Newspaper's embarrassing gaffe after Stan Lee's death

A regional newspaper in New Zealand has produced an unfortunate front-page gaffe while trying to pay tribute to comic book legend Stan Lee.

Lee, the co-creator of iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk, died on Monday in Los Angeles after suffering a number of illnesses in recent years.

As media companies around the world ran the news of Lee’s death, The Gisborne Herald in New Zealand got confused with another film legend.

“Spike Lee dies at 95,” the headline – in capital letters – read.

Spike Lee, a filmmaker who directed ‘Malcolm X’ and ‘Do The Right Thing’, is definitely still alive, and took to Instagram to post about the gaffe.

Channeling a famous line from ‘Do The Right Line’, the 61-year-old wrote: “Me? Not Yet. And Dat’s Da ‘I’m Still A Live, And Strivin’ Truth, Ruth. YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF.”

While the paper’s editor may have missed the typo, Twitter users were quick to point it out.

Tributes to Stan Lee have flooded the internet from actors and fans alike.

“With a heavy heart, we share our deepest condolences with his daughter and brother,” said Marvel Comics and its owner The Walt Disney Company in a statement.

“We honor and remember the creator, voice and champion of Marvel… Every time you open a Marvel comic, Stan will be there.”

The Marvel Universe

The New Yorker, known for his distinctive tinted glasses and impish grin, ended up in the comics business by accident, thanks to an uncle who got him a job when he was a teenager filling artists’ inkwells and fetching coffee.

“I felt someday I’d write the ‘Great American Novel’ and I didn’t want to use my real name on these silly little comics,” Lee once said, explaining why he had forsaken his given name, Stanley Lieber.

Lee rose through the ranks to become a comics writer – making millions of superhero fans dream of his fantastic universes and humans with extraordinary powers – and eventually led the Marvel empire for decades as its publisher.

From Spidey to Black Panther to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, Lee collaborated with other authors and illustrators to put his lively imagination on the page.

Iron Man, Thor and Doctor Strange would follow, and today all three heroes have multi-film franchises that rake in hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lee and his collaborators churned out hit after hit and he took over at Marvel in the 1960s, creating the “Marvel Universe” – all of the heroes existed in the same time and story crossovers were frequent.

It’s a model now adopted by the Hollywood producers beyond the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which releases its 21st film, “Captain Marvel,” in March next year.

Lee formally left Marvel in the 1990s but remained chairman emeritus. He was the brand’s most recognizable face, giving lectures and speaking at comics conventions.

“My father loved all of his fans,” his daughter JC told Hollywood celebrity news portal TMZ. “He was the greatest, most decent man.”