Stephen Colbert on Stan Lee: "Thanks for All the Stories"

Stan Lee's death Monday have led many to pay tribute to the Marvel Comics co-founder, including Stephen Colbert.

Colbert, who is himself an avid Marvel fan, opened last night's The Late Show with a brief tribute to Lee in which he noted Lee's contribution to the world of superheroes we now enjoy as well as the charming story of Lee's love story with wife, Joan, who herself passed away last year. You can check out the tribute in in the video above.

"Thanks for all the stories, Stan, and, I know you're hearing this a lot today, but, "Excelsior,'" Colbert said.

Colbert was far from alone in his grief. Millions of fans and famous figures whose lives he touched have been sharing their memories and tributes to Lee since news of his death broke, and among them was Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman. Jackman was a guest on the show last night to promote his new movie The Front Runner but took some time to commiserate with Colbert about the loss of Lee.

"Let me just say to the family and to the legions of fans that I remember Stan as a true gentleman that had this glint in his eye," Jackman said. "He was a creative genius. He thought outside the box. He created a whole universe that changed the lives of many people, mine included."

Lee was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center early Monday morning from his home in Hollywood Hills. He died at the hospital later that day. No cause of death has been named as of yet, but Lee has suffered from sickness recently, including a bout of pneumonia. He was 95 years old.

Born Stanley Martin Lieber, Lee began working in comics in 1939, back when Marvel Comics was still Timely Comics, but rose to prominence in the 1960s. With Kirby, he created the Fantastic Four and birthed the Marvel Universe. With Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man and redefined what a superhero could be. He co-created several more popular comic books and now television and film characters, including the X-Men, the Avengers, Black Panther, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and Daredevil.

Lee's wife of 70 years, Joan, died in 2017. He is survived by his daughter, JC, who issued a statement after Lee's death saying, "My father loved all of his fans. He was the greatest, most decent man."