Finally, what you’ve been waiting for! Like a screaming newborn child awash in afterbirth, below are our top five Kirby characters.

But what about the rest of the list, you ask? Ok:
20-16
15-11
10-6

5. Black Panther

AFD: Slick and austere: that’s the design for the Black Panther, whose classy costume works best in Kirby’s refined all-black version. The only character on our list whose look, in old-school superhero fashion, is directly inspired by — and captures the nature of — their real-life namesake (although I like to think Devil Dinosaur actually existed), it’s Kirby’s subtle and effective touches to the get up that give the Black Panther his tangibly intense, mysterious, and intimidating edge: most noticeably, the bright white eyes and mouthless mask.

Steve: Though the Black Panther’s costume is an rather basic one, especially by typical Kirby standards, it’s also one of the King’s best. Simple and sleek, the only details Kirby opted to give it are the pinstriped boots and gloves and the ears on the mask. It’s stunning in it’s simplicity, really, and is completely befitting one of Marvel’s most regal characters. A master at customizing costumes to their owners roles and personalities, the costume was also given the optional mini-cape in keeping with the Panther’s role as king, making it look that much cooler.

4. Dr. Doom

AFD: The greatest and most charismatic villain Kirby ever designed. Marvel’s OG. The go-to template for maniacal, over-the-top supervillains then, now, and forever. Proving that at its best the Marvel Universe is grand opera, Doom’s appearance makes an immediate, overwhelming impression on the reader with a theatrical presence that perfectly fits Victor Von’s melodramatic, cartoonish, charismatic personality. The green tunic, cape, huge belt, baggy hood (which always has to be up) and vaguely medieval armor give him a kind of classic, 19th century, Jules Verne-by-way-of-Hammer-Studios thing happening. True to his role as one of the Marvel Universe’s great outsiders, Doom belongs to another time and place.

Steve: By all rights, Doom shouldn’t be in the top 5 Kirby designs, probably not in the top 25, if only because he has that ridiculous Renn-faire hood on his head. However, the incredibly emotable mask entirely trumps the hood - an iron mask that only allows us to see the insanely evil, sometimes noble, always self-serving eyes of Victor Von Doom. Doom’s costume itself provides the reader with the perfect visual description of the Latverian monarch, with the combination of the mechanical armor and medieval garb reflecting the character’s dual methodology which consists of both traditional gypsy magic as well as cutting edge technology. Tack on the character’s penchant for the dramatic, often shaking both fists high in the air while screaming his own name or that of Mr. Fantastic, and you’ve got the greatest villain Marvel’s ever seen.

3. The Thing

AFD: Ben Grimm’s first cosmic-ray-transformed self looked like a giant moving dollop of orange mashed potatoes. But once Kirby refined the concept into the powerful mass of hard, abstract shapes he is today, the Thing became one of Marvel’s most recognizable and widely beloved characters. A masterwork of near avant-garde form and detail, the amazing trick Kirby pulls off with the Thing is bestowing upon a rock the gifts of movement and expression. His art along with Lee’s writing showed Grimm had a vast core of humanity underneath that hard outer shell.

Steve: It took a little while for Ben Grimm to develop from a lumpy orange dude to the rock encrusted Thing we all know and love, but when Kirby hit on this classic look, man did it click. In many ways, the Thing is the polar opposite of Darkseid: the latter’s stony visage lends itself to being cold and emotionless while Ben Grimm’s unique and rocky hide is instrumental in conveying the wildly varying emotions of the character. Perhaps the truest testament to Kirby’s design is the fact that there were no creator-specific tricks necessary to do this - any other artist can convey the same range of emotions with Grimm’s amazingly malleable puss, a true testament to Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew’s awesome design.

2. Silver Surfer

AFD: My actual pick for #1, but Steve made a better case for the top choice than I could for this guy, who in my opinion is just about as sublime a character design as you can get. The Silver Surfer is simplicity refined into pop transcendence. Endowed with the amorphously defined power cosmic and an infinite amount of loner cool, the elegant and statuesque Surfer - a marked contrast to the grotestque brutality and foreboding menace Kirby usually concentrated on - looks exactly like what he is: the perfect being who does the most awesome activity imaginable — surfs…IN OUTER SPACE.

Steve: Simple, simple, simple, and yet the Silver Surfer remains one of Kirby’s most enduring and popular designs. Even though Norrin Radd’s never truly set the world on fire with his solo adventures, the character manages to maintain an eerie hold over pop culture. Even people who never, ever read comics are as likely to recognize the character when they see him, with a number of them that would even go as far as to identify themselves as Surfer fans. Is it the simple sleekness of the character, the large, melancholy eyes or the latent desire that most of us have to surf? Whatever it is, the character has slowly but surely become an icon, transcending his comic book roots due solely to the look Kirby gave him.

1. Captain America

AFD: I’ll be completely honest right up front, I think Captain America is one of the dullest comic book characters ever created. However, I’ll acknowledge that Kirby’s striking, and, yes, iconic design is one of the most timeless and retcon proof. Only Superman’s pajamas have the same stubborn resistance to change, and Cap’s might in fact be more accomplished. The shield alone (the round one after Cap’s look was refined and polished) makes Kirby’s immortality a lock. The perfect balance, bold use of color, and eye-popping details — the red and white around the midsection, the big chest star, the forehead “A,” the exaggerated red gloves and boots — all add up to the consummate superhero look. If you need evidence why Kirby helped birth pop art, and in effect the entire Taking Pop Culture Seriously mentality, look no further.

Steve: When we were developing this list, it took a little lobbying on my part to get Captain America in the number one spot over the Surfer. However, once I pointed out that much like the Surfer, Kirby’s original design had remained virtually unchanged since it’s conception, Andrew had no choice bu to give it up to Cap. In addition to that, Cap’s costume has a good 20 years or so on the Kosmic Kahuna, proving it’s perfection through it’s longevity. The red, white and blue color combination could have easily been a corny one, but Kirby married the American flag to the character so perfectly that even today, some 60 years or so after he first appeared, Captain America remains amazingly and appropriately iconic. Even more importantly, aside from a few minor cosmetic evolutions, no artist has truly tried to “improve” upon the original design, Rob Liefeld’s ill-advised forehead eagle and The Ultimates’ other universe Cap aside.

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