One of the first companies to enter the action figure foray is coming back into the spotlight with a bang — Mego Corporation has agreed to a licensing deal with Stan Lee‘s POW! Entertainment to bring the late comic creator’s vaulted creations to life.
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In addition to returning to market with some of the toys that first made them household names in the early 1970s, Mego will be the first to unearth some of the characters Lee create throughout his life.
“With Stan’s vision, I always told him that I’d follow him anywhere,” Mego CEO Marty Abrams said in the statement. “It’s with great responsibility that I can carry on his one-of-a-kind creations and reveal the characters that he had envisioned. I have tremendous pride in showcasing the work of a long-time friend. Our nostalgic action figures of Lee’s conceptions will now introduce new memories with more characters originated by Stan.”
As the statement reads, the toys introduced will seemingly feature only Lee’s creator-owned characters and not those he had in the hopper to use at some point through his time with Marvel. Pertinent information such a launch date for the new toys —or exact characters in the works — were not available in the press release, though Mego says to expect the toys to head to market later this year.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the late Marvel publisher’s vaulted characters. Immediately following his death, Lee’s daughter J.C. spoke with TMZ about a character they created together called Dirt Man.
“I’ve been trying to get him to create a character with me his entire life. We’ve been working on a character called Dirt Man,” J.C. revealed.
“The last little angel we’ve got tucked away is Dirt Man and I said ‘Daddy, no clatter, no steel, no any of that,’” said Lee. “‘Let’s get down and dirty. Let’s do what’s going on and what’s about love. Let’s do Dirt Man.’ It’s very interesting and it’s not over yet. We still have a little trickery.”
There’s no indication that Dirt Man will be a character included in this new deal, though the timing would align with the information JC released back in November.
Were you a collector of Mego toys in the early age of action figure collectibles? Are you excited to see the company enter the game once again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
