Jack Kirby is one of the most important and influential people in comic book history as a whole, who, alongside his friend and constant collaborator Stan Lee, co-created or designed some of the most iconic characters. largest and most varied of Marvel Comics, many of which are still as popular as ever, they lead their comic book and movie franchises to this day.
As it was his birthday yesterday, it seems like a good time to go through the history books and pick out some of his biggest and best creations, some of which are important for many reasons including diversity, representation, and more.
The Fantastic Four
It seems fitting to include Marvel’s First Family at the start of this long list, as the family debuted in Fantastic Four #1 in November 1961, and was the first of many collaborations between Kirby and Lee, something they repeated over and over, to great effect.
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Stan Lee and Jack Kirby took credit for the initial idea, character designs, names, and designs, but whoever came up with the idea, in the end, they both had to thank Mr. Fantastic, the original Reed Richards stretch man; Sue Storm, the invisible woman; Johnny Storm, Sue’s cocky, arrogant brother, The Human Torch and finally Ben Grimm, the poor man turned into a walking, talking rock, The Thing.
Galactus
One of the (literally) biggest villains of the Fantastic Four, Galactus is a cosmic force, determined and dependent on his hunger by eating entire worlds. For such a gigantic villain with endless hunger, so far between the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and more, he has yet to make it with the main Earth timeline.
Appearing in Fantastic Four #48 in March 1966, Galactus was another co-creation between Kirby and Lee. With Galactus they wanted “introducing a character who breaks away from the standard villain archetype…operates without regard to the morality and judgments of mortal beings”.
Kang the Conqueror
A parent and upcoming MCU villain, Kang the Conqueror has been a mainstay in his various variants over the years since his debut in Fantastic Four #19 as Rama-tut in 1963, before his full Kang debut in The Avengers #8 in 1964.
Unlike some on this list, Kang has yet to make his full MCU debut, appearing as “The One Who Remains” in Loki’s finale and set to appear in the upcoming one. Ant-Man: Quantamania. A big deal for the Fantastic Four and The Avengers throughout the comics, he’s bound to be a huge thorn in the hero’s side in the MCU.
Doctor Doom
You can’t have Fantastic Four without having Doctor Doom. Present in The Fantastic Four #5, Doctor Victor Von Doom is the ruler of the fictional country Latveria, a man as intelligent and adept as Reed Richards, and as cunning and forward-thinking as Loki, Doom has stood the test of time and is considered one of Best Marvel Villains. the story to date. Speaking of Doom, Kirby said “Doom is an evil person, but he wasn’t always evil. He was respected…but because of a flaw in his own character, he was a perfectionist.”, showing an understanding for the character that he, Lee, and a few writers have since had.
Thor and Loki
Kirby has been involved in the design and creation of all of the Norse Mythology of Marvel comics, from creating the looks of Loki and Thor to Odin and many more. Kirby’s unique art style is why we have the red caped, long-haired Shakespearian Thor and Loki’s polar opposite. He’s also the main reason Asgard is so magical to watch in the early Thor comics.
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With Kirby’s unique art style, a huge influence on Thor: Ragnarok, even if you’ve never read a comic, you’ll know what he brings to the table. Bright colors, contrasting landscapes and larger than life characters. Kirby in a nutshell.
x-men
One of the most important teams to grace our comic book pages, the X-Men was another collaboration from Marvel duo Kirby and Lee. Tackling racism, prejudice, classism, and more, the X-Men are one of the greatest teams and home to some of the most popular characters to date. Seizing the chance to make their main villain in Magneto a sympathetic and understandable human with understandable motives was successful, and from their debut in The X-Men #1 From 1963 to today, the X-Men seem like they could shed light on important topics, while entertaining us at the same time.
Black Panther
The first black superhero and a milestone in representation, T’Challa aka Black Panther appeared in Fantastic Four #52. Another character with a divisive history, Lee and Kirby took credit for creating the superhero alone, with Kirby saying the lack of black superheroes at the time meant creating the character”made sense for human reasons,” and Lee declaring his desire to “for more African and African American superheroes » being the only motivation. Either way, together they created a much-loved and renowned character that lives on today, recently played on the big screen by the late Chadwick Boseman.
Captain America
One of the only characters on this list that doesn’t involve Stan Lee, Captain America predates the others here by a few decades. First introduced in 1941 in Captain America Comics #1, Kirby created Captain America with his designer friend and colleague Joe Simon.
Created during World War II, there’s no denying that Captain America was as much an idea to boost morale as it was a creation for children to idolize and encourage, but the character’s morals, the pursuit of justice and always doing the right thing means that what could have been a boring character that disappeared after the war, instead he continued for about eighty years until today, becoming one of the most popular characters under the marvel banner.
The Incredible Hulk
1962 debut in his first of many solo races The Incredible Hulk #1, the character was surprisingly complex for its time. Suffering from dissociative identity disorder, the character was torn between Hulk, a huge, green, muscular monster with few impulse control and anger issues, and the intelligent, weak, and short Dr. Robert Bruce Banner.
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DID has taken a back seat over the years, only coming back in force in Al Ewing’s recent comic book series, The Immortal Hulk. Kirby cited his inspiration for the character as seen firsthand”the hysterical force of a mother lifting a car from her trapped child,” which certainly offers a poignant image to the imagination.
The Avengers
Finally, and what now seems such an obvious creation, the team of their greatest heroes didn’t come as quickly as one might think. made his debut in 1963 in The Avengers #1, the original team consisted of Iron Man, Wasp, Thor, Ant-Man, and Hulk, with Captain America joining the team in issue #4, after being found frozen in ice after his sacrifice during World War II world.
Created primarily to promote and sell Marvel Comic characters to new audiences, the books quickly became a regular publication for the comic book giant and saw record sales over the years. With massive stories, villains, and crossovers that you wouldn’t get elsewhere, fans were desperate for the next Avengers story, which is still a feeling and a need present today.
Honorable mentions
Honestly, for a man as talented as ‘King Kirby’, this list could have spanned fifty other entries, and with Stan Lee, fans everywhere owe their fandom to one of form’s most influential people. of art. Taking a less public backseat to the ever-cameo Stan Lee, many casual fans of the films may not be aware of the man’s influence. Always a legend and an innovator, Kirby deserves the recognition and love that Lee receives, and I hope one day he does too.
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