Soon to appear in the upcoming live-action feature “Thev Fantastic Four”, the robot ‘H.E.R.B.I.E.’ (‘Highly Engineered Robot Built for Interdimensional Exploration’) was originally designed by illustrator Jack Kirby as his last work for Marvel:
“…the character was initially conceived for The New Fantastic Four’ Saturday morning cartoon series, then integrated into Marvel Comics continuity shortly afterwards.
“HERBIE is usually depicted as an ally of the ‘Fantastic Four’Creation When the Fantastic Four property was made into an animated series in 1978…
“…the character of the ‘Human Torch’ was unable to be used at the time, because there were some fears that children might attempt to emulate him by setting themselves on fire.
“Needing a fourth member to round out the team, writer Stan Lee pitched the idea for a cute robot sidekick and artist Jack Kirby…
‘…who had been hired as a storyboard artist for DePatie/Freleng, designed it. This was Kirby's last work for Marvel.
“H.E.R.B.I.E. possesses various powers and abilities in his arsenal, including communication with any computer system…
“…producing electrical currents, lasers and access to various tools for various functions and purposes…”
Click the images to enlarge…
