Stan Lee gets his own action figure

If there are action figures for the comic book heroes Stan Lee created, then why shouldn’t there be an articulated plastic figurine that looks just like the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics himself?

Well, actually now there is one. Das Toyz has produced the first-ever 1:6 figure of the 92-year-old co-creator of Spider-Man, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor and other comic book favorites. If you want a mini-Stan Lee, then you’d better act with the super-speed of Flash (from rival DC Comics) and order one pronto. The figurine is a limited edition, with only 1,000 made. The Go Hero website, which is selling the action figures tweeted today that they are “halfway spoken for” already.

Born in 1922 to Romanian Jewish immigrants to the US, Lee was originally known as Stanley Martin Lieber. He joined Marvel Comics in 1939, when it was still known as Timely Comics, and worked his way up the company. He began using the pseudonym “Stan Lee” in 1941, eventually adopting it as his legal moniker.

In the late 1950s, Lee was charged with creating a superhero team to rival DC Comics’s Justice League of America. Lee and illustrator Jack Kirby came up with The Fantastic Four, and the rest is history.

Lee’s career grew and expanded, with his moving beyond comic book writing to become an editor, publisher, media producer, television host, and actor. He shepherded Marvel through its growth from a small publishing company to a large multimedia corporation. His leadership in the industry has been widely recognized, and he has won a variety of awards, including the National Medal of Arts in 2008.

The Stan Lee action figure costs $250, but then again it does come with two interchangeable heads, four posing hands, two sets of eyeglasses, a wristwatch, two rings, and a handkerchief. And those are just the accessories that add pizzazz to the doll’s dapper attire, which includes a sports jacket, two sets of pants, a sweater, two shirts, and of course, belt, socks and shoes.

Lee once said, “I don’t really see a need to retire as long as I am having fun.” Obviously, he must not yet be retired, since what could be more fun than picking up a miniature version of yourself and setting it on a shelf next to all the characters you’ve created?