Posted in: Comics | Tagged:

Stan Lee Drops Billion-Dollar Lawsuit Against POW! Entertainment – Will We See This Gem Tang Comic Now?

Stan Lee and POW! Entertainment have both just announced the termination of the billion-dollar lawsuit that representatives of Lee launched against his former company in May of this year. While Bleeding Cool told you then that the lawsuit posed more questions than it answered, we also heard that it was one of a number being planned. But Stan Lee's circumstances have changed since then, and now it seems that at least some of the unusual circumstances surrounding him are being undone.

The suit was filed by Alpert, Barr and Grant of Encino, California, in May and appeared to have a number of inconsistencies. It is also worth noting that this was filed while Stan Lee was in close contact with his former associate Keya Morgan, now the subject of a restraining order against him which protects Lee, his daughter JC Lee, and his brother Larry Lieber. The firm of Alpert, Barr and Grant has no other publicly known connection to Lee's well-documented business dealings of recent times.

The suit stated that:

"While Lee's beloved wife was on her deathbed, and Lee was in a state of devastation, Champion and Duffy, on behalf of POW!, were brokering a deal to sell POW! Camsing International Holding Limited, a Hong Kong Corporation and the controller of First Creative and Merger Sub ('Camsing')."

And that their aim was to:

"… fraudulently steal Stan Lee's identity, name, image, and likeness as part of a nefarious scheme to benefit financially at Lee's expense."

But the deal was finalized two months before Joan Lee passed away, and was in the works — with Stan Lee obviously aware and in the loop — several months prior to that. The suit also stated that Stan Lee was tricked into signing away his name and his business.

In the time since we raised questions about the puzzling inconsistencies with this lawsuit, Bleeding Cool has also unearthed an interesting new twist to that matter, buried in the Camsing International website. It's a video of Lee visiting China in early December 2017 with associate Max Anderson and POW! CEO Shane Duffy — meeting and greeting Camsing executives, visiting the Great Wall, discussing an upcoming project with Hong Kong pop star Gem Tang, waxing enthusiastically about his upcoming plans for POW/Camsing, and genuinely seeming to have a good time all the while.

While this might be the first time in Hollywood history that a "this lawsuit was completely without merit" press release was on point, it's hard to see it any other way in the face of this video. And I think Lee, looking pretty lucid and energetic in full-on Excelsior! mode just eight months ago here, has me convinced he's still the man for the job. Let's see that Dazzleresque Gem Tang singing-powers character he was discussing there.

"The whole thing has been confusing to everyone, including myself and the fans," Lee is quoted as saying in a press release on the matter. "But I am now happy to be surrounded by those who want the best for me. I am thrilled to put the lawsuit behind me, get back to business with my friends and colleagues at POW!  and launch the next wave of amazing characters and stories!"

POW! Entertainment issued a statement in May of this year in which POW! said that the lawsuit was preposterous and completely without merit.   Even though the lawsuit was never served, POW! and its corporate parent, Camsing Global, did not take action against Stan but quietly worked behind the scenes to lift the cloud that the lawsuit put over both companies and to help Stan regain control of his life. As POW!' said in an open letter to Stan's fans in April, POW!'s primary concern was for Stan's well-being – and nothing has changed that.

Shane Duffy, CEO of POW!, said "We are ecstatic that this ill-founded lawsuit has been dismissed and we look forward to working with Stan again to develop and produce the great projects that were put on hold when the lawsuit was filed. We recently got together with Stan to discuss our path forward and we and Camsing are pleased with his overwhelmingly enthusiastic reaction."

POW! also stated that it will deal appropriately, through all legal means, with others who attempt to interfere with Stan's well-being and his relationship with POW! and to prevent anything like this from happening again.

Update, 07/10/18, 10:05 a.m.: A previous version of this article misidentified Gem Tang as Chinese singer Jane Zhang.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!