Credit where credit is due?

The New York Times uses Stan Lee's victory in his contract dispute with Marvel as an opportunity to pose that age-old question: Who really deserves the credit for creating all of those superheroes -- Lee or his collaborators?

"It's amazing that he walks away with all the credit and all the money for some of the creation of these characters," said Robert Katz, a nephew of Jack Kirby, the illustrator who worked with Mr. Lee on the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the X-Men and others. "The artists who did the lion's share of the creation have walked away with absolutely nothing." Mr. Kirby died in 1994.

"I only wish that Jack Kirby had Stan Lee's lawyer," Mr. Katz added.

Lisa Kirby, Mr. Kirby's daughter, agreed. "I don't know how they live with themselves," she said. "The estate gets no compensation from Marvel at all."