Thor 3 'Unabashed Love Letter' To Jack Kirby

Screen Rant

Thor: Ragnarok Is 'Unabashed Love Letter To Jack Kirby'

By Carolyn Poddig

Published Aug 28, 2017

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige celebrates legend Jack Kirby's 100th birthday by saying Thor: Ragnarok is a love letter to Kirby's work.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige celebrates the birthday of the legendary Jack Kirby, remarking how this November's Thor: Ragnarok is heavily influenced by Kirby's work. Today is the artist/writer's 100th birthday, and fans and comic professionals alike are taking to social media to share birthday wishes to the "King of Comics," who passed away in 1994. Kirby helped change the face of the comic book industry in the wake of Superman by telling unique stories about larger-than-life characters, many of which have been translated to film.

The third Thor film has been noteworthy for its entertaining marketing campaign, showcasing the film's colorful aesthetic that took much inspiration from the source material. Director Taika Waititi has already gone on record to explain how Kirby's work helped shape his vision, and now Feige is weighing in with some praise towards Kirby of his own.

Taking to Twitter, Feige remarked that the ultra-popular MCU "wouldn't exist without him," which is certainly true. Kirby's influence has been felt in characters ranging from Captain America to the Guardians of the Galaxy, and recently the movies have started actively looking like Kirby's comics. You can see Feige's heartfelt message in the space below:

MCU wouldn't exist without him. Thor Ragnarok is an unabashed love letter to his vision. Happy Birthday to the King. Eternal #JackKirby100 pic.twitter.com/wihWcFrHMU— Kevin Feige (@Kevfeige) August 28, 2017

Thor: Ragnarok is a perfect vehicle for this kind of homage, since it takes viewers from Asgard to the junk planet of Sakaar filled with colors, lights, and sounds of the cosmos. Particularly in the cosmic realm. Those visuals combined with an all-star cast that includes the likes of Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, and Mark Ruffalo ensures the film will be quite a ride for fans as the MCU draws closer and closer to the big confrontation with Thanos in the highly-anticipated Avengers: Infinity War.

All of this, just as Feige said is a tribute to Kirby. Bringing the characters closer together not only neatly ties up the storyline but it harkens back to Marvel's tradition of a glorious colorful space filled with possibility. Ragnarok sharing new parts of the cosmos and adding new cosmic characters is a smart move for the films to take.

It remains to be seen just what Thor will find on Sakaar besides his "friend from work" but the junk planet in all of its grand spectacle is a fitting tribute to the king of comics. A man who gave superheroes a colorful, if somewhat frightening, world for them to live in has created a lasting legacy that continues to live on.