In what’s definitely one of the weirder stories I’ve ever covered, it’s being reported that someone has been stealing Stan Lee‘s blood in order to sign collectable comic books. Apparently, at the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. at Treasure Island Las Vegas (“an interactive and educational exhibit bringing visitors into the world of The Avengers”), Black Panther comics were being sold together with certificates explaining that the issues feature a “Hand-Stamped Signature of STAN LEE using Stan Lee’s Solvent DNA Ink.”
This would be pretty weird on its own, but the story takes a disturbing twist if you combine it with the reports that the blood used to make the “DNA ink” was stolen by a former business associate of Lee’s. Said associate allegedly forged a document giving him the authority to order a blood sample. A nurse subsequently drew several vials of blood from the Marvel icon, leaving him feeling dizzy and unwell.
Honestly, what kind of scumbag would do this to a 95-year-old man?
The story comes on the heels of multiple worrying reports about Stan Lee, including the LAPD investigating an assault and battery at his home two months ago. That was after we heard about financial impropriety, with Lee discovering that an unknown person had written a $300,000 cheque from his account and that someone had purchased an $850,000 house using his money without his knowledge.
Something’s definitely rotten with Stan Lee right now and I can only hope that whoever’s exploiting his considerable fortune and reputation is brought to justice as speedily as possible. With many of the characters he created set to bring Disney and Marvel Studios record-breaking profits over the next month in Avengers: Infinity War, let’s hope that someone can intervene to make sure that Lee gets to enjoy his final years in peace, security and good health.