10 Things You Need To Know About The Fantastic Four

10. The First Creation Of A Lee And Kirby

No relationship in comic book history ever created as many great characters as the relationship between Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. And the first creation of note from the pair? That would be the Fantastic Four.

Kirby and Joe Simon had already created Captain America two decades prior to the FF's debut, and the arrival of Marvel's First Family meant that Lee and Kirby were off to the races. Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm were handed their own title with The Fantastic Four #1 in 1961, although the story of their creation is up for some debate.

According to Stan Lee, he came up with the idea for the team and how they'd look, then got Kirby to draw the story. For Kirby, he says that he came up with the majority of the Fantastic Four's characters, design and stories, and Lee simply added in whatever dialogue he deemed suitable. Of course, this is a prime example of the oft-strained relationship that existed between these two powerhouses of the comic book industry.

Following the Fantastic Four, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby would go on to create the Hulk, then Thor, then Ant-Man, then Iron Man, assemble the Avengers, follow that up with the X-Men, and the introduce Black Panther. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

First and foremost, though, this iconic partnership gave readers the adventures of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing.