He notably predates the more-famous Ray Palmer (DC's the Atom) and Hank Pym (Marvel Comics' Ant-Man) by two decades.

The secret identity of Doll Man, "The World's Mightiest Mite", is research chemist Darrel Dane, who invents a formula that enables him to shrink to the height of six inches while retaining the full strength of his normal size.

[3] He was the first example of a shrinking superhero, and also one of the few that was unable to change to a height in between his minimum and maximum sizes (though artists would fail to keep his scale visually consistent).

[6] He also has the aid of Elmo the Wonder Dog, a Great Dane who serves as his occasional steed and rescuer, and the "Dollplane", which was deceptively presented as a model airplane in his study when not in use.

According to Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #5 (January 2007), Darrel Dane is currently alive and confined to an unnamed mental institution.

In Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters v2 #3 (November 2007) Dane (whose given name is given as "Darryl" or "Darrel") appears as the leader of a subersive group of doll-sized soldiers.

A new Doll Man, alias Lester Colt, was introduced in Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven, a mini-series published by DC in 2006.

Eager to contribute to his country, in something other than war, Lester agreed to an experiment created by Emma's father, which reduced him to his present height.

Now stuck at a permanent height of six inches tall, Colt attempted to distance himself from Glenn, hoping to spare her the pain of a miniaturized boyfriend.

This is aided by trips to The Heartland, the current Freedom Fighters' extradimensional home base, where Colt is mystically restored to full height for brief periods.

In the new Freedom Fighters series (2007–08), Lester undergoes a procedure with several other shrunken people, including Darrel Dane, to be returned to normal size.