In 1973, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley founded the rock band Kiss. They became known for their rock and roll anthems, like "Rock And Roll All Nite" or "Heaven's On Fire," as well as their theatrical stage show.

For Simmons, his persona, the Demon, was heavily inspired by horror films and Marvel comics.

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For Spider-Man Day, the Twitter account KISS MonsterMiniGolf posted a picture depicting two sets of hands in the same pose. While it is the symbol of love in American sign language, it is also the pose Spider-Man uses when he shoots a web, and Simmons has often used it onstage. Simmons has proclaimed before that he is a fan of comic books, so fans believed that he took it from Spider-Man.

Simmons saw the tweet, and decided to set the record straight: He replied, clarifying that he took it from another Marvel hero, Doctor Strange. His costume was also inspired by another Marvel superhero, Black Bolt of the Inhumans.

In 1977, Kiss appeared in a Marvel comic book as superhero versions of themselves and fought Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom. The initial printing issue featured a special red ink - it contained blood from each of the four band members.

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In a 2017 interview with Kerrang, Simmons said about the comic: "Finding out I was gonna fight Doctor Doom in a Kiss comic book? Oh my God! And that we would meet Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four and so on. You just couldn't imagine it."

Via: Marvel Comics

The musician wasn't always as open and ready to admit to his inspirations, however. As recently as 2017, Simmons tried to trademark the hand gesture, which was met with criticism. Simmons often claimed that he invented what is referred to as "devil horns."

Most fans credit Ronnie James Dio for introducing that symbol, despite Simmons' claims that it was him. Dio's version was slightly different than what Simmons did; It featured the thumb inverted, closed into the hand as opposed to out. Dio learned the symbol from his grandma, and it became synonymous with rock and heavy metal music.

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When asked about the criticism he received for his attempted trademark, Simmons told the Windsor Star, "I regret nothing. Wake up every morning and let your conscience be your guide...I can do anything I want to do."

Simmons still tours with Kiss, alongside Stanley, and they will do it again sometime in the future. The band was on a farewell tour, but many of the dates had to be postponed due to quarantine.

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