It is impossible to imagine comic books without Jack Kirby. While he is best known for his work on superheroes like the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and Mister Miracle, these characters are just the surface of an amazing decades-long career of unmatched creation. When superheroes fell out of favor after World War II, Kirby, along with his longtime partner Joe Simon, created Young Romance, the first teen romance comic in history. And while he was filling pages with soap opera worthy drama, Kirby was also busy creating some of the greatest monsters in comics.
Even when the superheroes came back with a vengeance, thanks in no small part to Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, the master of the pencil continued to invent some of the most amazing creatures ever seen on the four-colored page. He even made a few of them the tragic heroes of the story.
10 Mangog
At some point in the distant past, Odin, King of Asgard, wiped out an entire race of beings. The hatred that these beings felt for Odin as he slaughtered them took on a sentient form and named itself Mangog. Mangog was held captive deep beneath Asgard but he soon broke out. So filled with rage, Mangog was unstoppable and seemed destined to destroy Asgard & kill the Norse Gods. But as Mangog continued his path of destruction, he became smaller and smaller. The rage that powered Mangog faded with each blow he dealt, and he could not find any anger to feed off of from the Asgardians. In time, Mangog faded into nothingness.
9 Orrgo The Unconquerable
Making his first appearance in 1961's Strange Tales #90, Orrgo is a Mentelleronite who volunteered to travel to Earth and conquer the world for his people. Orrgo was so sure of his superiority over mankind that he didn't see a need for backup and chose to go it alone. Orrgo appeared at a circus and, using his huge eyes, hypnotized everyone there. The police and military tried to stop Orrgo, but their weapons were useless against him. Before long, Orrgo had every living person under his control. That's when he decided to take a nap.
As Orrgo slept, Jo-Jo the circus gorilla broke out of her cage looking for food. Somehow knowing that Orrgo was in charge of everything, Jo-Jo went to the sleeping monster and beat him to death. Seeing Orrgo's horrific death, the other Mentelleronites decided to leave Earth alone.
8 Thorr the Unbelievable
When an archeologist named Prof. Linus traveled to Easter Island, he never expected to discover that the giant stone heads on the island would turn out to be an alien invasion. Prof. Linus accidentally awakens Thorr, the leader of the alien beasts. Believing that the only defenses Earth has are the ones on Easter Island, Thorr chooses to conquer the world on his own, leaving his compatriots in suspended animation. To stop Thorr, Prof. Linus used dynamite to cause a volcano to go off, killing the aliens and destroying the island.
7 Monsteroso
Monsteroso was a passenger on an alien craft when he accidentally launched himself towards Earth in the ship's escape pod. Monsteroso crashed in Africa and was knocked unconscious. Sometime later, Monsteroso's crashed ship was found by an American circus owner named Phil. Believing that Monsteroso was dead, Phil had the monster shipped to America so it could be displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Monsteroso woke up at the museum and was very confused. He began to rampage through New York and seemed to be invulnerable to human weapons. Finally, the military was able to sedate Monsteroso, and just as they did, another spacecraft landed. From that ship came Monsteroso's parents, who took him home.
6 Giganto
Most famous for appearing on the cover of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four #1, Giganto was a mutate created by the Deviant scientists on Monster Island and taken by the Mole Man after being captured by monster hunters. Mole Man used Giganto to destroy chemical plants in the Soviet Union, Australia, South America, and French Africa before the Fantastic Four got involved.
Giganto escaped its battle with the Fantastic Four and later faced off against the X-Men and the Avengers. In later years, Giganto teamed up with Frankencastle, Morbius the Living Vampire, and other monsters to battle against a group of monster hunters.
5 Groot
Fifty-four years before he became a movie star in Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot made his debut in Tales to Astonish #13. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby, Groot was the Monarch of Planet X who had come to Earth with the intention to steal an entire American town and bring it back to his homeworld. As the military tried to stop Groot from stealing the town, a scientist named Leslie Evans came up with a plan. Sneaking up behind Groot, Leslie Evans released a specially bred colony of termites. The termites quickly went to work on Groot, eating him alive.
4 Fin Fang Foom
When his homeland was threatened, teenager Chen Liuchow entered an ancient tomb and awakened Fin Fang Foom, a giant dragon of unbelievable power. Angered that he has been woken up, Fin Fang Foom chases Chen Liuchow, which is just what the teen had planned on. Chen leads Fin Fang Foom to the Chinese camp, and the dragon turns his attention to destroy the army. Once Fin Fang Foom chased the Chinese away, Chen led the dragon back to the tomb and used a special herb to make it fall back asleep.
Fin Fang Foom continued to appear in Marvel comics, revealing that he was not a dragon at all, but an alien from the distant planet Kakaranathara who had arrived in Ancient China with others of his race to invade the Earth. The invasion failed and Foom was stranded.
3 Hulk
When Doctor Bruce Banner was belted by gamma rays from a bomb he created, it turned the meek scientist into a large monster called Hulk. Whenever Dr. Banner became engaged, he would transform into the beast and wreak havoc everywhere he went. Between bouts of destruction, Banner works to find a way to cure himself of his curse. Over the years, Banner has found ways to combine his intellect with the Hulk's body and was even able to separate himself from the monster for a time. Still, Bruce Banner constantly finds himself pulled back into the world of the Hulk, no matter how much he just wants to be left alone.
2 Etrigan The Demon
The half-brother of Merlin the Magician and the son of the demon Belial, Etrigan the Demon was bonded to Jason Blood, one of King Arthur's Knights of Camelot. The union of Etrigan and Jason Blood made the human immortal and trapped the demon inside him.
Now living in Gotham City and working as a prominent demonologist, Jason Blood is sometimes called on by Batman or the other heroes of the DC Universe for advice & help. When necessary, Jason releases Etrigan on the world. Whether or not Etrigan will help the heroes or fight against them all depends on his mood.
1 Thing
One of the most tragic figures in comics, Ben Grimm was an ace pilot and best friend of Reed Richards who agreed to travel into space in his pal's experimental craft. Along for the ride were Reed's fiance Sue Storm and her younger brother Johnny Storm. The launch was successful, but once in space, the ship was hit by cosmic rays, forcing it to crash.
Waking from the crash, the four adventurers found that they had gained superpowers. Where Reed, Sue, and Johnny could use their powers as Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, and Human Torch while continuing to appear like normal people, poor Ben Grimm had turned into a large rock monster who the world now knows as the Thing.