Stan Lee was smiling and cheerful during what would be his final sit-down with the man he trusted to run Marvel Comics.
This is the last known pic of Stan, taken on Saturday, as Stan smiled next to his protege, comic book writer Roy Thomas. Just 2 days before Stan died, we're told he was in good spirits during the visit.
Roy's manager, John Cimino, tells us Roy and Stan talked for about 30 minutes and, surprise ... they discussed comics and superheroes. John tells us Stan's last words before he and Roy left were ... "God bless. Take care of my boy, Roy."
Roy released a statement about his last moments with Stan, noting the Marvel legend "lacked much of the old Stan Lee energy" most people had come to know him by. He also says Stan seemed enthusiastic about future Marvel movie cameos if he could do them without being too much of a burden. Roy called Stan "one of the most important mythmakers of the 20th century."
When Stan stepped back from his Marvel Comics duties, he handed the reins to Roy ... who took over head writing duties for "Spider-Man" and eventually became Stan's first successor as editor-in-chief at Marvel ... in 1972.