In 1962, Stan Lee dreamed up a new comic book hero. The co-creator of such spandex-clad stalwarts as the Fantastic Four and the X-Men wrote a story about a web-slinging crime-fighter in Amazing Fantasy 15. Boasting on the cover that the world "will soon marvel at the awesome might of Spider-Man," that comic book sold for 12 cents. Forty-five years later, the world does indeed marvel at Stan Lee's arachnid superhero. Released in early May, Spider-Man 3 wrapped its web around $148 million during its opening weekend.

At 84, Stan Lee is an undeniable pop culture icon. Born in New York City in 1922, he fantasized of being a writer even as a kid. Still in his teens, Lee went to work for the Timely Comics Company in 1940, where he began writing Captain America stories. He changed his last name from Lieber to Lee and, over the next three decades as writer and editor, became the most recognizable face the comic book field has ever known.

Throughout the early 1960s, Lee, along with a cadre of artists (most notably Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby), co-created a plethora of groundbreaking characters: Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Daredevil and many more. By the early 1970s, Lee became the brand identity of Marvel with his tinted shades, his mustache, his ubiquitous glowing tan and his silky shirts buttoned-down a couple notches. He hung out with rock stars, partied with Hef at the Mansion, made the rounds on television talk shows and wrote his own monthly column in every issue of Marvel Comics.

That period was dubbed the "Marvel Age" of comic books, thanks in large part to Lee's surprisingly vulnerable superheroes. Peter Parker had as much trouble with girls as he did with Doctor Octopus. The Hulk had Herculean, gamma-radiation-induced strength, but his alter-ego, Dr. Bruce Banner, didn't want those powers. The X-Men were as angst-ridden as any misfit high-schooler.

With television and the movies adapting more and more comics, Lee eventually went Hollywood. There were a number of animated shows, the occasional television series and, finally, a foray into movies that led to 2001's Sam Raimi directed mega-blockbuster Spiderman, which grossed more than $400 million domestically. Lee has since had a number of consultant gigs on the X-Men films, Fantastic Four and The Hulk.

Today, Stan Lee is the chairman of the board and chief creative officer of POW! Entertainment (Purveyors of Wonder), where he oversees myriad film, television and video game projects. Playboy.com caught up with Lee via phone for a wide-ranging chat that ran the spectrum from the genesis of Spider-Man to the hottest babes in the Marvel Universe to the war in Iraq.