Described by Bob Simon 'as a man whose ship has come in,' Stan Lee told the CBS correspondent that his victory in the first round of a legal battle with Marvel left him with a sense of 'vindication -- just like every superhero story should have a bit of vindication.'  In his second stint on 60 Minutes II (see '60 Minutes II Does Comics' for a description of his 2002 appearance), Stan reflected at some length on his decision to sue Marvel, which he called: 'very emotional.  I was really hurt...We had always had this great relationship, the company and me.  I felt I was a part of it... Don't forget I've written about superheroes all my life, and they are the good guys and they always do the right things, and I always though our company was the good company and we always did the right thing -- that we always treated the artists and writers well -- and suddenly I felt I wasn't being treated well, and it really hurt.'

Shortly after he appeared on 60 Minutes II in 2002, Lee filed suit against Marvel claiming that he had not received what his contract stipulated, 10% of the profits from the movies, television and licensing of the characters he helped create (see 'Stan Lee Pulls the Trigger').  A recent court ruling (see 'Stan Lee Gets Spidey Cents') was largely in Lee's favor, and although some licensing issues remain undecided, the 82-year-old Lee, who has received a million dollar per year salary from Marvel since the 1990s, could receive a substantial award if the initial ruling holds up through Marvel's subsequent appeals.  Still the 60 Minutes piece with its continual mentions of the $800 million that each of the Spider-Man movies has earned at the box office worldwide was more than a little misleading since, even if the initial court decision is upheld, Lee will only be entitled to 10% of Marvel's share, which itself is only a small percentage of the total take.