An AI hologram of Stan Lee, the legendary creator from Marvel Comics, is reportedly one of the major attendees at this week’s Los Angeles Comic Con. It offers fans a new way to celebrate the late Marvel icon, but not everyone is happy.
The renowned creator of numerous well-known Marvel characters, Stan Lee, died in 2018 at the age of 95.. A hologram with his likeness will be a component of the “Stan Lee Experience” at LACC, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Fans can pay to take selfies with the hologram or speak with it one-on-one for three minutes, in addition to the usual $15–20 experience cost to enter the booth. It was developed by virtual production firm HyperReal and Proto Hologram, which produced an interactive mirror for shopping centres to advertise The Conjuring: Last Rites.
While several spokespeople have assured fans that the “experience” will be awesome for fans, some hate the idea. Here are five reasons why.
1. Disrespect Toward Stan Lee’s Legacy
Stan Lee is beloved in the comic book industry. His creation (and co-creation) of dozens of classic superheroes and villains throughout his decades of work. But even after being a writer and editor, he transitioned to become an ardent spokesperson for the comic book company. He became legendary for his brief cameos in Marvel projects.
“Even in death, they won’t let the guy rest,” wrote Marvel fan RCGBlade on Reddit (now removed). “It’s all pretty dystopian.”
“This is wrong and incredibly disrespectful,” wrote a second, named Adrellan. “There’s a reason we say ‘Rest in Peace.”
His legacy was already tarnished before his death. It was revealed after his passing that maltreatment had become a fixture in his latter years. His former manager, Keya Morgan, was accused of grave elder abuse and wrongful imprisonment after allegedly embezzling $200,000 from autograph signings and keeping Lee away from his family.
Speaking of money…
2. Commercialization and Monetization
One of the most disgusting examples of Stan Lee’s abuse was when it was revealed that his former business associate forged medical documents to take Stan Lee’s blood. Then they used it to make ink and sign several comic books. The ghoulish comic books —retailing for up to $500—claimed that the signature on the book has been “hand-stamped with Stan Lee’s Solvent DNA Ink.”
Fans will pay $15 to $20 to enter the enclosed Stan Lee Experience booth. There will be additional fees for one-on-one interactions or picture ops with the hologram on top of the admission ticket. Proto Hologram and Hyperreal worked together to create the hologram.
To many the tribute seems more like a commercial cash grab than a genuine tribute, fueling perceptions of exploitation[4][5][6]. Lee was especially proud of LA Comic Con, which he renamed from Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo in 2016.
He told THR at the time: “I felt that a lot of people didn’t know what Comikaze really meant or what it was. And I didn’t think we should hide under a bushel. Los Angeles is, to me, the centre of the world’s entertainment. It has to have a Comic Con.
“I want [people] to feel they’ve had an experience, because these conventions are a chance for the fans to be up close to the people they are fans of and to see the workings of the television shows — and even music and sports. It’s going to encompass everything that people are entertained by. People love comics, movies, and television more and more every year, so we intend to provide more and more every year.”
“Turning Stan Lee into an AI hologram feels less like honoring his legacy and more like monetizing his ghost,” @Lordchukz23 said on Twitter, and many agreed.
Is this what Stan Lee would have wanted for Comic Con after he died? Which raises another question.
3. Lack of Consent and Agency
Through an exclusive agreement with Lee’s own business, POW! Entertainment, Kartoon Studios legally obtained the rights to Lee’s name and physical likeness. However, Lee also tried to sue POW! Entertainment just before he passed away in 2018, alleging that the other executives of the company planned to “fraudulently steal” his name and likeness to profit from it at his expense. Lee was 95 at the time, and by his own admission had suffered from extensive macular degeneration for several years, a condition that left him unable to read without help. That meant he had to rely on and trust others when he signed contracts.
But even if he had consented to using his likeness, would he want AI to make him have a conversation?
4. Concerns Over Authenticity
Despite assurances that the AI will be “faithful” to what Stan Lee would say, viewers remain skeptical about whether an algorithm can truly represent his spirit and personal interactions.
To “build a voice that stays true, not always word for word, but always faithful in spirit, context, and intent,” Bob Sabouni, head of Stan Lee Legacy Programs, assured the trade that the hologram would not say anything that wasn’t “in line with things [Lee] spoke about in his lifetime.”
But AI isn’t perfect, and there have been several recent examples of AI Avatars screwing up. Most recently, James Earl Jones’ performance as Darth Vader was recreated in Fortnite. The results were disastrous. Players manipulated Vader into saying memes about Sabrina Carpenter and other things. Even worse, Darth Vader was manipulated into using profanity and slurs.
The creators insist that fans should feel they’re engaging with Stan Lee himself, but in reality, it’s a curated performance scripted by others.
Could we get reports of Stan Lee talking about Chun-Li’s posterior or Skibiddi Toilet? But there are even bigger concerns.
5. Broader AI/Ethics Issues
If these types of projects become normalized. Normalizing holograms and AI-generated performances could accelerate acceptance of deepfakes. What happens if someone decides to create a replica of Stan Lee to promote hawk NFTs (wait, that already happened) or promote neo-nazi agendas?
There’s also a question about misinformation — if we’re comfortable with AI recreating celebrities, what stops the same tech from creating fake political speeches? Only time will tell, but for now, you can buy your tickets to the experience.
Some fans are excited about the possibility of interacting with Lee. In the comments of an Instagram post, people said things like, “Just got my tickets. This is so cool, thank you,” and “Thank you for honoring this man, he was [a] legend.”
The 2025 LA Comic-Con is scheduled to take place from Friday, September 26, 2025, to Sunday, September 28, 2025.
[Via The Hollywood Reporter h/t SSB Crack
What do you think about the Stan Lee Hologram? Let us know in the comments below!
