Stan Lee Archives Rest In Wyoming

The University of Wyoming possesses the only archival collection of materials created by Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the X-Men. These documents reside at the American Heritage Center on the Laramie campus. The facility has maintained a relationship with Lee's archives since 1977.

Rhiannon Skye McLean, who oversees the collection, stated that the archive contains more than 200 boxes of comic book history. This material encompasses approximately 125 cubic feet of space. The holdings include unpublished scripts from a never-produced 1970s Spider-Man film and home movies. McLean noted that the collection showcases the progression of Lee's life and career, displaying the work behind the final published comics.

Paul Flesher, director of the Heritage Center, explained that Hollywood rarely preserves its history. He cited the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts managing the Warner Bros. Archives with only one archivist on staff. Flesher said, "In Hollywood, they're not interested in what happened in the past. They're not historians. They're more interested in creating and producing, and so they don't really pay attention."

Lee connected with the Heritage Center through former director Gene Gressley around 1972. Gressley had previously built relationships with Hollywood figures while collecting works by comedian Jack Benny. In 1979, Lee signed a donation contract to transfer ownership of his papers to the center. Lee joked that the university became his method for "cleaning out his files." He also quipped that the volume of material might require the university to find a new campus.

A 1984 fire at Marvel Productions' executive offices and animation studio accelerated the donation process. The fire damaged materials Lee intended to give to the Heritage Center. Flesher said, "He realized, 'Oh my God, if I don't do something I'm actually going to lose this stuff.'" For the next 30 years, Lee sent one or two packages annually to Laramie. The center now holds hundreds of thousands of pages of his work.

Lee visited the Heritage Center several times in the 1990s. During a 1994 visit, he brought Spider-Man with him to sign autographs. Afterward, he wrote that Wyoming University was his alma mater and that he wished he could remember where he stored his cap and gown. The center is one of the 10 largest nongovernmental archives in the United States, holding nearly 100,000 cubic feet of materials.