LOS ANGELES — Marvel and the estate of Jack Kirby, whose boundless imagination and artistic prowess gave us characters such as Captain America, Thor, the X-Men and dozens of others, are no longer at war.

The company and Kirby's estate issued the following statement on Friday:

“Marvel and the family of Jack Kirby have amicably resolved their legal disputes, and are looking forward to advancing their shared goal of honoring Mr. Kirby’s significant role in Marvel’s history.”

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Kirby died in 1994. In recent years, as Disney bought Marvel and turned it into a multi-billion-dollar film and merchandising franchise, Kirby's family sought to regain copyright ownership of the characters that he created, including the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the Hulk and the Silver Surfer. Defendants included Disney/Marvel, Sony, Universal, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures.

Even when Kirby was alive, his relationship with Marvel — and the inimitable Stan Lee — was sometimes rocky. But for now, it seems, the two sides have come to terms.

The settlement comes just days before the estate's case was to be considered in the U.S. Supreme Court, the culmination of a bitter legal battle that started back in 2009. Although Kirby is credited with creating dozens of iconic Marvel characters, he did so as a "work-for-hire," which means he didn't retain any rights to them. His family challenged that in lower courts.

Marvel countersued in 2010, and the High Court agreed earlier this year to at least consider whether to hear the case — a meeting that was scheduled for Monday.

But with the Kirby estate and Marvel back on good terms, the hearing is off.