U.S. Supreme Court

It's never a safe bet to think the United States Supreme Court will take on any particular case -- it only accepts a handful each year -- but the credibility of Jack Kirby's family's case against Marvel Comics got another big boost recently. Attorney Tom Goldstein, the founder of SCOTUSblog, one of the most widely-read online sources for Supreme Court commentary, has opted to co-represent the Kirby family as it fights for copyrights for characters Kirby co-created between 1958 and 1963, which include the Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and a slew of others. Goldstein's name puts considerable muscle behind the Kirby family's claim, which Marvel has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss because it doesn't "merit review."

Jack Kirby's family has some powerful friends on its side in its legal battle with Marvel to claim back copyright of characters Kirby created between 1958 and 1963 -- characters that include the Fantastic Four, The Hulk, and the X-Men -- but Marvel's attorneys are trying to shut the whole fight down before it advances any further. Marvel and Disney have filed formal paperwork requesting that the U.S. Supreme Court reject the case of Kirby V. Marvel, saying it doesn't "remotely merit this Court's review."

The United States Supreme Court wrapped up its 2014 term Monday, deciding cases involving health care, unions, and other pressing issues. If two comic creators' families get their way, the court's next term could involve the fate of some of the most popular comics characters ever created. First, the family of Jack Kirby filed paperwork to ask the Supreme Court to consider whether they have any rights to the characters Kirby co-created at Marvel Comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Now, the family of Joe Shuster, who co-created Superman with writer Jerry Siegel at DC, has essentially done the same.