“He Was Like An Oracle…” Exposing Further The Fraudulent Nature of Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment

When last you presumably visited, (if you’re indeed reading these entries in order), we took a closer look at more of the seemingly endless post-Marvel and post-mortem creations credited to Stan Lee. It seems as if Lee is as prolific in death as he was credited to be in life, with new announcements continuing into the 21st Century.

As of 2023, it shows no sign of slowing down.

In that article, I stated my belief that Lee created none of these things and had little, if any, participation in the creative process or curating whatsoever. I believed that POW! was largely a grift entangled in various degrees of protective legality, where Lee would simply sell the right to use his name in conjunction with various endeavors.

The benefit was immediate income as well as the added bonus of having his name continue to be mentioned in trade papers and press releases. As it turns out, I’m not the first to make this accusation, something I’m a bit ashamed I wasn’t aware of when putting together my previous article. But I’ll try to rectify that now.

First, some necessary background. POW! Entertainment was formed in 2001, a couple years removed from the Stan Lee Media debacle, by Lee, his attorney Arthur Lieberman and his partner Gill Champion. Ostensibly set up to simply launch new creations and concepts from the fertile mind of Stan, POW! would assault the press with new announcements for years in a dizzying array of new projects, partnerships and business deals.

As we know, hardly any made it past the announcement stage and what (very) few did get produced would falter and bomb terribly to an indifferent public.

The context of covering this era of Lee’s life is simply to stress how very uncreative and unsuccessful he was when not in partnership with true creative visionaries like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, as well as illustrating how unscrupulous Lee could really be. If Stan Lee was the visionary creator that many swear him to be, how is it that, at the height of his worldwide fame, at the pinnacle of mass respect and near worship, every venture, every attempt would be an abject, pitiful failure?

It might just be that the well was empty to begin with. But before we delve deeper into the foundation of POW!, let’s get to the entertainment part of today’s adventure and look at even MORE of Stan Lee’s Colossal Creation Disasters!

For starters, did you know that Lee was once the next Don Kirshner?

‘STAN LEE’S POW!ER CONCERTS’ (2013)

In April 2013, Lee began his new venture as a major concert promoter with the launch of Stan Lee’s Pow!er Concerts, announced as the “first of many” stadium events across the country. You can’t make this shit up!

It began with a performance by the now-defunct country-pop band Gloriana at Camp Pendleton, where Lee was on hand to sign autographs and do an audience meet-and-greet.

Lee was 90 at the time and brimming with excitement about his future plans with his POW! Entertainment business partner, Gil Champion.
“I’m just getting started!” Lee told the Union-Tribune during a far-ranging interview a few days before the big event.

“My favorite music is show tunes, like ‘My Fair Lady, ‘Man of La Mancha’ or ‘Camelot’,” Lee said. “I love music that is inspiring and tells a story.”

Friday night’s 2½-hour show at Camp Pendleton marks the debut of Stan Lee’s POW!ER Concerts. “There’s gonna be so many more to come!”, an excitable Lee added. “We’ll be going around the globe!“

“The service people are so interested in what I’m doing and, mainly, in the Captain America and The Avengers’ stories. Gill and I know people in the music business, and said: ‘Why don’t we do something for the troops?’ The obvious thing seemed to be concerts. I’ll be there and sign whatever I can for them. It’s sort of the way Bob Hope did (with his USO shows), although this is nothing like that. But it makes us feel good to do this and we’re going to introduce a new series of superheroes that are military-based, from all four branches, men and women.”

In addition, each attendee will get an “exclusive Stan Lee Generalissimo comic strip program.”

The concert series was almost doomed before it launched. According to the San Diego Tribune, earlier that year Lee filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Champion and another business associate in May, alleging they had tricked Lee into signing a document giving away rights to use his name and likeness. He dropped the lawsuit in July, saying he was happy to resume working with Champion and their colleagues. But this wouldn’t be the last time that things beneath the surface threatened to crack apart POW!’s foundation.

However, even if Lee and Champion’s intentions were purely patriotic it wouldn’t have mattered: the inaugural Pow!er Concert was a failure, with less than 300 people purchasing tickets, according to NBC San Diego. POW! never attempted a concert again.

‘STAN LEE SIGNATURE COLOGNE’ (2013)

Launched in June 2013 and avidly bought by John Cimino for Roy Thomas every Father’s Day, Stan Lee Signature Cologne is a “fresh and sophisticated fragrance for the adventurous with blends of bergamot, ginger, white pepper, basil, and violet and features layers of cedar, vetiver and musk accords.” Damn.

“Fans know me best as someone who creates superhero characters and stories for comics, movies, TV and the web, so this is a highly exciting step for me to expand into the cologne world as well,” said Stan Lee, Founder of POW! Entertainment. “Not only do I want fans to look sharp like their favorite superhero and their Generalissimo here, but I thought wouldn’t it be fun to offer them the chance to smell like one too… whether they have a date or a rendezvous with an ally.”

“The cologne marks the first time Lee has lent his name to a fragrance, where he also played a key role in the development of the overall product.”

Note the wording where Lee is credited as playing a “key role in the development of the overall product“- this is again a clear sign that the company itself- JADS International- sought out Lee and paid him for his involvement, believing the multitude of ticket buyers to Marvel films would automatically constitute a legion of buyers for this shoddy product. Lee boasted that he never brushed with toothpaste; what is he going to contribute to the development of cologne??

‘STAN LEE’S HERO COMMAND’ (2015)

This is another product in which the press release helpfully shares the fact that they pursued Lee, rather than Lee coming up with an ingenious idea and therefore needing to find the right partners to develop his grand vision. I think is extremely notable as it (unintentionally) helps provide the evidence that Lee was simply selling his name and association to whomever could afford it.

Hero Command was a mobile game for iOS and Android. From the press release:

“The game is collaboration with Lee’s Pow Entertainment and game producer F84. Lee consulted on the designs for the heroes and the villains. Players will get to choose from three brand new superheroes. Lee is the commander who provides players with instructions.

F84, a game studio that in the past has worked with Bear Grylls (Survival Run with Bear Grylls) and HUB Network, approached Lee with the concept.” (emphasis mine)

The brilliant mind behind The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man consulted F84 on the hero designs used in the game, including their villainous counterparts. “He was like an oracle,” Hardy said. “One of the things that stuck with me was that heroes are always a little bit of an underdog, and that’s why people like them.”

Note that, once again, Lee is given his usual sole credit for the Marvel Characters. Even in 2015, these companies couldn’t do their homework.

‘THE AMAZING STAN’ (2019)

Announced in July 2019 with a photo of Lee holding up presentation art from the previous year (interestingly of a blonde version of kid Stan, and a version that presumably sketched Ditko’s design for Spider-Man as a child), Pure Imagination Studios and POW! partnered on this project which “envisions the world as it would be seen through they eyes of Lee as a modern-day youngster.”

The character is a “constant dreamer” and he and his friends “learn to take risks, explore new ideas, and never ever give up.”, so states the press release. Gill Champion is on hand to add that “Stan had the uncanny ability to see the world with a childlike imagination.” Love that Gill!

The aptly titled ScienceFiction.com reported the same month that ‘The Amazing Stan’ is in no way affiliated with Marvel, so don’t expect “his unique creations” to include the famous superheroes we all know and love.” Aww. I suppose no one mentioned that to whomever created that presentation art.

‘STAN LEE and POW! join forced with CELEBRITIES IN ACTION INC.’ (2014)

I’ve got to state that the above photograph of Lee and Gill Champion doesn’t really have anything to do with the following project, I’m including it just because it delights me for some mad reason. Look at these two old guys in their trench coats, awkwardly positioned so that they don’t block out what I presume is the White House in the background- it looks like two teenagers shooting their own amateur Detective series on a camcorder or something.

Anyway. In December 2014, Lee and POW! joined forces with something called ‘Celebrities in Action Inc (CIA)‘ to “co-develop and co-produce animated film projects that will pit well-known celebrities against characters from other worlds for animated programming and merchandising.“

Stan Lee comments, “Having invented countless fictional characters over the years, what a kick it is to be tackling a project as original and unique as creating new personas and storylines for actual, world-famous celebrities. And what a challenge! Imagine making superheroes of people who are already superheroes! This I’m gonna enjoy!”

Wow, that sounds absolutely horrible. And I’m not entirely sure it didn’t completely fail as I have a vague recollection that Lee did an animated project with Arnold Schwarzenegger; could this have stemmed from the Celebrities in Action partnership? We’ll never really know since I’m not going to take the time to research that.

It is truly staggering when you consider just how many projects were announced by POW! and never developed; it’s amazing when you look at what did and how, without exception, all failed to some degree.

Stripperella lasted 13 episodes. Lucky Man lasted two seasons. These would be considered the most successful of all of Lee’s ventures in his golden years- the period when he was most well-known, most beloved, most sought out.

As of 2023, POW! Entertainment is still an ongoing enterprise, with Champion still involved. In 2019, he was interviewed several times about a POW! without Lee and gave several amazing statements, a few of which I’ll share here as they entertain me that much:

• “He’s like my son and my brother, and my ability to learn and work with him on a daily basis has been amazing.” – Gill Champion

…He’s like my son and my brother. I… guess I understand what he’s trying to say, but it’s still such an unusual way to describe your business partner. But what do I know?

• “He helped BUILD Comic Con… he helped put it on the map!”

• “Every time we left; he’d say ‘promise me we’re never coming back.” – Gill Champion, 2019

I’d have to argue that Lee isn’t known for helping to build San Diego Comic Con (the show Gill was referring to here), as Jack Kirby was there at its inception and every installment for the first twenty years of its existence. Indeed, it’s a photo including Kirby that is on the cover of Fantagraphics oral history of the event, See You at San Diego, such was his public association with the show. Lee even steals credit from Kirby’s patronage.

I do want to point out that Champion claimed that Joan Lee would routinely rap various hip hop songs over brunch. I desperately hope this is true:

• “Along with Stan’s wife Joan and my wife Claudia, we shared many wonderful brunches and dinners over the years. Our amazing conversations would always wind up with Stan and Joan reciting poetry or singing a variety of songs from Irish folk lore to hip hop. Joan was good at rapping, which always brought smiles to all who could hear and see her.” – Gill Champion

In 2012, POW! faced a serious challenge to its existence and stability as it was sued by two producers who had formerly worked with Lee and Champion- Valerie Barth, who also helped assist Lee in obtaining his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Ron Sandman- and gosh, there’s a name. What a world we live in when Lee was involved with men with names like “Gill Champion” and “Ron Sandman“. If a guy named “Zeus Sampson” shows up, I won’t be surprised whatsoever.

What’s notable about this lawsuit- the specifics of which involved POW! reneging on contracted agreements, among other things- is that Barth and Sandman basically revealed what I’ve suspected about POW! all along: that POW! was, indeed, an organized grift, designed to fraudulently accept monies from unwitting partners based on the premise that Lee’s fame and reputation as a creator of successful properties would be a solid investment.

• “Barth and Sandman say that POW is basically a fiction, an entity that allows Lee, Champion and Lieberman to get away with personal interests — “a mere shell without adequate, sufficient or reasonable assets or capital with which to carry on the business in which it was engaged.”

• “Complainants say that POW participated in many securities violations: treating the assets of POW separate from personal assets, failing to adequately capitalize the company, issuing false and misleading public statements about the company to induce false confidence among investors.”

• “POW allegedly allowed Lee to divert and commingle revenue for Lee’s consulting, signatures fees, appearances, honorariums, interviews, literary works, acting and other engagements and services.” – Report by Eriq Gardner, May 2012

One month later, Lee agreed to a settlement to resolve litigation in principle, seemingly closing the case. But the claims about POW! remain telling- notably, that POW! was “basically a fiction” and that the specified parties were purposely misleading investors. Does this establish that the sheer output of Lee “creations” throughout the past two decades existed simply to con investors? Does it explain the seemingly careless attitude that Lee and his partners seemed to have for all of these unproduced major projects? After all, there was another contract to sign, another press release, another convention panel.

But there was never any product. It was all a grand illusion, meant to continue to shill the rubes, who kept coming and coming. Lee had maneuvered The Marvel Method once before as a device that enabled him to steal both credit and pay; it was obvious yet sold successfully and outright to starry-eyed “journalists” that allowed Lee to coast for years.

His later invention of Pow! Entertainment as a company created with the intent to produce his supposedly never-ending, relentless creative ideas was the natural evolution to his earlier sleight-of-hand. And, as with any skilled illusionist, all that it took? Was an audience willing to be deceived.