9 Reasons Why DC Really Is Better Than Marvel

6. Jack Kirby's Fourth World

Jack Kirby's influence on the Marvel Universe is almost impossible to overstate, with the writer/artist having contributed more to that world than any other creator in the company's history. He was Marvel's main man back in the famous bullpen era, and while others will cite Stan Lee as a creative force in his own right, it is telling that the output of new characters slowed once Kirby packed his bags for DC.

When Kirby did pack his bags however, he did so under acrimonious circumstances. Seemingly undervalued at Marvel, the creator shifted focus to DC and was granted a license to invent a whole new world once he moved - a Fourth World, starring gods, monsters, and heroes spangled in red, green and yellow.

The Fourth World Saga, as it would later be known, became one of the most influential comics texts of all time, with Kirby having conceptualised a whole new kind of architecture and lore that would influence the DCU massively going forward. Miracles were made, tubes were boomed, and Kirby imparted a legacy on both of the industry's most iconic publishers in the space of thirty-or-so years.

Kirby's Fourth World is among the most seminal comics stories ever made, and as fine an indication of DC's authority as any other.