Stan Lee was in the comics industry for just over 20 years before he found major success. He wasn’t a nobody before that but he wasn’t what we all know today. He was going to quit before that because he couldn’t do stories and characters with the depth and nuance that he would like. Martin Goodman the head of Marvel at the time played golf one afternoon in 1962 with the head of National Comics (DC) he was boasting about the Justice League doing great for sales. Goodman came back and told Stan to do whatever he wanted to compete. He talked it over with his wife that night and she convinced him to do it. That’s when he created the Fantastic 4.