Stan Lee created super hero Spider-Man in 1962

Both sides agreed a deal after a judge upheld Lee's demand for 10% of Marvel's profits from the Spider-Man films.

Spider-Man and its sequel made $1.6bn (�857m) at box offices worldwide.

The undisclosed deal could be worth tens of millions of dollars to Mr Lee. His lawyer Howard Graff said: "We are very, very happy with the resolution."

The agreement, signed on 22 April and made public on Thursday, cemented Lee's future relationship with Marvel, he said.

Appeal dropped

Mr Lee's "friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man" had turned out to be quite a friend, said Graff.

After the court ruled in Mr Lee's favour in January, Marvel had said it would appeal.

But the company's lawyer John Turitzin said the company was now happy to have resolved the dispute with Mr Lee, 82, who he called "one of the founders of today's comic book industry".

Mr Lee began legal action in 2002, saying Marvel shut him out of "jackpot" profits from the first blockbuster film.

He said the company - where he worked for more than 60 years - had gone back on an agreement to give him the 10%.

The Spider-Man films are among the top box office hits of all time

Mr Lee maintained he should be entitled to a slice of profits from DVD sales and certain merchandise, a claim backed by the court in New York.

In January, US District Court Judge Robert W Sweet ruled that Mr Lee should get a tenth of profits generated since November 1998 by Marvel TV and movie productions involving the company's characters.

As well as Spider-Man, Mr Lee co-created the Incredible Hulk, X-Men, Daredevil and Fantastic Four.