(Image Source: Alphacoders)

BY: ANTHONY MARTINEZ

Picture the ultimate Marvel comic-book superhero fight: the Fantastic Four vs. Captain America, Venom vs. Iron Man - talk about major damage, right?

How about Marvel vs. one of its characters’ original co-creators?

“A federal judge in New York ruled this week that Marvel Worldwide, not the heirs of the legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby, owns the rights of the iconic characters: Spiderman, Iron Man, The Mighty Four and the Incredible Hulk. In The claim filed Kirby’s heirs claim that the artist who died in 1994 created the characters and owned their copyrights.”

So you create something -- and someone else owns it? The BBC explains -- the judge’s ruling drew on historical context.

“The judge said the contracts she reviewed made it clear that all of Kirby’s work for publications owned by Marvel was work for hire. She noted the artist … said in a sworn statement that he did his work at a time when it was common practice for vested ownership of his creations to belong to the company that paid him to draw.”

Turns out if the Kirby family won the lawsuit, they’d be the ones calling the shots – and could even remove the superheroes from the Big Screen.

“It is about whether Kirby’s work qualifies as work-for-hire under the Copyright Act of 1909… If it does not, then the Kirby Heirs have a statutory right to take back those copyrights, no matter the impact on recent corporate acquisition or on earnings from blockbuster movies made and yet to be made.”

And apparently, without cape nor superpowers, the Kirby family vows that just like Jack Kirby’s superheroes -- they’re not going down without a fight. The lawyer suing Marvel tells The Hollywood Reporter...

“We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling and intend to appeal this matter to the Second Circuit. Sometimes you have to lose in order to win... We knew when we took this on that it would not be easy given various arcane and contradictory 'work for hire’ decisions under the 1909 Copyright Act.”

To superheroes and fans alike, keep your police scanners on for news of the Second Court’s decision.