STORY: Marvel comic book superhero creator Stan Lee has returned to L.A. Comic Con in holographic form to meet fans of his characters including Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron Man and Thor.

Fans were excited to interact with the hologram of Lee, who died in 2018 at the age of 95, in an enclosed booth at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday (September 26).

Gilbert Orozco from Orange County called the experience "really dope," while content creator Melissa Maddock praised the veracity of the virtual Lee's answers.

“This is all Stanley's thoughts. Like, he would never, they're never going to say anything that he never said. So getting to know that he thought that Spider-Man would save the world is amazing to know. And it made me so happy," Maddock said.

The project was a collaboration of Proto Hologram, a company whose holographic technology has been used in malls to promote films such as "The Conjuring" and "A Minecraft Movie," and Hyperreal, an artificial intelligence firm that creates realistic-looking digital humans.

The hologram was trained on Stan Lee's myriad appearances on red carpets and at fan conventions.

The hologram has sparked controversy among some fans, with one Reddit user calling the experience "dystopian."

Dawson Roberts, a content creator visiting from the UK, was aware of the controversy, but called the hologram "quite impressive."

"It's very surreal. I think there is an element of wariness around it. Obviously, it's posthumous, so it's a bit like does it feel a little bit icky? But it does feel like it's done really well," Roberts said.

In a demonstration on Friday, holographic Lee talked about his love of fan conventions.

“My favorite thing about being at a comic convention is getting to meet all the amazing fans and hearing their stories about how Marvel has impacted their lives,” the holographic version of Lee said.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 26, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. LA COMIC CON ATTENDEES WALKING THROUGH THE HALLWAYS

2. VARIOUS OF COMIC CON ATTENDEES WEARING COSTUMES

3. FANS ENTERING THE STAN LEE EXPERIENCE

4. VARIOUS OF STAN LEE AI HOLOGRAM

5. FAN POSING IN FRONT OF MARVEL STATUE

6. (SOUNDBITE)(English) BANK EMPLOYEE, GILBERT OROZCO, 34, SAYING:

“Definitely worth it. Definitely worth it. Just the experience over there, the AI and just seeing how you could really interact with it, ask it really cool questions and it give you really tailor your questions to you, is really dope.”

7. FANS ENTERING THE STAN LEE EXPERIENCE

8. STAN LEE AI HOLOGRAM

9. HANDS HOLDING STAN LEE ILLUSTRATION

10. (SOUNDBITE)(English) NON-PROFIT FOUNDER, JERRY WILLIAMS, 48, SAYING:

“I never got a chance to meet him because I was always busy. But I did tell him that thank you for, you know, what he's done to help me. And I'm able to keep the legacy going by him through the Spider-Man, which he created, and other characters such as Deadpool, which I dressed up as.”

11. VARIOUS OF FANS INTERACTING WITH THE STAN LEE AI HOLOGRAM

12. HANDS HOLDING A PHONE

13. VARIOUS OF WOMAN INTERACTING WITH STAN LEE AI HOLOGRAM

14. (SOUNDBITE)(English) TIK TOK CONTENT CREATOR, MELISSA MADDOCK, 27, SAYING:

“This is all Stanley's thoughts. Like, he would never, they're never going to say anything that he never said. So getting to know that he thought that Spider-Man would save the world is amazing to know. And it made me so happy.”

15. WOMAN POSING WITH FRIENDS IN FRONT OF STAN LEE AI HOLOGRAM

16. (SOUNDBITE)(English) TIK TOK CONTENT CREATOR, DAWSON ROBERTS, 27, SAYING:

"It's very surreal. I think there is an element of wariness around it. Obviously, it's posthumous, so it's a bit like does it feel a little bit icky? But it does feel like it's done really well. And obviously the whole experience is done in collaboration with the Stan Lee Foundation and his family and approval and all that. Obviously, there's always moral questions behind that, but I think as an experience it's quite impressive."

17. ILLUSTRATIONS AND BOOKS OF STAN LEE