Stan Lee's Cause of Death Was Heart and Respiratory Failure

It’s been a little over two weeks since we lost the legendary Stan Lee. As Marvel fans continue to mourn, TMZ has reported the icon’s cause of death. According to the outlet, Lee died from heart and respiratory failure while also suffering from aspiration pneumonia.

Stan Lee's death occurred Nov. 12 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, after he was rushed to the hospital from his home in Hollywood Hills. His family held a small, private funeral after he was cremated.

"As we all continue to process our feelings of loss at the passing of a true legend, many are asking if there will be a memorial in Stan's honor," his entertainment company, POW!, said in a statement. "Stan was always adamant that he did not want a large public funeral, and as such his family has conducted a private closed ceremony in accordance with his final wishes."

As the most well-known figure in the world of comics, Lee co-created popular superheroes in the '60s as Marvel Comics' president and chairman. These masked crime fighters include Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Panther, and the Fantastic Four. Lee also did dozens of cameos in Marvel films.

His last conversation with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige was about just that. "When I sat down by his chair in our last meeting, the very first thing he said was: 'I know you want me to star in the next movie, but I have to just stick to the cameos. You'll have to leave the starring roles to the other actors. I’m sorry,'" the studio boss wrote. "He would show up to the movie sets game for anything. But one thing he would always do is try to add more lines. He always would joke—but not really joke—about wanting more lines, although he understood why we couldn’t."