The former manager of comic book co-creator Stan Lee, who created the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Black Panther, and countless other silver age Marvel superheroes,  has been charged with elder abuse against the late writer.

Keya Morgan is facing five counts of abuse against Lee - including false imprisonment, fraud and forgery after it was alleged that he hurt, gaslit, and manipulated the iconic editor-in-chief, who died last year at the age of 95. A spokesperson for Los Angeles Superior Court has now that confirmed an arrest warrant has been issued for Morgan. Morgan himself has declined to comment.

Check out this heartfelt message from Stan to his fans before his death:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/Tbz9mBYd-dkXnENEs.mp4||Tbz9mBYd]]

Prior to Stan Lee's death, a number of parties appeared to be contesting his estate for the sake of their own financial gain. Morgan, who has long been involved in the pop culture memorabilia scene, was one subject of the investigation. Last month, he pled no-contest to filing a false police report and has previously been issued a restraining order from Lee's family. He has also been legally required to complete 100 hours of community service.

Stan Lee died on November 12, 2018, six weeks before his 96th birthday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA. He had been battling pneumonia for a number of weeks, which can prove deadly to elderly people. His death certificate stated that he ultimately perished as a result of cardiac arrest, with respiratory failure and congestive heart failure also contributing factors. 

Check out all the cameos Stan Lee made in the Marvel movies in this video below:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/2zma4uKw-Q0L14jDU.mp4||2zma4uKw]]

Despite his sad passing, it's clear that Stan Lee's legacy and the characters he helped create alongside his equally-talented collaborators (Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko to name just two) will endure, thanks to the heroism and ideals they inspired in his readership.

Indeed, the box office performance of Avengers: Endgame (which became the fastest film ever to make $1 billion) proves how much our society still needs Lee's heroes: diverse, flawed characters with feet of clay, trying their best to do the right thing.

Most people will recognize 95-year-old Stan Lee for his numerous cameo appearances in Marvel movies - and for good reason. After all, he created most of them, co-creating Spider-Man, the X-Men, Thor, Black Panther, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, and Black Widow. His estate is estimated to be worth up to $70 million, and it's been reported he receives $1 million a year from Marvel, but his finances may be in trouble.

Lee requires nursing care at home and on the road but insists on still visiting comic conventions, signing autographs for thousands of fans. However, according to an article published by The Hollywood Reporter, there is a battle raging over Lee's estate that may involve elderly abuse. Members of his inner circle have reportedly been misusing his fortune, and interested parties have further exploited him following the death of his wife last July.

The document the website obtained explained how he and his wife set up a trust for his 67-year-old daughter Joan Celia, known as JC, due to her economic troubles. Lee's attorney at the time, Tom Lallas, went through the document line by line before it was signed by the comic book writer. It explains how JC has "never held any meaningful job" and has been unable to support herself, blowing away her parent's money and demanding more each time.

"When JC and I disagree," Lee wrote, "She typically yells and screams at me and cries hysterically if I do not capitulate to her demands." Altercations with JC even turned physical in the past, with one event leaving her mother with a large bruise and Lee with a contusion on his skull. In addition to this, the document explains that three men with "bad intentions" influenced his daughter, taking advantage of both her and Lee.

[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/Beqm3CzFO7R/?hl=en&taken-by=therealstanlee]]

The document explains that Jerry Olivarez, Keya Morgan and JC's attorney, Kirk Schenck all "insinuated themselves into relationships with JC for an ulterior motive and purpose" in order to "gain control over [Lee’s] assets, property and money". Keya Morgan seems to be in the most dominant position, with Olivarez believing he has been distanced from Lee by a smear campaign.

Morgan, a noted dealer in rare American memorabilia, was name-dropped in the document, but after the declaration was notarized Lee fired his attorney and apparently changed his mind. In the time since, Morgan has become central to Lee's life, apparently monitoring and composing his emails because of his poor eyesight.

[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BX3avMwD0Io/?hl=en&taken-by=therealstanlee]]

THR reports that Lee has a "people-pleasing habit" of telling people what they wanted to hear, makes bad financial decisions like never cashing in on Marvel properly, and has a "Depression-bred distrust of banks" - which it is rumored led him to hide cash all over his property. With these features and the death of his wife, many believe he may be vulnerable to those who want to exploit him.

Linda Sanchez came on board as one of Lee's nurses following the death of his wife and said that she witnessed moments where he was exploited by his inner circle. However, she claims Morgan made it clear to her that he would go to the media about a past DUI and misdemeanor hit-and-run incident if she were to report her claims. Later, the Daily Mail reported what Sanchez described as a fabricated physical relationship between her and Lee, as well as detailing her record. When asked, Morgan claimed he didn't leak anything and bears her no ill will.

Since the article has been released, Stan Lee released a video dismissing all the claims made. In the video, he claims the document is "totally incorrect, inaccurate, misleading and insulting" and is calling the entire story fake news. "My relationship with my daughter has never been better," he said, "and my friend Keya Morgan and I also have a great relationship … anybody who is saying anything [else] … is just spreading lies."

[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK_Syo6LwFQ]]

Many have found the video a little disturbing, especially since the man filming the statement is Keya Morgan himself. Fans are coming together to support him, including filmmakers and fans Kevin Smith, Seth Green and Felicia Day.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ThatKevinSmith/status/983726105118019584]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/SethGreen/status/983859754756812800]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/feliciaday/status/983744006449500160]]

Bradley Herman, Lee's former business and asset manager said of the matter:

"I'm on the verge of tears, because it breaks my heart to see somebody that I love being effectively held prisoner. He finds himself in need of a superhero himself."

The full Hollywood Reporter article is worth reading in full, as it covers the complex story in depth. It is clear that, regardless of who is telling the truth, there are some people out there exploiting Lee's vulnerability and trusting nature for their own ends.

Stan Lee, the man who co-created and wrote numerous comic book heroes, from Spider-Man to Iron Man to the Hulk, passed away at the age of 95 last week.

Since the 1960s, his creations have had a significant effect on the world, through fans' personal connection with this work and the ways in which they changed pop culture.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TheRealStanLee/status/1062753151638372352]]

In more recent years, his creations have made their way onto the big screen, slowly but surely becoming the biggest sub-genre in Hollywood today. Given his charismatic appearances throughout these movies in small cameos, and the fact he helped Marvel reach the level of success it has seen today, means that there were plenty who knew him - many of which expressed their sadness at his passing.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ChrisEvans/status/1062066692631732224]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Sethrogen/status/1062061436376100864]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/MagicWheelchair/status/1062185432975314944]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/1062056248751874053]]

However, according to Bill Maher, these responses are just a case of arrested development. On his blog, Real Time with Bill Maher, he wrote a post titled 'Adulting', in which he took issue with the pedestal fans had put Lee on, and openly mocked both his work and those that enjoy it.

“The guy who created Spider-Man and the Hulk has died, and America is in mourning," he wrote. "Deep, deep mourning for a man who inspired millions to, I don’t know, watch a movie, I guess.”

[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BqX6VWpB8g4/]]

He continued by claiming that any adults who read comics should be reading “big-boy books without the pictures,” a line that would be original if it wasn't uttered by bullies to their comic-reading classmates for the last fifty years. “I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to suggest that Donald Trump could only get elected in a country that thinks comic books are important,” Maher added.

The issue here is less that Maher thinks that comic books and the movies they've led to are stupid (which he has every right to think, obviously), but that he's taking the time to shame others for what they like. On top of this, he's bashing someone who - like it or not - was a cultural icon, the same week that he passed away. However, this isn't exactly a new look for Maher, who once wore a 'dead Steve Irwin' costume shortly after his death.

No one was very happy with this particular hot take, especially since the callous remarks came so shortly after Lee's death.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/neilhimself/status/1063871261808476160]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ScottWamplerBMD/status/1063789138451804161]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Daradol1/status/1063816027744714753]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/nathanrabin/status/1063806780214571008]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/nathanrabin/status/1063978150265270272]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/GWillowWilson/status/1063850874433241088]]

On top of that, it was pointed out that Maher had very little problem with the movies he was lambasting when he picked up a paycheque for appearing in Iron Man 3.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/UpToTASK/status/1063844987899568128]]

In the wake of this, the team at Stan Lee's company POW! Entertainment have responded to the comments, posting an open letter to their website. "Comic books, like all literature, are storytelling devices," the letter begins. "When written well by great creators such as Stan Lee, they make us feel, make us think and teach us lessons that hopefully make us better human beings.

"One lesson Stan taught so many of us was tolerance and respect, and thanks to that message, we are grateful that we can say you have a right to your opinion that comics are childish and unsophisticated. But to say that Stan merely inspired people to “watch a movie” is in our opinion frankly disgusting.

"Countless people can attest to how Stan inspired them to read, taught them that the world is not made up of absolutes, that heroes can have flaws and even villains can show humanity within their souls.

"He gave us the X-Men, Black Panther, Spider-Man and many other heroes and stories that offered hope to those who felt different and bullied while inspiring countless to be creative and dream of great things to come.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TheRealStanLee/status/1064623833863217152]]

"These are but a few of the things we the fans of Stan Lee also consider “adulting,” because life both as a child and grown-up can indeed be a struggle. Stan is the author of millions of happy childhood memories and the provider of so many of the positive tools of adulthood.

They then conclude by referring to one of Stan's most iconic comic book lessons to give Maher a little advice. "You have a powerful platform, so please remember: “With great power there must also come — great responsibility!”"

Sad news for Marvel fans this evening as it has been revealed that comic book legend Stan Lee has passed away at the age of 95.

Founding the company in 1961 with Jack Kirby - and starting their creations with The Fantastic Four - the duo went on to create iconic titles such as Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk.

Speaking to  TMZ, Stan's daughter JC Lee said her father was "the greatest, most decent man".

[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BqF8TYyBiGO/]]

While the full cause of death is currently unknown, Variety magazine reports that author died at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Monday after a medical emergency.

In the last few years Lee had suffered from a few different illnesses, including a bout of pneumonia.

Bob Iger, chairman of the Walt Disney Company, which bought Marvel Comics for $4bn (£2.5bn) in 2009, called Lee "a super hero in his own right" in a statement.

"The scale of his imagination was only exceeded by the size of his heart."

Our condolences go out to the Lee family at this difficult time.

Stan Lee has had a tremendous affect on a multitude of people, and his creations continue to dominate and change pop culture to this day.

His work at Marvel reinvigorated the comics industry, and years later these characters became big enough to warrant their own movies - helping the now incredibly prolific superhero genre reach its current heights.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TheRealStanLee/status/1062078268319268864]]

Even those that didn't read the pages he wrote knew who he was due to his numerous cameos in Marvel-affiliated movies. During his later years, he made over 50 cameos in various Marvel projects, including all twenty movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

When he first turned up, it would be a niche joke for those in-the-know to share with their friends, but by time he turned up in this year's Avengers: Infinity War, everyone was in on the joke.

[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnByuUqMeko]]

As well as being the face of the characters (which include all sorts, from the X-Men and Spider-Man to Black Panther and the Avengers) and company, Lee also had a wonderful relationship with his fans.

Even in his 90s, he still made the effort to turn up to conventions, spending hours signing autographs and taking photos with his adoring fans.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TheRealStanLee/status/1058412766157885440]]

In the wake of his death, at the age of 95 on Monday, many have paid tribute, whether they be fans of his work or one of those who worked with him at some point over his illustrious career. Now, we have received one last message from Lee, after his official Twitter account shared a video of him talking about his fans.

As they were setting up the camera one day for an interview, Lee started talking about his fans in casual conversation, not knowing he was being caught on film. "We know how much Stan meant to you," the account wrote, "and we thought it would be nice for you to hear how much your support meant to him."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TheRealStanLee/status/1062753151638372352]]

“I love my fans. I cannot tell you how much I love my fans,” Lee explains in the clip, before he launches into a heartwarming description of the effect his fans had on his life:

“Sometimes, at night, I’m sitting here and I’m thinking, ‘What’s it all about?’ Then I get a letter from a fan or I read something or I see something or I remember something. And I realize it’s so lucky to have fans, fans who really care about you. That’s the reason I care about the fans, because they make me feel so great.

"There’s something, if you think about it, that is wonderful about somebody caring about you, as I care about them, whom you’ve never met. Who may live in another part of the world. But they care, you have something in common and occasionally you contact each other.”

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/MetroManTO/status/1062899775400501249]]

While it is sad to see him go, Lee has had a full life - and left a significant mark on the world with his inspirational creations. And from the responses all across the world following the news of his death, it's clear that the love he had for his fanbase was a two-way street.