--- title: A Trove of Stan Lee's Own Superheroes, Never Owned by Marvel, Is Up for Sale description: Stan Lee Holdings has hired Hilco Global to sell the Omniverse Collection, a franchise of over 50 characters Stan Lee created independently and Marvel never owned. author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief) updated: 2026-07-26T03:22:42.459Z canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/stan-lee-omniverse-collection-sale-hilco-global image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/stan-lee-omniverse-collection-36881.webp categories: Business content_type: News region: United States publication: Sovereign Magazine schema_type: Article --- Stan Lee Holdings has hired Hilco Global's IP Services practice to find a buyer for the "Omniverse Collection," a portfolio the company describes as dozens of superhero characters and stories Stan Lee created independently between 1999 and 2001, as well as a franchise of more than 50 well-known characters that Stan Lee Holdings calls the only Marvel-style superhero property not owned by Marvel. ## What Is the Omniverse Collection? The characters were developed during the period after Lee had already made Marvel a household name and gone on to found Stan Lee Entertainment, an early superhero animation studio built for the internet era. Stan Lee Holdings, which says it now controls the intellectual property Lee built outside Marvel, describes the franchise arm of the Omniverse Collection as "the only franchise of Marvel-created characters not owned by Marvel." Full character-by-character details, along with supporting scripts, unproduced episodes and other development material from across Lee's career, are still to be released in the coming weeks, according to the company. The collection is not a new discovery. Bleeding Cool, the comics-industry trade outlet, described the wider Omniverse Collection in 2023 as more than a hundred characters and storylines Stan Lee had created independently, and reported that Stan Lee Holdings had [regained the rights to one of those characters, the Femizons, in a reversion deal](https://bleedingcool.com/comics/stan-lee-holdings-gets-rights-reversion-to-femizons-for-new-publisher/), meaning the company had already been working for years to consolidate ownership of the collection before this week's sale announcement. The Femizons originated in a single 1971 Marvel story, Savage Tales #1, before Lee revived and expanded them into his own independent universe. ## Who Owns Stan Lee's Characters Now? Marvel's own catalogue, from Spider-Man to the Avengers, remains the property of Marvel itself. The Omniverse Collection sits entirely outside that ownership, held instead, according to the company, by Stan Lee Holdings. Hilco Global, a Northbrook, Illinois-based firm that advises on the [valuation and sale of intellectual property](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/legacy-cannabis-research-signals-a-shift-towards-intellectual-property-protection-industry-ma), is now running the process to place the collection with a new owner. Eric Hurwitz, senior director in Hilco's IP Services practice, said the portfolio represents one of the most significant superhero IP offerings of the decade. > "This large, diverse portfolio presents the opportunity to capitalize on untapped material with an unmatched pedigree. A buyer essentially has a blank slate to bring these characters to fans worldwide and expand on Stan Lee's legacy." > — Eric Hurwitz, Senior Director, Hilco Global IP Services Shirrel Rhoades, the former Marvel Entertainment executive vice president whom Lee chose to succeed him as publisher, is working alongside Stan Lee Holdings and Hilco on the sale. Rhoades framed the characters as a connected body of work rather than a set of standalone ideas, describing a living digital universe in which characters can be created, experienced, and expanded across every form of media. ## Who Might Buy It? Neither Stan Lee Holdings nor Hilco has named a price or a prospective buyer, and the company says the full roster of characters will only be disclosed in the weeks ahead. That leaves the field open. A streaming service or studio looking to build a superhero slate without the [licensing costs attached to Marvel or DC properties](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/l-oreal-secures-50-year-gucci-beauty-licence-as-coty-exits-early-for-400-million) would be an obvious candidate, as would a comics publisher wanting to launch a line under Lee's name. Hollywood has shown a consistent appetite for superhero franchises with a built-in creative pedigree but no rights entanglement with the two dominant publishers, and the Omniverse Collection is being pitched squarely at that gap. For now, no deal has closed and the process remains a listing. The characters have existed for two decades largely outside public view, and how visible they become next depends on who steps forward once the fuller catalogue is public. More information is available at [hilcoglobal.com](https://hilcoglobal.com). ## FAQ **Q: Who owns the rights to Stan Lee's characters?** It depends on which characters. Marvel's characters are owned by Marvel. The Omniverse Collection, created independently between 1999 and 2001, is owned, according to the company, by Stan Lee Holdings, which is now working with Hilco Global to sell it. **Q: What is the Omniverse Collection?** It is the body of superhero characters and stories Stan Lee created independently between 1999 and 2001, separate from his Marvel work. Within it is a franchise of more than 50 well-known characters that Stan Lee Holdings describes as the only Marvel-style superhero property not owned by Marvel. **Q: Who owns Stan Lee's estate?** Stan Lee Holdings is the company that says it controls the intellectual property Lee built outside of his Marvel work, including the Omniverse Collection. It is the entity that engaged Hilco Global to run the current sale process.