Mister Miracle: A Love Letter to Jack Kirby

When comic book legend Stan Lee was on the up-and-up, he was a simple editor for Marvel comics. Many people correctly assume that he was also a writer for the company. While they are correct, the writer’s job was very different in the industry as it is now. As editor/writer, his job in the company during the 40’s was to write a rough story outline. Meanwhile, leaving all the actual dialogue and character interaction to be written by the artist/letterer, Jack Kirby. You could imagine this statement to help understand the concept better, “Hey Jack, it’s Stan here. In the next issue of Spider-Man, I want to introduce a new suit for Spider-Man. I don’t know how he’ll get it, but I want it to be black.”

            This would then leave Kirby with the task of designing and drawing countless sketches of black suits for Spider-Man, creating an elaborate plot device that will realistically allow for this outfit change while drawing the rest of the comic and creating faithful character dialogue for the comic panels from scratch—all on his own. Once the comic was finished, Kirby would see in the press that Stan Lee was gaining all the glory and praise.

            Tired of having his work attributed to someone else, Kirby left Marvel Comics and joined DC Comics soon after. At DC, Kirby was given complete creative control. His ideas would be his own. He would receive a top listing on all his comics. Ensuring that when you pick up a Jack Kirby comic, you know it is a Jack Kirby comic. He was also given complete creative freedom, which leads us to The Fourth World.

            In October 1970, Kirby debuted his new project for DC. The Fourth World is a fictional alternate reality where the citizens/gods of “New Genesis” -ancient deities of goodness and truth led by the High Father- are locked into an eternal struggle against the deceitful and wrathful gods of “Apocalypse” who are ruled through terror and fear by the god-king, Darkseid. After eons of battling each other, these mighty and ancient factions decide to broker peace. The son of the High Father will be given to Darkseid to be raised on Apocalypse, and the son of Darkseid will be given to the High Father to be raised on New Genesis. Both parties know these sons will return to their rightful homes one day.

The son of Darkseid, Orion, would be raised in a beautiful palace overlooking the city. He would have attendants appeal to his every need and desire. He would be raised in luxury. Never to know suffering or anguish. The son of the High Father, Mister Miracle, would be raised with the rest of the young population on Apocalypse in the dreaded X-pits. Knowing only punishment, humiliation, and pain, all were conducted by one of Darkseid’s top lieutenants, Granny Goodness. Through these Trials, Mister Miracle gets very good at escaping from traps. Causing Granny to name her new victim mockingly, Scott Free, the most incredible escape artist. (Able to escape any trap, “Scott-free.”)

We can see the similarities between these two characters and Lee and Kirby. One is the golden boy. He was brought up with love and admiration from the masses and his father figures. The other is the black sheep—the broken one who never got enough credit. Orion is on top, and Mister Miracle is below him. Even comic book sales reflected this dichotomy; Orion consistently sold out of local stores before selling one Mister Miracle title. This was the status quo until 2017 when Tom King and Mitch Gerads debuted their new comic run of Mister Miracle.

If you’ve read enough of my posts in the past, you know about my love for Tom King. He has an innate ability to tap into why a beloved character is so popular. Gerads and King are able to connect the lines tastefully and respectfully to Mister Miracle and Jack Kirby. Their entire run of Mister Miracle is nothing but a love letter to an underappreciated hero. Thank you, Jack Kirby, for bringing us the world.