Siri Thinks Stan Lee Is Dead—He Isn't

Despite claims from Apple's Siri, Marvel legend Stan Lee is not dead.

At 95, Lee still manages to get his face on the big screen as a cameo in various comic book movies that he wrote the originals for. The former editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics has an upcoming cameo in Disney's newest superhero movie, Ant Man and the Wasp.

Siri, however, killed him off early on Wednesday, according to Cinema Blend. Any iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch or Home Pod user who asked the digital assistant "how old is Stan Lee?" was told "Stan Lee died July 2, 2018 at age 95."

Apple has since corrected the mistake and Siri now answers that Lee is 95—without saying he died on Tuesday. Google seems to have made a similar mistake. Whenever someone googles "when did Stan Lee die?" they are told in a breakout box he died on July 2, 2018.

stan lee died
Google seems to think Stan Lee is dead as well. Google

Lee's list of comic character creations illustrates his impact on modern superhero movies. Among the many are:

  • Spider-Man
  • The Hulk
  • Doctor Strange
  • The X-Men
  • Black Panther
  • Ant-Man
  • Iron Man
  • Thor

Lee—original name Stanley Martin Lieber—was born in New York City on December 28, 1922. He began his career as an office assistant at Timely Comics in 1939. After more than a decade working at Marvel, Lee was made editorial director and publisher in 1972. He relocated to the west coast to build Marvel's movie business.

Tragedy struck Lee in July 2017 when his wife of 70 years, Joan Boocock Lee, died from complications following a stroke. They had two daughters together, Joan Celia Lee who was born in 1950 and Jen Lee, who died three days after birth in 1953.

RTXW7NE
Comic book creator Stan Lee poses after his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled in Hollywood, California, January 4, 2011. Siri users were being told he had died on July 2. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

Lee had his own health scare at the beginning of 2018, arriving to hospital with an irregular heartbeat and shortness of breath. He was discharged relatively quickly and returned to his work with Black Panther.

In May, Lee took up a legal battle against one of his former companies. He is suing for $1 billion in damages. According to CNN, Lee filed a lawsuit against Pow! Entertainment. The lawsuit alleges CEO Shane Duffy and co-founder Gill Champion "conspired and agreed to broker a sham deal to sell Pow! to a company in China and fraudulently steal Stan Lee's identity, name, image, and likeness as part of a nefarious scheme to benefit financially at Lee's expense."

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


James Hetherington is a staff reporter for Newsweek covering technology.

Based in London, James previously covered technology for International Business Times ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go