Writer/editor Stan Lee (1922-2018) made comic-book history together with Jack Kirby in 1961 with Fantastic Four #1. The monumental popularity of its new style inspired Lee to develop similarly themed characters -- including the Hulk and X-Men with Kirby, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange with Steve Ditko, and Daredevil with Bill Everett. After shepherding his creations through dozens of issues -- in some cases a hundred or more -- Lee allowed other writers to take over, but he maintained steady editorial control. Eventually, he helped expand Marvel into a multimedia empire. In recent years, his frequent cameo appearances in Marvel's films established Lee as one of the world's most famous faces.

Steve Ditko (1927 - 2018) began his comics career in the anthologies of the 1950s, where his unique style and perspective quickly earned recognition and respect. Recruited to join Stan Lee's Atlas Comics, later Marvel, in 1958, his nuances contrasted well with Jack Kirby's bombast. In 1962, in the pages of Amazing Fantasy, Ditko and Lee brought to life Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man, changing the industry forever. Leaving Marvel in 1966, he drew Blue Beetle and Captain Atom for Charlton, Creeper and Shade the Changing Man for DC, and his independent effort Mr. A. Ditko returned to Marvel during the late 1970s and remained for much of the 1980s, co-creating Speedball, Squirrel Girl and other characters who would prove of unexpected importance in Marvel's later years.