Martin Garbus, Esq., has filed a shareholder derivative suit Monday, January 26, against Marvel Entertainment and its chairman Isaac Perlmutter, as well as Stan Lee, the creator of Marvel's major superhero characters and former Marvel Studio head, Avi Arad. Garbus is suing for recovery in excess of $750 million representing one-half of the proceeds from such blockbuster films as Spider-Man, Iron Man and X-Men franchises.

The suit accuses Perlmutter, Arad, Marvel and Stan Lee of denying Stan Lee Media, Inc. (SLMI) shareholders their rights in ownership of 50% of both the legendary superhero characters and intellectual properties created by Stan Lee, which have become among the top entertainment franchises in the world.

SLMI was placed into Chapter 11 Reorganization in Bankruptcy by Stan Lee in 2001 after the dot-com bust and emerged in November 2006, beginning a titanic battle between shareholders and the company's founder, Lee.

SLMI shareholders contend that Lee and Perlmutter, along with Lee's partner Arthur Lieberman and former Marvel Studios president Avi Arad, improperly colluded to hide and misappropriate financial interests in Lee's creations assigned to Stan Lee Media in 1998 and reaffirmed in 1999.

Mr. Garbus will answer questions on the lawsuit at a press conference Tuesday.