Jack Kirby is well-known and regarded as one of the comic world’s most important and innovative minds. The King of Comics is credited with the co-creation of iconic characters such as Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, and The Fantastic Four, but how about his contributions to the world of Kaiju? Part of Kirby’s iconic repertoire is a fascinating list of Marvel Monsters that were unleashed during the Tales to Astonish and Strange Tales days. In this article, we will be taking a look at some of the coolest and most interesting kaiju creations of Jack Kirby that left lasting impacts on the comic world and hold places in Marvel mythos.
The Original Groot
Before the loveable baby Groot was introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot was first a tree monster from Planet X seeking to capture and study humans. In his first appearance in Tales to Astonish #13 (1960), the creature is tall, menacing, grows in power through absorbing wood from trees, has long human-like arms, and possesses hollow eyes and mouth with long antlers. Groot is also anthropomorphic- often taunting humans and flaunting that they could do nothing to stop his task. Eventually, a scientist manages to breed a mass of termites to defeat Groot. A short tale and one of many one-off monsters of this Kirby era, this original villainous Groot would have very limited appearances of cameos, re-telling, and references. It’s quite fascinating that the adorable present-day Marvel Groot had roots in being a terrifying tree kaiju, and Tales of Astonish #13 is certainly a charming, short and sweet read!
Fin Fang Foom
In 1961, Marvel introduced the classic green alien dragon Fin Fang Foom in Strange Tales #89. Fin Fang Foom is a cult-classic Kirby kaiju that is a joyful spectacle with every appearance. Similarly to Groot, Fin Fang Foom is from a foreign space planet, arriving with other members of the intelligent alien species called the Makluans, but stayed in hibernation in China until being awakened. Foom is a bipedal dragon with tons of destructive power, flight, and the ability to shoot green acid from his mouth that can wreck almost anything. An interesting quirk of Foom that is untraditional for a “kaiju” type creature is the ability to shape shift into a human. One of Foom’s more memorable story arcs occurs in Iron Man #15-17 (1999), where his spirit takes over the body of a shoplifter and then absorbs thousands of lizards to achieve his true form. The result is a climactic battle against Iron Man resulting in defeat. Foom often would play the role of being a giant monster to engage in a rumbling fight, particularly against the Hulk on multiple occasions such as the one-shot Hulk vs. Fin Fang Foom (2007) and The Incredible Hulk #630-635 (2011). Despite this, Foom still had the comedic room to become a skilled chef in The Astonishing Ant Man (2015). Talk about range!
Grottu
A perhaps more overlooked yet still interesting Kirby creation is the giant ant monster Grottu, who followed the monster born from radiation trope of the 1950s. Unlike other monsters born from this trope, however, Grottu has extreme human-like intelligence. Grottu first appeared in Strange Tales #73 and attempted world domination through assembling an army of ants, but was defeated by a band of humans leading him into a sugar trap, turning his own army against him. Grottu sporadically made future appearances in Marvel as the same villainous monster doing battle against heroes such as The Thing, Fantastic Four, and Ant-Man, being defeated multiple times, but brought back for more spectacle fun in future stories. Particularly a great read is his appearance in Marvel Monsters #1 (2005), where Grottu alongside classic Kirby monsters like Fin Fang Foom, Rommbu, Gorgilla, and more were released on to New York City. The past meets the present as the Hulk, The Thing, Giant-Man and the Beast team up to defeat the tidal wave of classic Kirby kaiju. Ironically, Grottu would fit right in with the Godzilla mythos… one could see him crawling with the giant spider Kumonga and the massive mantis Kamacuras!
Orrgo
One of Kirby’s creations with some of the craziest powers is Orrgo the Unconquerable, a stocky blob-like alien with huge eyes and a yearning to take over Earth. In Strange Tales #90 (1961), Orrgo teleports himself into a circus and proved to be untouchable by human means. He effortlessly used his mind to lift and suspend Manhattan into the air and then utilized mind control waves to hypnotize all of mankind. Humanity looked to be doomed, until Orrgo decided to take a nap and was killed by a hungry gorilla that broke out of its cage (yes that’s what happened). Orggo would make later appearances, notably as a comic relief member of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Howling Commandos of Shield (2015) and is certainly memorable in the Kirby kaiju mythos for his list of awesome quirks including teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, and more!
Devil Dinosaur
Despite its name, Devil Dinosaur is a notably heroic Kirby kaiju and has had plenty of love from Marvel and its fans over the years. Debuting in his own series, Devil Dinosaur (1978), he originally was a regular Tyrannosaurus Rex living in Dinosaur World, a version of Earth in a parallel universe where dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures co-exist with primitive human tribes. He was nearly burned to death by a tribe known as the Killer-folk, but was rescued by Moon-Boy, a young member of a rival tribe. The exposure to fire revitalized the dinosaur, giving him great powers and becoming crimson red. Together with Moon Boy, Devil Dinosaur would become a noble and loyal Marvel favorite capable of battling against any foe. He would make sporadic appearances and cameos, one notable occurrence being his tough battle against Godzilla and subsequent linkup with Big G in Marvel’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters #21 and #22 (1979). The Fantastic Four tried to transport Godzilla to the past, only for him to be transported to Devil and Moon Boy’s Dinosaur World. Moon Boy convinces the two titans that the common enemy are the Lizard Men seeking to conquer the Valley of Flame, and the trio manage to defeat the Lizard Men. Meanwhile, Mr. Fantastic decides to bring Godzilla back to the present in hopes of finding a better solution than dumping Godzilla in the past. Interestingly enough, Devil Dinosaur and Godzilla are pretty similar (in the lens of Marvel) as both are sentient creatures capable of understanding humans, despite their inability to speak a communicated language. Devil would go on to star in a 47 issue-series, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2015-2019), along with a currently airing animated Disney series by the same name. Devil undoubtedly is a fascinating Marvel kaiju with a lasting legacy.
We’ve barely scratched the surface of the Jack Kirby kaiju mythos, but these notable and important pieces of Kirby’s early years as a Marvel creator give a good introduction. Any Godzilla or kaiju fan would enjoy taking a dive into the Kirby line of marvelous monsters! You can find many of them in Tales to Astonish (1959-1963), Tales of Suspense (1959-1964), and Strange Tales (1951-1968), and many appear in later Marvel issues to duke it out with current favorite heroes!
