Marvel, back when it was known as Timely Comics, jumped into the superhero game after the successes of Superman and Batman. Despite creating characters that would stand the test of time like Captain America, Bucky, and Namor (and technically the Human Torch, although the Golden Age version of the character would disappear for decades), Marvel couldn’t match DC and left the superhero market until 1961. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, known for working on Marvel’s Western, monster, and romance comics of the ’50s, teamed together for Fantastic Four #1 and changed the course of superhero comic history. They created the shared universe concept, and made heroes that the readers could empathize with, unlike the godlike heroes of DC Comics. Since then, Marvel has constantly pushed the envelope with with superheroes, making heroes unlike anything readers have ever experienced before.
One of the greatest things about Marvel’s heroes is the way they’ve grown and changed over time. While heroes like Captain America, the Thing, Mr. Fantastic, and more mostly sprang up whole cloth, Marvel’s heroes have transformed into something special, evolving in a variety of ways. These seven Marvel heroes have grown and changed over the years, becoming much better heroes than they were before.
Kitty Pryde joined the X-Men in the classic story “The Dark Phoenix Saga” at the age of thirteen and became the younger sister of the X-Men. Kitty’s phasing powers allowed her to avoid danger, and she worked with the X-Men to become an even greater combatant. Early Kitty Pryde was known for having multiple very bad costumes and changing her codename several times, becoming very close with Storm and Wolverine. Wolverine trained her as a ninja, and this was the beginning of Kitty’s growth. She no longer had to depend on everyone else for offense in combat, and became a computer whiz. Her time with Excalibur saw her grow more and more, and she returned to the X-Men alongside Nightcrawler and Colossus. Since then, Kitty has spent a lot of time with the team, proving her skill and utility to the team, and becoming more popular with readers because of excellent books like Astonishing X-Men. Kitty has led the X-Men and the Marauders, and even became one of the leaders of the mutant race during the Krakoa Era, joining the Krakoan Quiet Council. Kitty has become an iconic X-Man, and is one of the team’s most useful and decorated members.
Emma Frost began her tenure among the superpowered as a villain, working with the Hellfire Club’s Inner Circle, eventually leading the Hellions against the New Mutants. Emma Frost was killed in a battle with Sentinels, and that was the turning point in her life. Emma’s mind ended up in Iceman’s body, and once put back into her own, she became a hero. She helped train Generation X and went to Genosha to teach young mutants, surviving the Sentinel holocaust of mutantkind. She joined the X-Men since then and has become one of the most important mutants. She started out needling Jean Grey and being snotty and superior to her teammates. All of that changed after the death of Jean Grey. She became Cyclops’s second in command and after Scarlet Witch de-powered the mutant race, she became one of her kind’s greatest leaders. Since then, Emma Frost has grown as a character, becoming a hero in a way that no one ever thought would be possible, even back in the Generation X days. Emma Frost is a mutant leader at the highest level.
Luke Cage was part of an experiment in prison that gave him massive super strength and unbreakable skin. He became the hero of Harlem, eventually working with Iron Fist as the Heroes for Hire. Luke stayed in the street-level D-list for years, although Marvel would try to give him his own series in the ’90s, but the Marvel MAX series Cage reminded people of how great the character could be. Luke Cage had the best cheerleader any Marvel could have in the ’00s — Brian Michael Bendis — and was put into the cast of the hottest book of the decade, New Avengers. Luke Cage became the leader of the underground heroes after Civil War, staying a step ahead of Iron Man and Norman Osborn, leading the team through the Skrull invasion and Osborn’s Dark Reign. Luke Cage joined the A-list of the superhero community, fighting alongside the greatest heroes on the planet against the most dangerous threats. While Luke has fallen in prominence in the intervening years, he’s become the mayor of New York City, showing that his leadership skills have grown immensely since the days when he went after Doctor Doom because the villain owed him money.
Spider-Woman is another superhero who debuted in the ’70s that became important to the Marvel Universe again because of Bendis and New Avengers. Jessica Drew was given her powers thanks to her Hydra scientist parents, but became a superhero, using her super strength, agility, limited flight powers, and venom blasts to fight evil. Her powers faded for a time and she left behind the mantle of Spider-Woman, eventually opening up a detective agency in Madripoor and sometimes working with Wolverine. Eventually, Nick Fury recruited her as a triple agent for Hydra and they gave her her powers back. At some point she was replaced by the Skrull Empress Veranke, but would be be rescued by the New Avengers. Spider-Woman became a hallmark of the Avengers during Bendis’s run writing the book and had her own solo books many times over the years. Spider-Woman made a trip from the D-list to the A-list and while she isn’t as popular as she once was, an entire new generation of fans love her.
Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, and has steadily grown as a character in every way imaginable. He first appeared as a Canadian superhero sent to fight the Hulk and the Wendigo, and was placed in the new international team of X-Men created in Giant-Size X-Men #1. Since then, Wolverine’s popularity has steadily climbed. He became the breakout star of Uncanny X-Men, starring in multiple miniseries and one-shots until he got his own solo ongoing book in 1989, which was a top ten selling book throughout the ’90s. He was the star of the bestselling books in comics for years in Uncanny X-Men and X-Men, and eventually joined the Avengers and became a leader of the X-Men. As a character, Wolverine has grown as well. He went from the mouthy loner, constantly sassing everyone in command, and all of that changed as time went on. He became a key member of the team, taking the younger members under his wing, and treating the X-Men like the family he never had. His joining the Avengers was a major part of his growth as a hero, eventually even earning the praise of Captain America, who once swore Wolverine would never be an Avenger. Wolverine isn’t perfect — all of the problems of Avengers Vs. X-Men can be laid at his feet — but he’s become a much greater hero than he was before, and has become a trusted member of the upper echelon of the superhero community.
Deadpool has long been a dangerous person, but his growth as a hero has been unprecedented. Wade Wilson was a soldier recruited into Weapon X after a terminal cancer diagnosis, given a healing factor that made him basically unkillable. It also drove him insane and he became a mercenary, working against Cable and X-Force before his popularity in the ’90s drove him into his own solo adventures, and the growth of Deadpool as a character begun. He was first created to be X-Force’s Deathstroke, but that changed as writers like Fabian Nicieza, Mark Waid, Joe Kelly, and Gail Simone fleshed him out as a character in the ’90s and early ’00s. His popularity and growth were neck and neck for a while, as readers learned more about the tragic life of the man known as Deadpool. He also became more and more important to the superhero community, striking up friendships with everyone from Spider-Man to Captain America. Deadpool is the perfect example of a popular character done right. He was given more and more attention as a character, and that led him to the place he is today, sitting atop Marvel’s popularity pyramid with characters like Wolverine, Spider-Man, and the Hulk.
Captain Marvel has suffered a bit in the popularity department, but that doesn’t change her monumental growth. Carol Danvers started out as the Air Force attache to the Kree Captain Marvel, eventually gaining powers thanks to her hidden part-Kree heritage. She became Ms. Marvel, a B-list hero fighting all manner of threats to the Earth. She joined the Avengers, the first tenure of which ended very badly for her in the abysmal and sexist Avengers #200 (possibly one of the worst Marvel comics of all time), and lost her powers to Rogue. However, the X-Men took her in and gave her another chance, and she became the cosmic powered Binary. She’d soon regain, then almost lose, and finally regain for good her original powers, even beating alcoholism thanks to her friends in the Avengers. After House of M, she devoted herself to becoming a greater hero than ever, which led to her tenure as Captain Marvel. Since then, she’s become one of the most important heroes in the Marvel Universe, taking a leadership role in the superhero community, and has led the Avengers on several occasions. Not too shabby for a character who started out as little more than a sidekick.
What Marvel heroes do you think have gotten better with time? Sound off in the comments below.
Marvel, back when it was known as Timely Comics, jumped into the superhero game after the successes of Superman and Batman. Despite creating characters that would stand the test of time like Captain America, Bucky, and Namor (and technically the Human Torch, although the Golden Age version of the character would disappear for decades), Marvel Read More