Joan Lee, wife of Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, dies at age 93
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Comic book creator Stan Lee poses with his wife Joan after he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles in January 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
The wife of Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee died Thursday at age 93.
Lee and his family released a statement saying Joan Lee died peacefully Thursday morning. The couple had been married 69 years.
Lee's longtime publicist Dawn Miller confirmed the statement's authenticity when contacted by The Associated Press.
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No additional details were provided, and the statement requested privacy.
Stan Lee co-created numerous Marvel Comics superheroes including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men.
The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported Joan Lee's death, recounted the couple's first meeting in a story last year. It said Lee met his future wife while trying to meet another woman for a date in New York. The couple was married in December 1947 and had two daughters, one of whom died days after being born.
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The 94-year-old Lee has credited his wife with supporting him early in his career, when he was trying to create superheroes that he and others could care about.