Comic book creator of Spider-man sues Marvel for 'lost millions'

The creative force behind the comic book characters Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk and Daredevil filed a $10m lawsuit yesterday, charging his old publishing company with cheating him out of millions of dollars in film profits.

Stan Lee, who crafted a menagerie of superpowered heroes with very human flaws, claims Marvel Entertainment Inc has tried to shut him out of the "jackpot" success of this summer's Spider-Man film.

Mr Lee's attorneys filed court papers in the Manhattan federal court, claiming Marvel had signed a deal to give their client 10 per cent of any profits from his characters used in films and television shows.

Spider-Man has been this year's biggest film hit, with revenues of more than $400m (£250m) in the United States alone – but the Mr Lee, 80, says he hasn't seen a penny. "Despite reaping enormous benefits from Mr Lee's creations, defendants have refused to honour their commitments to him," the lawsuit claims.

Marvel has reported millions of dollars in earnings from the film but has told Mr Lee the company has seen no "profits" as defined by their contract. Mr Lee hopes a judge will intervene and make sure he gets a percentage of profits from the Ben Affleck movie Daredevil, which is scheduled for release in February. He is also seeking a share of profits from the upcoming movie The Hulk and sequels to X-Men and Spider-Man.

Marvel has issued a statement saying Mr Lee "continues to be well-compensated" for his contributions to the industry. It said the company is "in full compliance with, and current on all payments due under the terms of Mr Lee's employment agreement."

Spider-Man stars Tobey Maguire as the teenage super-hero, Willem Dafoe as the villain and Kirsten Dunst as the love interest Mary Jane Watson. A sequel is due out in 2004.