Jack Kirby’s nickname is “The King.” The name is apropos, but it still doesn’t do the legendary creator an ounce of justice. With the exception of World War II, from 1936 until his death in 1994, Kirby was influential in the creation of countless amounts of Marvel and DC stars. Not to mention his own “Kirbyverse” that was started on the independent scene towards the end of his life. His partnerships with both Joe Simon and Stan Lee created much of the foundation of plenty of both Marvel and DC canon. With the exception of maybe Spider-Man, Kirby and Lee more or less created the entire MCU.
Even Marvel’s parent company, Disney bowed down to the King and paid him fealty. In 2017, he was posthumously awarded Disney Legend status for his hand in crafting so many of the characters that they now owned, many of which we finally got to see on the big screen as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To put a list together of this magnitude is rough - Kirby has created far, far more than a list allows and the power levels for so many are off the charts, both in terms of a character’s power, their power on the page, and in pop culture. Here are The 10 Most Powerful Jack Kirby Creations, Ranked.
10 The Eternals
For anyone keeping tabs on what the next Phase of the MCU will bring, then some fans have already gobbled up as much info as they possibly could on The Eternals.
One of the things Kirby like to do in his writing was traverse the cosmos and The Eternals is a team full of other-worldly beings that were sent to Earth to protect us from their counterparts, the Celestials. Come movie-time in November 2020, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie star.
9 Captain America
Only a few creators and characters precede Marvel Comics and were part of its original Timely Comics. Two of them are the King himself, and the Captain.
Debuting in 1941, Captain America has been a driving force for Marvel Comics since before its beginning. He’s the de facto leader of the Avengers and in the capable hands of Chris Evans has been an enduring part of the MCU.
8 Darkseid
When Kirby left Marvel for DC in the seventies he created Fourth World and The New Gods. Darkseid would go on to become one of The King’s darkest creations. He rules over the planet of Apokolips and wants nothing more to rule the universe and eradicate anyone with free will.
That’s a lofty ambition, and it’s a goal that Darkseid usually almost achieves, it by for the combined power of whichever superheroes he’s facing at that time.
7 Thor
In 1962, editor Stan Lee, his brother Jeffrey and Jack Kirby took a “journey into mystery” when they created their version of Thor. According to the King in Superheroes: The Language That Jack Kirby Wrote, "I did a version of Thor for D.C. in the fifties before I did him for Marvel. I created Thor at Marvel because I was forever enamored of legends, which is why I knew about Balder, Heimdall, and Odin. I tried to update Thor and put him into a superhero costume, but he was still Thor." That intimate knowledge of Norse mythology helped shaped one of Marvel’s greatest heroes.
6 The Fantastic Four
Kirby didn’t just help to create Marvel’s first family, the Fantastic Four. He also forged one of the most iconic storylines of all time when he and Lee collaborated on what many believe to be one of the best stories in Marvel history, “The Coming Of Galactus.”
The story introduced the devourer of worlds, his herald at that time - the Silver Surfer, and the Watcher Uatu. All of these characters have become indelible parts of the Marvel lexicon and are always part of big crossover series.
5 Black Panther
Kirby’s love of creating vast worlds was on full display when he created the hidden African nation of Wakanda and its king, T’Challa - The Black Panther. Debuting in Fantastic Four # 52, and actually predates most major African-American heroes and the political party itself.
With 2018’s acclaimed Black Panther movie, plenty of back issues of Kirby’s work on the character is being revisited by old fans and new fans for the first time.
4 The X-Men
Jack Kirby’s artwork is and was so iconic that many of his original designs has not really been altered or updated since they were first used. Even if designs are changed, his original work is honored in some way.
He also helped to create the X-Men, over the years the bright red and purple suit Magneto had in the first issue hasn’t changed that much. Recently, this version of the team came back as a time-displaced version complete with their original looks and costumes.
3 Iron Man
Exploring the Cold War with a billionaire industrialist war profiteer who opposed plenty of what young readers stood for was a humongous gamble. But it’s also one that has paid off in every conceivable way.
Lee, his brother, Don Heck, and Kirby all helped to create the Armored Avenger - with The King designing ol’ Shellhead’s costume and covers. Thanks to the MCU, Kirby’s work on Iron Man has propelled it to iconic mainstream pop culture status.
2 The Incredible Hulk
The creative team of Stan The Man and King Kirby really just couldn’t be stopped throughout the sixties. Die-hard comic fans have known this for years, and moviegoers have only just scratched the surface of what their creations accomplished in comic books over the decades. Their work on The Incredible Hulk is a quintessential example of that.
The team loved rehashing old mythology or horror and re-purposing it for a superhero story, and the Hulk’s Jekyll And Hyde origins helped make the green Goliath one of the most enduring characters of the past fifty years.
1 Kang The Conqueror
Mainstream fans might not know who the time-traveling Kang is, but if some of the theories are true, the MCU will be changing that within the next decade. If that stands to be true, here’s a brief primer on one of the most sci-fi villains of all time that Kirby co-created.
In the guy’s first appearance, he kicks the crud out Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and takes over the Earth. Considering the MCU now has time travel, it’s only a matter of um...time that fans get to see yet one more of Kirby’s creations realized on the big screen.