Jack Kirby Estate Sues Marvel for... Spider-man?

Kirby's heirs are going after Marvel for several of his properties, but have added Spider-man to the lineup. Kirby did very minimal work on the original Spider-man comic, which makes this lawsuit pretty interesting.

Infinite Hollywood: Jack Kirby versus Marvel

It's going to be hard for Kirby's family to get in on much for a lot of those characters, but especially Spider-man, given that Kirby never did much of anything on that strip beside some original pitching and a cover.

What the Hell? Where's Ditko is all this?!

Usually the way these lawsuits work is that the family starts with a large list of grievances (characters) that are then negotiated down to a more realistic list. Spider-Man will probably be one of the first characters to be negotiated out of the settlement.

Why on earth were these things not taken care of years ago?

Originally Posted by Frank Talltree

Why on earth were these things not taken care of years ago?

I agree! First, Superman's rights have been given back, even though they sued in the 70's, dropped it in like, the 90's, and are back at it. Now, Jack Kirby's family, who drew Spidey's first appearance (that's it!) is trying to get their rights!

And, maybe beacuse of this, Spider-Man 4 is on hold!

Sounds like yet another silly lawsuit that is being brought up now to make some quick cash.

Meh, I don't think it's particularly wrong for them to get some "inheritance", considering the literally billions of dollars Marvel made off Kirby's (and others) work.

JohnJett makes a very good point - they're not likely to get anything from Spider-Man, it was probably a strategic move on the part of the lawyers.

I think its the same lawyer that recently got many elements of the Superman mythos into the ownership of the creators' estates. Years ago, DC did pay a decent amout to keep using him, but I guess that wasn't enough. I don't know what they'd do with the handful of elements they own now. None of it will matter when Superman enters public domain in a couple of years.

This lawyer guy may be in for a tougher time here. Superman's creators came up with him before dealing with DC. Kirby was working for Marvel when these characters were created. He certainly wasn't the sole creator, so Lee would have to be involved for ownership to change hands. It would be really tough to say who is the most responsible for the creations.

I think this time, the lawyer hopes for a settlement, which he may get. Disney is going to be pretty protective of its 4.2 billion dollar investment.

The Spider-Man inclusion is insane, and I agree its just a big negotiating piece to make thw actual goal seem more reasonable. Kirby was basically "fired"
from the comic before it got made, right? If his estate got a piece
of Spidey, then I'd say there most people who ever contributed to his stories are entitled.

its all about money

Originally Posted by DPrime

Meh, I don't think it's particularly wrong for them to get some "inheritance", considering the literally billions of dollars Marvel made off Kirby's (and others) work.

JohnJett makes a very good point - they're not likely to get anything from Spider-Man, it was probably a strategic move on the part of the lawyers.

I agree that some compensation is appropriate, but they claim to want ownership and control, which is insane.

I imagine the lawyer contacted them, or they talked to him after the other success. He clearly has done his homework on this sort of thing after winning against DC/WB. I just think this is an entirely different matter, since both creators were represented in the Superman case.