Stan Lee Reveals He's Fighting Pneumonia at Age 95

"It seems to be getting better," he says in a video message for fans

By Zach Johnson Feb 28, 2018 3:20 PMTags
Stan LeeMichael Tullberg/Getty Images

Stan Lee is battling pneumonia at the age of 95.

Following his recent hospitalization, the soft-spoken Marvel Comics legend recorded a video message and shared it with TMZ Wednesday night. "Hi, heroes. This is Stan Lee. I haven't been in touch with you lately. I have a little bout of pneumonia I've been fighting, but it seems to be getting better. But I want you all to know I'm thinking of you—of course, I always think of the fans—and I hope you're all doing well, and I miss you all," he said. "I miss your enthusiasm. I miss all the notes and the photos and the e-mails that I used to get, and I still get a lot of them."

Dressed in a yellow cardigan and khaki pants, Lee continued, "I want you to know that I still love you all. I think that Marvel and Spidey and I have the best group of fans that any group in the world ever had, and I sure appreciate it. Let me know how you're doing. I hope everything is going well for you, and I hope the next time we talk, I will be in even better shape. Maybe I'll have some of this pneumonia knocked down and we can have some real fun over the internet."

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"Until then," Lee concluded, "excelsior!"

Lee's video message came less than a month after he was taken to the hospital. "All I really want to do is tell you that I'm feeling great," the perpetually upbeat comic book creator told L.A. affiliate ABC 7 afterward. "I'm glad I spent that evening in the hospital. It did me a lot of good," he added. "Now I'm home and looking for new trouble to get into. You know, the usual!"

In the interview, Lee said he also hoped to "keep doing this as long as I can," in spite of his health issues. "I figured that a little check-up wouldn't be bad for me, and in fact it turned out to be pretty good, because it got me a lot of publicity. I didn't realize the whole world worried whether I was in the hospital or not," said Lee, noting that he was touched by the public's concerns. "Having fans is one of the greatest things. I can never say how grateful I am for it."