Son of Jack Kirby criticises new Stan Lee documentary
Jack Kirby, the celebrated Marvel Comics artist and writer, might not be here to witness the newly released Stan Lee documentary on Disney+, but his son Neal Kirby certainly is. Amidst the controversy, Neal has criticised the new project.
On June 16th, the documentary, which provides an extensive look at Stan Lee’s life and legacy, was introduced on the streaming platform, triggering a public response from the younger Kirby. Neal, taking to Twitter through his daughter Jillian Kirby’s account, expressed his dissatisfaction with the portrayal of Lee in the film.
“It should be noted and is generally accepted that Stan Lee had a limited knowledge of history, mythology, or science,” Kirby wrote. He goes on to contrast this with his father’s broad knowledge in these areas, backing his claim with a poignant quote from Einstein, “More the knowledge, lesser the ego. Lesser the knowledge, more the ego”.
Neal Kirby’s reproach goes further as he takes issue with the credibility of Lee’s contributions to creating the iconic Marvel characters during the 1960s. He pointedly questions: “Are we to assume Lee had a hand in creating every Marvel character? Are we to assume that it was never the other co-creator that walked into Lee’s office and said, ‘Stan, I have a great idea for a character!’ According to Lee, it was always his idea.”
Kirby’s son specifically calls out Lee’s credit for creating the Fantastic Four, noting that his father’s contribution was minimised to “only one fleeting reference”. He vehemently states that the Fantastic Four was initially a brainchild of his father, Jack, created for DC in the “Challengers of the Unknown” comic.
He adds further weight to his claim by revealing that the names of the characters, Ben Grimm (The Thing) and Sue Storm, were inspired by his father’s real name, Benjamin, and his sister, Susan, respectively.
As the debate over the true creators of Marvel’s legendary characters continues, one thing is clear – the Kirby family doesn’t endorse Disney’s recent portrayal of Stan Lee’s legacy.
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