just so that I could really sink my teeth in, understand more, and know what the hell I was talking about when I was giving these big speeches. Basically, we're just not quite as protected as we like to think we are, and technology is advanced, but it's not quite as advanced as we think it is. We don't have an eye in the sky everywhere, we don't know what's coming, and things like meteors can be very erratic. So we're not as safe as we think we are, and that was very eye-opening. [Laughs nervously]. And that's what makes this movie even slightly possible.

And how plausible was the solution the scientists reach about how to save the earth?

That might be a little more far-fetched. That one I'm not 100 percent sure on.

Are you trying to extend your range now beyond the sexy roles that have largely defined your career? In Impact, you're a scientist in a heavy sweater.

Most people who work at observatories wear warm clothes because it's very, very cold, so that was just based in reality. But I get what you're saying. I feel very, very fortunate to have been able to step away from the sex symbols, the young it-girl kind of place, and to realize — and for people to realize — that I can do other things. That has been a real gift for me, because you get pigeonholed, and then where do you go when you're not 19 and hot, and you're aging? It's inevitable. So to be able to do other roles that challenge me more – I got to play a lawyer on Eli Stone, which was fantastic, and getting to play an astrophysicist, which I admit is a bit of a stretch. But what an amazing thing to be able to play. To get to play these really smart female characters is fantastic, and I just feel really fortunate. I do, of course, try to stretch, because it would be silly for me to compete with 20-year-olds for roles. It's not going to happen. I'm in a different place in my life. It's just great that the business has supported me enough to be able to do that as well.

Are there any sorts of science fiction stories you'd like to tell?

I wouldn't say so specifically in science fiction, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that [I'm fascinated with] cloning. People always ask me if I'm a science fiction fan, and I'm not a huge science fiction fan, but there is something kind of interesting about cloning and what it will do to society. I've read about it, and whenever there's a film or an article in the paper about the latest thing that's been cloned, it makes me think about God vs. science and all of those kind of questions. It's interesting because the planet gets more and more full, and yet we try to find more and more ways to keep people alive. It's all so fascinating. And yet, if it was my child or my mother, I'd want to do the same thing. So there are all sorts of interesting questions that cloning brings up. Can you imagine, "Oh, I'm going to get myself a new heart from my cloned counterpart"?

Can you think of recent films or books that have handled the subject well?

Not really. I'd like to see some things that are really well done.

What else do you have in the pipeline?

I am doing a really interesting series of really small, five-minute episodes of a Stan Lee cartoon, in which Stan Lee and myself will be voicing the two characters. My character is called Charity Vyle. And it's a super cool character. It's a show called Time Jumper. We're going to do about 10 episodes. I'm not exactly sure of the format; I think it's coming out through the phone. I'm with an absolute legend, and I'm really excited about that. My character is actually brilliant as well, as these cartoon characters – I mean, as these comic book characters often are. She knows how to jump through time, and she does that for some very selfish reasons.

Would you say the message of Impact is that international cooperation is necessary to solve global crises?

I think that is the exact message of the film, all the countries in the world working together for one common goal. That's the political, moral message of the film, and I think that's a really interesting part of the film.

Lee's newest brainwave, Nick Ratchet, is described by the Hollywood Reporter like this:

The lighthearted mystery thriller centers on a Jekyll & Hyde struggle between a meek, ineffectual police officer and his online alter-ego, a tough avatar cop named Nick Ratchet who emerges from inside a video game to usurp the life of his creator.

We're torn between optimism based on the potential comedy of any good Jekyll & Hyde story and utter sadness over the sheer level of "Hey, I read about this thing called 'the internet'! What if a video game character from 'the internet' came to life? Excelsior, true believers!" that the pitch exudes from every pore. Add in the fact that the project is going to see life as a Disney movie, and that feeling of dread and disappointment just grows.

(To be fair to Lee, he's not actually going to be writing the movie, he just came up with the basic idea. The movie's writers will be Douglas Cook and David Weisberg, who have previously given the world The Rockand Ashley Judd-"thriller" Double Jeopardy. What was that I was saying about a feeling of dread...?)

Writers tapped for 'Ratchet' [Hollywood Reporter]

Thirteen children cast in the reality program are competing to have their character made into a comic strip. Each one child is eliminated by being "powered down," but only after a panel of judges have ripped apart the child's superhero performance. Which is a great way to encourage imagination and creative thought - by telling children their ideas are crap. So far two children have broken down on camera when their characters were cut or "powered down."

Three child psychologists, quoted in the Daily Mail, took real issue with the show's rough treatment of the children.

The show's winner will travel to LA to meet Lee himself, who I can only assume will have to piece together the fragile shattered psyche of the poor child long enough to write a comic about his/her make-believe character.

I haven't seen the British version of this program, but I'm going to have some issues with judges who point at a child's homemade cape and tear it to shreds. A bit harsh, but not a surprising for Channel 4, who has previously been accused of "corporate child abuse." Sweep in and fix this Stan - we know you can.

The lawsuit is being brought by shareholders of Stan Lee Media Inc. claiming that they are owed profits from all properties based upon a Stan Lee creation made after 1998... such as all three Spider-Man movies, the two Fantastic Four movies, the two Hulk movies, Iron Man, the three X-Men movies, and merchandise based upon all of the above, in addition to books and comics based upon the characters. The suit names Lee, his wife, Marvel Entertainment and former Marvel CEO Avi Arad as defendants.

On the face of it, the lawsuit is insane; Stan Lee Media, Inc. has only been in existence since 1998, and was originally founded to shop around Lee as a source of IP for media companies looking for new creations, not his 1960s Marvel work, which was clearly owned by Marvel. Well, clearly until a strange 2007 lawsuit when SLM filed a lawsuit against Marvel, claiming co-ownership of all of the characters. Lee himself wasn't behind that decision, however, a fact underlined by the fact that SLM then filed suit against Lee himself, a few months later.

Lee's attorney, Mark Williams, issued a statement saying that "We look forward to a positive resolution for Stan Lee and his family," while Marvel released their own statement, calling the lawsuit "ridiculous." We're just happy for another pointless lawsuit to distract us now that the Watchmen rights have been sorted out. Where's Matt Murdock when you need him?

Stan Lee, Marvel sued for $750 mil [Variety]

The series in question is an adaptation of Perry Moore's award-winning 2007 young adult novel Hero, which tells the story of the world's first gay superhero dealing with his ex-superhero father, his sexuality, and a superhero serial killer. Moore, whose dayjob is being a movie producer, will work on the new series as a writer and executive producer, alongside Lee, whose production company Pow! Entertainment, is behind the show.

Moore and Lee announced their partnership at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, but at the time, many believed that Hero was aimed at the big screen. Showtime's involvement guarantees two things - Less censorship than any big budget superhero movie would've allowed for, and also the potential for a David Duchovny guest-shot when rating start to drop. We can't wait.

Showtime enlists gay superhero [Variety]

Lee ran down a few possibilities for a Beckham show:

He says, “There are so many ways to do it. We could make them a crime fighting team where the soccer is just a facade. Or we could make them spies or we could make it a comedy where one of them wants to be an adventurer?”

Personally, I think the undercover angle doesn’t suit the Beckham lifestyle. Posh would be far more likely to sign them up for a reality program offering a behind-the-scenes look at their heroic exploits (with their costumes changing each mission, a la the Wasp). We’d get an inside look at David’s superpowered workout routine, the renovations on their high-tech crimefighting lair, and Victoria’s elaborate preparations for the annual Costumed Ball, where superheroes, movie stars, and heiresses all don their best spandex for charity. Of course, the show’s most loyal viewers would be supervillains, who initially watch it as a means of exploiting the Beckhams’ weaknesses, but ultimately find themselves caught up in the drama and the pair’s star power.

Lee Eyes Beckhams for Comic Book Capers [contactmusic]

So this shell of a human being gets to be the Muse of Stan Lee? Okay fine. Let's at least take some past experiences and input them into her character. So what should her costume be? A government issued orange jumpsuit, or perhaps a a teeny tiny dress made from a magic sweatshop? Or a white leotard with a giant red bullseye and then we can send her to Iraq to stop the war?

What about super powers? How about the ability to regurgitate champagne across a room with great accuracy and speed? What about the ability to deflect mind control. Remember Magneto's mind-control-blocking helmet? Paris' super power is like that, but only because she doesn't actually have a mind to control. Still, she should definitely have night vision.

What should her weakness be? Shame? No that hasn't been proven to work yet. What about class or tact? Whenever she's around someone with social decorum she begins to weaken until she says something inappropriate and regains her strength.

Suddenly I'm really excited for this super-cartoon.

[Comic Book Movie]

The secret to successfully taking superheroes into other media, according to everyone on the panel - Lee, Penn and Iron Man screenwriter Mark Fergus - was to treat action as secondary to character; a lesson learned by Lee during the 1970s Spider-Man TV show:

That was the worst thing ever made! When I saw the first episode, I called a meeting at CBS and said "There's no characterization, there's no way you can care about the characters," I said, "There's no story there!" The next day, the director sent me a note and said "I very much appreciate the things you said, but I cannot fly by the seat of Stan Lee's pants." And the show got cancelled. You have to believe in the characters.

Sadly for moviemakers, Penn still thinks that the comics get it right more often than the movies - One comic in particular:

I have to be honest, when I read The Ultimates, that really changed my thinking. When I read that stuff, I thought, wow, we're really not giving this stuff enough credit. There's a whole other level of realism that we're not getting at. I thought Mark Millar had somehow tapped into what Stan was doing all those years ago and made it real.

Millar may, in fact, be helping out on the next few Marvel movies; Penn made reference to a group of Marvel writers that he couldn't name (but were "the guys who I admire who are writing the great comic book stuff") that are working with him and Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige to plan the story arc lacing through Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers, which are being planned with a strong continuity and storyline running through them. Such experiences, he explained, are unusual in an industry that still, for the most part, doesn't understand comics:

It's incredibly frustrating to deal with some studios who don't like the comic books, who don't like the fans, who don't like me... Or themselves. In Hollywood, when you talk about comic books, they think you're talking about Archie. A lot of these people think that comic books are silly, and they think they're supposed to be silly. And then you get people like Sam Raimi who come along and say, that's comics pre-Stan Lee, you obviously haven't read comics in the last thirty years. It's just stupid, they don't really know the form. And if they did, they'd know that they could make it as smart as possible because the comics are smart.

The ever-enthusiastic Stan Lee, however, sees the future of comic book movies as being very bright:

People ask me, how long will there be superhero movies. As long as there are writers like these two guys who write this stuff like it's Citizen Kane and not like some silly fluff, there will always be superhero movies.

'Nuff said, Stan.

Don't get me wrong, I know what you're trying to do. Everyone seems to like those superhero comics - Only a handful of titles in the March 2008 top 100 comics aren't superhero books, after all - and you're just like everyone else: You just want to be loved. But announcing two new superhero projects within days of each other only feels good right now. When the sales figures come in, you'll see: All that attention? They're just being polite. No-one really wants to read your superhero books.

Now, now. Don't cry. I'm saying this for your own good. Look at that top 100 list again for a second. Sure, it's superheroes up the wazoo, but only four of those superhero titles come from a company that doesn't have the words "Marvel" or "DC" in their name. The third most popular comic publisher of last month didn't get that not-as-impressive-as-you'd-want-it-to-be title with men in tights; Dark Horse got there by paying ridiculous amounts of money to Joss Whedon and George Lucas, respectively, for their Buffy, Serenity and Star Wars comics (The third most popular superhero publisher is Image, with a massive 3.86% of the market).

It's not as if other publishers haven't tried to break Marvel and DC's stranglehold on the superhero market in the past — Image did a very good job in the '90s - but those attempts tend to be successful only when there's some kind of name recognition, and that's something that Virgin is pretty much completely lacking (Well, outside of Jenna Jameson and Ed Burns, but that's not really what I mean). Yes, I know that everyone knows about Stan Lee, but there's something else that everyone knows about Stan... That he's not done anything worthwhile for decades. You only have to look at Stripperella and Who Wants To Be A Superhero to see that.

You're just throwing your money away, gentlemen. And, sure, Sir Richard - You're used to that by now (Hey, I've tasted Virgin Cola), but there's no need to rush into it so eagerly this time. Maybe there's some Hollywood money or something you can scare up by selling the rights and make some scratch back before everyone wises up. Or perhaps you can convince Stan that he's got Alzheimer's and imagined the whole thing. Just, please: Don't do anymore superhero comics. It's not a good idea, and you'll just hurt everyone involved.

Just say no.

Lee to create superheroes for Virgin [Variety]

According to the Hollywood Reporter:

"Legion of 5" — owned jointly by Rainmaker, POW! and Brighton — is planned as a series of CG-animated films but with a cross-platform approach to include games, online and mobile releases. Merchandizing is part of the plan as well.

Details of the characters and story line are being kept under wraps.

That said, that kind of idea isn't worth millions of dollars, and that's the spend that Lee is looking at here:

Rainmaker CEO Warren Franklin reported that the partners are raising about $24 million to get things going. "We are hoping to develop a strong franchise with the characters," he said.

Stan Lee to launch new superhero franchise [Hollywood Reporter]

The Award is only the tip of Lee's involvement with NYCC - "Stan The Man" will also be appearing on multiple panels at the April event, and is so overwhelmed with excitement that his talent for tongue-in-cheek self-promotion has been re-engergized:

Even though Los Angeles has been my play pen for the past few decades, I'll always consider New York my home town. It's the beautiful city where I was born (a beautiful baby!) grew up (beautifully!), got married to my beautiful wife and had my beautiful daughter. (When I find an adjective I like, I stick with it!)

So, whenever I can wheedle an opportunity to return to the greatest city in the world, it's an indescribable thrill for me. And, to make it even more fabulous, it gives me the chance to meet old friends— artists, writers, editors, fans, all sorts of terrific people who speak the same language— the language of creativity.

Hey, what I'm trying to say is— I can't wait to see ya!

Excelsior!

Stan Lee To Receive New York Comics Legend Award at NYCC [Newsarama]

There's a lot more to see — just click on an image to get to the full gallery.

While the gallery was packed tighter than Emma Frost's pants, next door at Golden Apple artists were signing pieces and doing original sketches for fans, with all proceeds going to The Hero Initiative, a non-profit organization that helps comic book artists and writers in hard times. Stan Lee came in, flashed his grin around the gallery, flitted over to the comic book shop to sign some items for the charity, and then vanished into the night.

We spoke briefly to artist Sarah Coleman who painted a huge Scarlet Witch piece for the show. Admittedly not a "comic book person" to begin with, Coleman struck out on her own and did a lot of research on Marvel characters before settling on Wanda Maximoff and her magical powers. Although she was quick to point out to us that Wanda's powers "were initially math-based, giving her the ability to affect probability." Rewrites over the past few years have changed her ability from "hex magic" to "chaos magic," and she's now one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel universe.

So, you do learn something new every day, true believer. We feel like we should have known this and retreated into the night ourselves, but not before shouting "Excelsior!" at several random passers by.

To put things in perspective, Power Pack is the book you hoped you weren't put on when you were hired by Marvel. Imagine getting hired at the place you've dreamed about working, and then being told "We're going to make you the letterer on Power Pack!" Ouch. Although it ran for 62 issues, it was never considered one of Marvel's finest.

The book was about four siblings, aged five to twelve, with the last name Power, who gained their abilities from a dying alien who was trying to stop their father from accidentally destroying the Earth with an experiment. As he kicked the bucket, he passed along his powers to them, leading them to don costumes and adopt nicknames like Mass Master and Energizer. They kept their identities a secret from their parents, although they never wore masks so they quite possibly had the dumbest parents on the planet.

The Powers, or "Power Pack" as they started calling themselves, fought alongside the X-Men and plenty of other Marvel heroes, but always felt like they were toddlers who had wandered into the fray. The series was canceled in 1991, but it's been popping back up with one-shots and miniseries lately, so someone still has a real soft spot for these characters. We just can't figure out who that is.

Marvel tried developing a live-action version in 1991 as a Saturday morning show, but it died after a craptastic pilot was produced. It's harder to find than bootleg copies of The Star Wars Christmas Special, but word is that it was horrendous. If they tried to bring it back today, it would meet with the same fate. After all, kids now have the Teen Titans and The Legion of Superheroes on television. Plus, if you saw the Tim Allen movie Zoom, then you've seen the best that a Power Pack movie could hope to be. There's a ton of great Marvel properties that would make great film or television properties. This ain't one of 'em.

Stan Lee Interviewed [Collider]

We were wondering if you watch Heroes, and what you thought about it.

I love it. LOVE it! I haven't watched all of them because I don't have a lot of time with all the writing I'm doing, but I love it. I even did a cameo in the first season.

That's right, you were a bus driver who picks up Hiro. Would you come back if they asked you?

Of course! I'd be angry if they didn't. I just love doing those.

Well that brings up a good point. Watching the Marvel movies now has become a game of "spot Stan Lee." Will we see you in Iron Man?

Oh yeah, I've already done that role, and it's a very funny cameo. I'll give you just a hint of what it is: I'm dressed like Hugh Hefner, and I've got my arms around three beautiful blonde women who are as close to me as you can get without being on the other side. Plus, I'm smoking a pipe like Hugh Hefner. So when you see it, remember that you heard it here first!

If the Thor film keeps going forward and they want me in it, then they'll probably have me swing a hammer. I'd don fur and leather or do anything they wanted me to do in order to get back on the screen.

In Heroes, the people get their powers through genetics, it isn't supernatural in origin or from cosmic rays or anything. In all of the characters you've created, do you have a favorite origin story?

Well, I think they're all great. I mean... probably Spider-Man being bitten by the radioactive spider. It's so simple, and he was the first teenaged superhero, in my recollection. Plus he faced all the problems that a teenager would encounter; girls, schoolwork, friends. He was the most realistic to me and will probably always be my favorite.

Where did your catch phrase "Excelsior!" come from?

I used to have a lot of expressions that I would end my comic book columns with: Hang Loose, Face Front, 'Nuff Said, and I found that the competition was always imitating them and using them. So, I said I'm going to get one expression that they're not going to know what it means, and they won't know how to spell it. And that's where excelsior came from, and they never did take up on it, thank goodness.

Well, that's good because now it's your unofficial slogan. Thank you for your time.

It was my pleasure. Excelsior!