Stan Lee is responsible for some of he most successful comic — and now movie — franchises ever.

He gave the world the Fantastic Four, Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, the Mighty Thor and the Silver Surfer. Now in his mid-80s, he’s proving that creativity has no age limits.

He talked to Growing Bolder about his decision to give superheroes personal, human flaws, like bad tempers, vanity and greed. And he explained why he felt a duty to use comics to make social commentaries about the real world.