How ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Pays Tribute to Jack Kirby

While making The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the filmmakers had a saying: “It needs to be more Kirby.”  

The new Marvel Studios film is directly inspired by Jack “King” Kirby, the legendary artist and creator responsible for some of the most iconic characters in the world. Kirby’s signature art style first brought Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Benjamin Grimm to life in the pages of Marvel Comics, and director Matt Shakman wanted The Fantastic Four: First Steps to be a “love letter” to his legacy.

“He’s a visionary,” Shakman tells Marvel.com. “We would have no Marvel Studios today without Jack Kirby. He created so many of these amazing characters, and he built this world along with Stan Lee. So many of our heroes launched from his mind and his pen, and we wanted to honor that. We wanted to honor his distinctive style.”

Early in the Fantastic Four development process, Shakman and production designer Kasra Farahani decided on a style they called “When Kirby Meets Kubrick,” melding Kirby’s signature art with the sci-fi storytelling of Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. The result is a trippy, retro-futuristic world that looks like it sprang straight from the pages of Kirby’s comics — from the gorgeous architecture of the Baxter Building to the sleek lines of the Fantasticar.

“We wanted it to be more than just a passing tip of the hat,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige explains. “There are direct lines from his pencil that he drew with at his drawing board by himself, pouring his universe-spanning imagination on to the page. There are direct lines from there into this film.”

Feige notes that Kirby has influenced every Marvel Studios film to date, calling him “one of the greatest storytellers and artists of the 20th century.” (Kirby is responsible for scores of classic characters, including Captain America, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and the Hulk.) But his name is particularly synonymous with the Fantastic Four, and much of the team’s history draws from his own life: Sue Storm is named after his real-life daughter, and Benjamin Grimm shares a name with his father.

Kirby also famously grew up on New York’s Lower East Side, and his upbringing helped inspire some of the comics’ most iconic locations, like Yancy Street, Marvel’s version of Delancey Street. (The City of New York recently renamed the corner of Delancey and Essex “Yancy Street/Jack Kirby Way” for a day in his honor.)   

“[We wanted] this movie to be an unabashed celebration of Mr. Kirby, who I think should be spoken in the same breath as Stan Lee at every moment,” Feige continues. “He was never as vocal or as at the forefront as Stan was. He also passed away long ago, and he didn’t get to see any of what his work would inspire.”

One of Shakman’s favorite shots in the film recreates Kirby’s cover for FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #1, the first-ever appearance of Marvel’s First Family. The Fantastic Four also live in an alternate universe named Earth-828, a direct nod to Kirby’s birthday of Aug. 28.

The end-credits also conclude with a quote from Kirby himself: “If you look at my characters, you will find me. No matter what kind of character you create or assume, a little of yourself must remain there.” That, Shakman says, is why the Fantastic Four have endured through the decades and resonated with generations of Marvel fans.

“That’s why it’s so real,” the director adds. “I think art that is very specific and personal tends to be the stuff that we relate to and understand the most.”

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters now.