On 17 May 2018 we reported on a dispute in a Californian court between Marvel Comics’ founder Stan Lee and his erstwhile business partners, POW! Entertainment LLC Ltd. As we noted in our last report on the litigation, Mr Lee created iconic characters such as the Incredible Hulk, Thor, the Uncanny X-men, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the Black Panther.
On 10 July 2018, the parties have released a joint statement confirming that Mr Lee had filed an application to dismiss the litigation. The statement is very conciliatory, and quotes Mr Lee: “The whole thing has been confusing to everyone, including myself and the fans, but I am now happy to be surrounded by those who want the best for me. I am thrilled to put the lawsuit behind me, get back to business with my friends and colleagues at POW, and launch the next wave of amazing characters and stories.”
The balance of the press release says, ““We recently got together with Stan Lee to discuss our path forward, and we and Camsing International (the recipient of the assignment of Mr Lee’s rights) are pleased with his overwhelmingly enthusiastic reaction…. The company doubts whether Lee is personally behind this lawsuit. Fortunately, with the dismissal of the US complaint, the ill-founded lawsuit is solved satisfactorily.”
Which begs the question: what on earth happened here?