Summary
Modern superheroes as people know them today have been around for nearly a century. As of this writing, Superman has been punching thugs for 86 years, Batman for about 85, and Wonder Woman for 83 years. They’ve influenced countless other superheroes from other companies, directly or indirectly.
That said, they’re not the only game in town. Most of Marvel’s heroes are a few decades younger but have left an impression on fans for nearly 60 years if not longer. So, these are Marvel’s longest-lasting big hitters from over 50 years ago, ranging across the Gold and Silver Ages.
1Namor The Submariner
A Marvel Before Marvel
The only thing weirder thanNamor the Submarinerbeing Marvel’s oldest-running superhero is that his last name is MacKenzie. Nonetheless, before Marvel was Marvel, they were Timely Comics, and Namor was one of their first heroes. Kind of. Born of a man and an Atlantean princess, he was more of an anti-hero even back in the 1930s-1940s. He’d avenge the weak against any wrongdoing by the Nazis and other foes, but he had little love for the surface world.
Anyone who threatened Atlantis would be on his hit list, and he’d ensure they were stopped. This snarky edge, along with his feats of strength, likely helped him avoid comparisons to DC’s Aquaman. Their King of Atlantis has a bad rap for being a drip that spoke to fish when he’s tougher than he looks. Namor’s always been tough, holding his own againstthe likes of the Hulkand Doctor Doom.
2Captain America
The First Avenger
The US was a year away from joining World War 2 in 1940, but there were still plenty of people there who’d have joinedCaptain Americain socking Hitler in the jaw. Though it only happens on the cover, it showed exactly what the character was all about: standing up for the US and punching Nazis. Yet there was more to him beyond being the most American anti-fascist.
He’s canonically more open-minded than his outfit suggests, supporting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all people rather than just chanting “USA #1!”. When other versions of him tried spreading far-right views in a Stars & Stripes wrapper (“Does this ‘A’ stand for France?!”), he was there to counter them through example or with his trusty shield. Without this nuance, he may have been left behind with other patriotically-themed Golden Age heroes.
3The Fantastic Four
The Heralds Of Marvel Comics
Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Namor, and the original Human Torch kept Timely going during World War 2. Though once the Axis were dealt with, they didn’t really have anywhere else to go. Cap & Bucky tried going after Communism, but that didn’t pan out. Instead of ooh-rah tubthumping, the Silver Age was going to be about space-age tech and otherworldly adventures. This gave Timely and Atlas Comics' successor Marvel Comics the angle they needed to introduceThe Fantastic Fourto the world.
Reed Richards, the Invisible Woman, the Thing, and a new Human Torch gave readers all the space adventures, aliens, giant robots, and world-threatening enemies they could handle while giving them drama their competitors weren’t dabbling in at the time. DC had Superman cleaning oil slicks by spinning on his head, or the Flash being turned super-fat by a villain’s ray gun. The Fantastic Four had vulnerabilities like ego, depression, and marital issues that made them feel more human and serious by comparison.
4The Incredible Hulk
A Smash Hit
Not every hero starts fully formed. It took years for Batman to get his own car, let alone Alfred, Robin, and his Bat family. Even so, readers familiar withthe Incredible Hulkmight find his original strips odd. It’s the same story they know: Dr Banner gets caught in a gamma bomb explosion and turns into a giant muscle monster. Except he’s gray, speaks perfect if brusque English, and Banner only turns into him during a full moon.
It would be Banner’s subsequent attempts to cure himself of his alter-ego that would turn him into the stronger, greener, anger-induced version everyone knows. Instead of being a hero, Hulk was a misunderstood figure. His rages scare people, leading them to fight back and spur him on when he just wants to be left alone. Few people trust him, and many want him gone, including Banner himself. Like Namor, he was an anti-hero. Only he had a more sympathetic edge, being a beast who wanted peace, but could never find it.
5Spider-Man
Amazing, Spectacular, Superior
The Fantastic Four started Marvel’s new direction, and the Hulk expanded it with its Jekyll & Hyde/Frankenstein dynamic. But their true flagship hero isSpider-Man. He’s their most popular superhero, out-earning Superman, Batman, and the Avengers in merch sales combined. Though while he’s inspired later heroes, likeJaime Reyes' Blue Beetle, or his successor in Miles Morales' Spider-Man, his origins show a link to Superman. He began as a nerdy guy who was actually the strongest jock in the world.
Spider-Man just grounds that premise with their soap-like drama, in that he’s a nerd with or without his powers, and is liked by some people while being detested by others, like his boss J. Jonah Jameson. He also had to be humbled into heroism, as he first tried using his powers for his selfish gain, before realizing he could’ve indirectly saved his Uncle Ben if he hadn’t let his would-be killer get away. It would be the first of many heart-wrenching angles Spidey would have to go through in between teasing bank robbers and the Sinister Six.
6Thor
Divinely Inspired
Stan Lee gets most of the credit for creating Marvel’s superheroes thanks to his writing and presentation. His jargon and persona made him as much a part of the company as Spider-Man or The Thing, even after he left the company. Even so, he couldn’t completely sideline his characters’ co-creators.Thormay have come from Lee’s desire to make a hero stronger than the Hulk or The Fantastic Four, but it was Jack Kirby’s interest in fantasy and mythology that gave him life.
He was Marvel’s way of utilizing the old Norse gods as modern heroes. His tales were more fantastical than his counterparts, as for each bout of urban crime fighting, there would be a touch of fantasy to his adventures, with battles against gods, demigods, serpents, dragons, and more. It helped him stand out from the rest and led to more fantasy-inspired characters along the way, like Kirby’s own New Gods when he made the jump to DC.
7Iron Man
Second-Stringer Becomes Marvel’s Main Metal Man
Before the MCU,Iron Manwasn’t considered an A-list Hero. Not that he wasn’t important to Marvel or its fans, as he was one of the original Avengers and played a part in many big storylines, likeCivil War. But they were the only ones who rated him. Casual fans were more familiar with Spider-Man and the X-Men. Nowadays, with his rise to the top via his movies, Shellhead is just as necessary to the company and its tie-ins as Webhead and the Mutants.
He was unique on his debut, as Lee and co wanted to see how they could make readers sympathize with someone they’d hate. Namely,Tony Stark, an arms manufacturer. His first story saw him realize what his tech was doing to the world and what it ended up doing to him, as he’d be left relying on his armor, and later a battery, to keep a piece of shrapnel near his heart from killing him. His subsequent adventures were a case of trying to atone for his actions, and the road bumps he’d hit along the way.
8The X-Men
The Mutants' First Stumble Towards Greatness
Technically,the X-Menshouldn’t count. Sure, the original team debuted way back in the early 1960s and featured fan-favorite heroes and villains like Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Magneto. But their Sixties incarnation wasn’t particularly popular. They lingered on until 1970 when the book was canceled. Compared to Lee and Kirby’s other ground-breaking heroes, they seemed like a misfire. A Marvel misprint of DC’s Doom Patrol.
It wasn’t until their 1975 revival under Chris Claremont that they’d catch on, and gainflagship characters like Wolverine, Storm, and Nightcrawler. Nonetheless, it showed there was something valuable in the team’s original premise: as heroes with natural mutations fighting for equality in a world that hates them. It helped them reach a wider audience as, on top of them being able to relate to the X-Men’s situation, their characters would come from a diverse range of backgrounds, from Romani Jews to Japanese, among others.
9Black Widow
Enemy Spy Turned into Marvel’s First Individual Superheroine
Just because Captain America’s Commie-bashing in the 1950s didn’t catch on, didn’t mean Commie-bashing wasn’t popular. The Silver Age is full of villains representing or themed after the former Soviet Union or other Communist regimes.Black Widowwas no different, as she first appeared as an enemy spy against Iron Man. She’d act as a femme fatale, trying to lure one hero or another into a trap, often working with other Soviet villains like Crimson Dynamo, or future reformees like Hawkeye.
However, Marvel would eventually turn Black Widow into a sympathetic figure, revealing she was brainwashed into becoming a Soviet supersoldier from childhood. She would break her programming and become Marvel’s first solo superheroine, heading her own strips instead of sharing space with The Fantastic Four or X-Men, or by being a female spin-off of another hero, like Supergirl or Batgirl. She wasn’t exactly the perfect feminist superhero, but she was a positive step in many ways.
10Black Panther
The First Super-Powered Black Superhero
Despite the name,Black Pantherisn’t connected to the Black Panther Party (founded three months later in October), or the all-black World War 2 Tank Battalion unit. It was just a catchy name for thefirst black superhero with powersin comics history. Inspired by activists like Marcus Garvey, and the Mali sultan Mansa Musa, he made a strong debut by outfoxing The Fantastic Four just to test his abilities.
With his genius intellect, expert combat skills, and enhanced strength and agility, he’d work with the Four and the Avengers against global threats while defending his kingdom of Wakanda. He was a rebuke to past (and some present) racist depictions of black people in comics as a smart, strong hero who didn’t act as someone else’s lackey or comic relief. As such, he’d open the lid for other black heroes to come, like John Stewart and Miles Morales, and for more black people to get into comics in general.
