Did Stan lee steal characters from jack Kirby and Steve ditko?

Answer 1

No, he didn't.

1. All characters created at Marvel Comics until the early 1980s- including those created by Stan Lee- were owned completely by Marvel, NOT Stan Lee, NOT Jack Kirby, NOT Steve Ditko. None of them get any $$ from "ownership" of the characters, so what was there to 'steal'?

2. Steve Ditko is the CO-creator of Spider-Man, but Stan Lee came up with the concept. Stan gave Ditko the assignment to come up with the look for a new character to be called Spider-Man, a shy teen who lived with his elderly aunt and uncle. Ditko came up with the costume and web-shooters. Ditko himself refers to Spider-Man as "our [Stan Lee & Steve Ditko's] creation."

Stan Lee has given credit to Ditko, Kirby and others as the artists who created the visual looks of the characters they worked on and, where applicable, as story plotters/co-plotters since the beginning. Monetary renumeration was not in Stan's jurisdiction- he was Editor-in -Chief, not owner of the comopany, and he had to abide by corporate policy like everyone else, whether he agreed with it or not.

Answer 2

There have been disputes and disagreements over the creation and ownership of characters between Stan Lee and artists like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. While there are allegations that Lee took credit for their work, it is a complex issue with varying perspectives. Ultimately, there is no definitive answer as to whether Lee stole characters from Kirby and Ditko.