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The Ultimate Retro NES Collectible for Marvel Fans Is Available to Buy (& It’s Signed by Stan Lee)
Fans of Marvel and retro NES games may have just have a new grail collectible to fight over – as a graded copy of The Uncanny X-Men on NES signed by Stan Lee himself has hit the market. “Excelsior!” Stan Lee’s exclamation meant pretty much nothing to me as a British kid growing up without much access to superhero comics, but I knew it was an adjective laced with a positive vibe.
A Latin word meaning “ever upward” it seems to have suited the Marvel master’s general outlook in life! (This might play some small part in explaining why he was always so much more popular with fans than with the Marvel suits.)
Is That Really Stan Lee’s Signature?
A new eBay listing for a genuine unboxed cartridge of the 1989 Nintendo Entertainment System game The Uncanny X-Men – signed by Stan Lee – has an asking price of $1,200 right now, and is proving popular with retro game and comic book collectors alike.
But there is a small problem with this particular title. In short, far from being one of the best NES titles, The Uncanny X-Men was an absolutely diabolical game. So, is paying over a grand a good idea for a slab of unplayable gray plastic with Stan Lee’s autograph on it actually worth it?
Authentication is important, and can drastically increase the value of a game. This particular copy has been assessed as being in good condition thanks to the 9.2 rating. But what about the signature? No one wants to pay over the odds for an unboxed NES cartridge with some pen on it. The big question about this particular copy of The Uncanny X-Men centers on whether that is actually Stan Lee’s autograph on the casing.
The listing states: “Signed by Stan Lee and authenticated by PSA (I also have a JSA authentication)” and the PSA authentication can be verified on its website. Autographs are, of course, commonly reproduced these days. That’s why certified authentication is the only way to prove a genuine scrawl, which appears to be the case with this lot.
So, Stan Lee’s signature, the first Marvel video game on the NES, and a tasty $1,200 price tag.
Why Else Is This Game So Expensive?
The Uncanny X-Men was also known as Marvel’s X-Men, and had a North America-only release. This adds to the intrigue for collectors in other markets who may not have been aware of the game in December 1989. You’ll notice the game is not boxed, which again raises questions about the price.
The questions don’t end there.
This is known as being one of the worst games on the NES (which may or may not have inspired its name change), and being fiendishly difficult to complete. Not only do you need to clear the enemies in every stage to reach the end, there’s a code to collect to complete the game, but the existence of the code – displayed at the end of each level – was not immediately obvious to kids playing the game in late 1989/early 1990.
The result is a game with a poor reputation… but of course, this particular edition has Stan Lee’s autograph on it. So, is it really worth that $1,200 asking price? Well, you could go low and make an offer as per the eBay rules. After all, you’re probably going to enjoy looking at this cartridge more than you would playing it.
Fancy this rare opportunity for a Stan Lee-signed X-Men game for the NES? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
