Originally known as Timely Publications and then as Atlas Comics, the comic book publishing company known as Marvel began in 1961 when it launched The Fantastic Four.

The Universe of Marvel Comics

poll

This top Marvel superheroes list includes all the greatest heroes ever to be inked into Marvel comic books. Check out the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-marvel-villains" target="_blank">best Marvel villains and enemies</a>&nbsp;to vote for popular Marvel bad guys, like Magneto and Dr. Doom.&nbsp;The <a href="/list/best-movies-based-on-marvel-comics/all-genre-movies-lists">best Marvel superhero movies</a> got their start on the panels of Marvel&#39;s comic empire and can now be seen off the page as many of the <a href="/list/the-highest-grossing-movies-of-all-time/polkadotking">top grossing movies of all time</a>. Whether you&#39;re a fan of tried and true superheroes like Iron Man or are giddy for Kamala Khan, Marvel&#39;s newest superhero, to debut, you&#39;ll find all the best superheroes from Marvel on the greatest Marvel heroes list.

Marvel superheroes have grown in popularity over time (so much so that Marvel&#39;s The Avengers brought in over one billion dollars in theaters) and there&#39;s no better way to determine who the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best superhero</a> ever is than to vote on the issue. If you turn green with anger when people say Spider-Man is a better super hero than The Hulk, you need to get your votes in on the Marvel superhero list. All Marvel superheroes are available to vote on, so you know your favorite Marvel superhero is represented on the list of Marvel&#39;s best superheroes.

Who is the best Marvel hero of all time? Who are the Marvel superheroes? This Marvel characters list&nbsp;will answer the question of who are the best Marvel heroes of all time are by letting Marvel comic book fans vote on the topic. Make sure to give your favorite Marvel characters some love on this greatest comic book heroes ever list. Who are the best Marvel characters? Your top 10 Marvel heroes? Are they the most popular Marvel characters or really the ones you truly love and grew up with? Make your decisions now!&nbsp;

These are the best Marvel Superheroes!

The Top Marvel Comics Superheroes

Comic Book Character

Best Marvel Comics Characters of All Time

Ranker Community

Ranking comic book characters by their powers, strength, physical traits, affiliations, and other features, like how just goshdarn super they are.

Heroes and Villains

Superheroes

List of the most badass, tough, and iconic comic book superheroes ever created. This list includes central characters from both the DC and Marvel Universe, as well as more non-traditional or underground comic books. The definition of what makes a &quot;superhero&quot; can be quite slippery, and often encompasses characters with questionable morals and behavior (giving rise to the notion of the &quot;anti-hero.&quot;) If you love these superheroes, you&#39;ll also be interested to know that a few of them have really <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-10-lamest-super-hero-origins/ihateeverything">lame origin stories</a>.

Traditionally, a &quot;superhero&quot; simply means a larger-than-life character, or one gifted with special abilities, either organically or via their own genius or inventiveness, who uses his or her powers to protect and defend the public from threats - at times <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/unexpected-superhero-day-jobs/stephanroget" target="_blank">even while maintaining day jobs</a>. Though the word &quot;superhero&quot; began to be used as early as the 1910s, the concept really took hold in the public&#39;s mind following the introduction of Superman in 1938.

Though Superman and other characters of his day were gifted with special talents and abilities, making them particularly suited to crusading for justice, many characters that followed were more &quot;human&quot; than the noble alien from Krypton, using their intelligence (such as Iron Man or Batman) to create a superheroic persona.&nbsp; Some <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-10-greatest-disabled-superheroes-of-all-time/saintmort">superheroes also have disabilities</a> that counteract their skills, weapons or unique talents.&nbsp;

Because of the massive popularity of superheroes &ndash; particularly at the start of the 21st Century, when <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-superhero-movies-ever-made">superhero films</a> reigned at the box office &ndash; a number of deconstructions and analyses of the genre have also been done, culminating in the creation of &quot;meta-superheroes&quot; who comment on the concept of superheroism itself.&nbsp;So take a look at this list, decide who your favorite comic book superheroes are, and vote them up.&nbsp;We have your top 50 superheroes, your top 100 superheroes of all time&hellip; we don&rsquo;t quite have your top 200 comic book characters of all time simply because this list is just for the best superheroes ever. We didn&rsquo;t include the super villains on this top comic book characters list. Who are the top comic book heroes? Who is the best superhero? Let&rsquo;s put these question to rest of who is the best super heroes to rest.

Captain America

The Best Comic Book Superheroes Of All Time

Fictional Character

The Best Superheroes Ever & Top Comic Book Heroes

Lists that rank the best and worst characters, moments, films, costumes, and etc. in DC Comics history.

The Universe of DC Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics has a stable of great, iconic heroes on their roster, and while fans of Marvel would vehemently disagree &ndash; some of the best of all time. Batman, Superman, and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/dc-wonder-woman-vs-greek-mythology/maggie-clancy" target="_blank">Wonder Woman</a> are all top DC heroes, and they have been and will remain as some of the most iconic and important <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/superheroes-ranked-by-most-comic-book-appearances/ranker-comics?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">superheroes of all time</a>. Pick your choices for the best DC characters and rank them as you see fit, or just vote for your faves! Take a look at this list of DC superheroes!

Who are the top DC characters? Do you prefer Flash over Batman or Green Arrow? Let us know! Vote up <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the greatest superheroes</a> from the DC Universe or make your own ReRank of&nbsp;this DC heroes list with your personal favorites listed as the top 10 DC heroes. From popular names to lesser known good guys, these are the very best DC heroes ever.&nbsp;

Batman

The 100+ Best DC Comics Heroes of All Time, According to Fans

100+ Best DC Comics Heroes: List of DC Hero Characters Voted by Fans

With plenty of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/funniest-spiderman-lines/ranker-comics" target="_blank">comic book inspiration</a> to draw from, the Marvel Cinematic Universe offers up loads of laughs to go along with the seemingly unending amount of action they continue to provide on the big screen. The screenwriters who have worked on Marvel Studios films have seen fit to add plenty of MCU jokes and Marvel puns throughout the last decade of dominance.&nbsp;

Whether it&#39;s a witticism from the hyperverbal mouth of Tony Stark, a deadpan joke from Black Widow, or some innocuous innuendo from your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, there always seems to be enough giggles to go around. Get ready to roll your eyes and chuckle under your breath&nbsp;at some good, old-fashioned wordplay.

The Most Heroic Puns In The MCU

General

The Most Heroic Of Marvel's Puns In The MCU, Ranked

T.W. Mitchell

Fictional Characters

These characters are the most attractive <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-female-comic-book-characters/ranker-characters?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">comic book women</a> of all time ranked by dedicated comic fans from all over the world. This list of beautiful&nbsp;comic book women includes stunning superheroes and the equally alluring&nbsp;villains they fight against &ndash; from Wonder Woman to Catwoman. Anyone can vote on this list of&nbsp;female <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/comic-villains-turned-superheroes/coy-jandreau?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">superheroes and supervillains</a>, and you can even add your own list to these rankings. Whether it&#39;s their mighty superpowers, their scintillating costumes, or their spot on one-liners, these characters make all the comics they appear in some of the hottest comics on the shelf, it&#39;s amazing the pages don&#39;t burn up. Now that&#39;s a superpower!

These fictional women are more than just sexy superheroes or&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-hottest-cartoon-characters-of-all-time">cartoon characters</a>, they are some of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-powerful-comic-book-characters-ranked/ranker-comics?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">most powerful characters</a> in their respective universes.

Zatanna

Stunning Female Comic Book Characters, Ranked

Gorgeous Female Comic Book Characters, Ranked By Fans

America

Whosoever wields&nbsp;Mjolnir, if he be worthy, may&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/who-has-wielded-thor-hammer/jonathan-kantor" target="_blank">possess the power of Thor</a>. In Marvel continuity, aside from the lightning God himself, he who is most worthy is Captain America. Of the best <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-captain-america-comics-storylines/ranker-comics" target="_blank">Captain America comics</a>, the one where he lifts Thor&#39;s hammer is one of the most memorable. It stands to reason, then, that&nbsp;here in reality, the president of the free world should also be worthy enough <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/characters-who-are-most-worthy-of-lifting-mjolnir" target="_blank">to possess Mjolnir</a>.

However unlikely it is that even the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-u-s-presidents-from-best-to-worst" target="_blank">best&nbsp;presidents</a>&nbsp;could obtain the power of Thor, it is nice to imagine that the American people would hold their commander to the same level of integrity as the Asgardians. Regardless of how reasonable those standards are, there are still some leaders who might compare to&nbsp;Steve Roger&#39;s honor or&nbsp;Thor&#39;s heart of gold.&nbsp;

That said, Which US presidents are most worthy of wielding Mjolnir?&nbsp;&nbsp;

US Presidents Who Are Worthy Enough To Wield Mjolnir

US President

Bailey Brown

Theories and speculation about every Marvel character, team, and property, from Ant-Man to the X-Men.

Deconstructing Marvel

The MCU is one of the largest franchises ever. With over twenty films, countless interesting characters,&nbsp;and so much source material to pull from, it&#39;s no question as to why. One of&nbsp;fandoms&#39; favorite things to do is come up with fan theories, and when it comes to the MCU&nbsp;there are a lot of them. Especially about our First Avenger - Captain America. We managed to round up some of the most interesting fan theories surrounding Steve Rogers.&nbsp;

Which Captain American fan theory do you think is most believable? Vote up your favorites below!

Captain America Fan Theories That Are Actually Plausible

Loren O'Connell

To a seasoned reader of comic books, weird superhero origins are nothing new - but there&#39;s &quot;weird,&quot; and then there&#39;s &quot;impossible to keep track of.&quot; It&#39;s the superheroes with altered origins that are the hardest to wrap one&#39;s head around.&nbsp;

The very nature of the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/comic-characters-with-inconsistent-canon/jonathan-kantor" target="_blank">comic book medium and its propensity for rewrites and retcons</a> that encourage&nbsp;readers to &ldquo;forget everything they know&rdquo; means that nothing stays the same forever. <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/how-superhero-powers-have-changed/stephanroget" target="_blank">Costumes, superpowers, and allegiances change constantly</a>. Characters perish and come back as if the afterlife had a revolving door. But when it&rsquo;s a hero&rsquo;s origin point that is updated, it can lead to some serious continuity dissonance. After all, if you change the start of a story, doesn&rsquo;t that change everything else that came after it?

Superheroes Whose Origins And Powers Keep Changing

Stephan Roget

Taking down supervillains and crime syndicates is all well and good, but sometimes, it doesn&rsquo;t make for the most riveting drama. It&rsquo;s often much more exciting when it&#39;s superheroes who don&rsquo;t get along for one reason or another, forcing fans and audiences to choose in a conflict where there are no &ldquo;good&rdquo; or &ldquo;bad&rdquo; sides - just sides.&nbsp;

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has already had its fair share of intra-hero discord -&nbsp;whether it <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/mcu-characters-who-dated-in-comics/stephanroget" target="_blank">be superheroic relationship turmoil</a>, misunderstanding-based punch-ups, or the occasional all-out Civil War. But those conflicts are all built upon decades of Marvel Comics history, where superheroes have <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/mcu-relationships-most-different-from-comics/stephanroget" target="_blank">years and years of personal history</a> to draw upon - and that&rsquo;s left plenty of time for some serious beef to develop between some of Earth&rsquo;s Mightiest Heroes.

MCU Heroes Who Have Serious Beef In The Comics

Spider-Man

Throughout all of Marvel Comics, the superhero with the biggest, most formidable, and best-known rogues&#39; gallery is none other than our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Ever since he first debuted in&nbsp;Amazing Fantasy&nbsp;#15, the wall-crawler has been punching, kicking, and webbing up everyone from J. Jonah Jameson to the Green Goblin, and his villains tend to come back&nbsp;over and over again.

There are tons of interesting details about Spider-Man&#39;s greatest villains. However, unless you&#39;ve read every single book featuring the good ol&#39; web-head, there&#39;s a good chance there are still some things you probably didn&#39;t know about infamous Spider-Man villains. This list takes a look at some of Spidey&#39;s greatest enemies and offers up the most interesting facts about them. Take a look, and be sure to upvote anything you didn&#39;t already know.

Things You Probably Didn't Know About Infamous Spider-Man Villains

Jonathan H. Kantor

Thoughts

The first episode of &#39;LOKI&#39; was just one long existential crisis for our favorite trickster, and MCU&nbsp;fans had some thoughts about Loki&#39;s introduction to the Time Variance Authority.

13 Poignant Fan Thoughts About The First Episode Of 'Loki' That Made Us Have An Existential Crisis

Colin  Morabito

While treating patients at Arkham Asylum, psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel fell in love with Joker. The rest, they say, is history—or so we thought. Now Gotham's most notorious henchwomen is one of DC's favorite antiheroes.

Harley Quinn

Fan Theories

In the past few years, Harley Quinn has quickly become&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/how-did-harley-quinn-change/math-erao" target="_blank">one of&nbsp;the most-talked-about characters</a> in the DCEU. The manic character of Harley Quinn&nbsp;has been featured heavily in the films Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey, has become ridiculously popular at Comic-Con, and even spawned an animated series named after her.&nbsp;

Although some fans may feel there isn&#39;t anything they don&#39;t know&nbsp;about Joker&#39;s female counterpart, these Harley Quinn fan theories may surprise even the most dedicated viewers. Check&nbsp;the theories out below and don&#39;t forget to vote.

12 Harley Quinn Fan Theories That Actually Make A Lot Of Sense

Harley Quinn Fan Theories That Actually Make A Lot Of Sense

Jon Mendelsohn

The&nbsp;X-Men&nbsp;universe has become big and bold in the last twenty&nbsp;years, with a wide array of characters, plots, and mulitple timelines. And they certainly have the fanbase to match.&nbsp;One of&nbsp;fandoms&#39; favorite things to do is come up with fan theories, and when it comes to the X-Men there are definitely&nbsp;a lot of them.&nbsp;We managed to round up some of the most interesting fan theories surrounding our favorite mutants.

Which X-Men fan theories do you think are the most believable? Vote up your favorites below!&nbsp;

Interesting X-Men Movie Fan Theories That Actually Make A Lot Of Sense

Lists about Marvel's billionaire businessman, playboy, and scientist who wears a homemade powered exoskeleton to fight evildoers and protect the world.

I Am Iron Man

Since <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/iron-man-fun-facts/jonathan-kantor" target="_blank">Tony Stark</a> made his final, heroic farewell in&nbsp;Avengers: Endgame&nbsp;(spoiler!), a void with the power of an Infinity Stone has been left in our hearts (or Arc Reactors, perhaps). <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/iron-man-memes/raelyn-giansanti" target="_blank">Iron Man</a> appeared in nine installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including three standalone films. We&#39;ll always miss Tony&#39;s signature goatee and tinted specs, but fortunately, there are some incredible fan theories to keep his legacy alive. Actually, some theorists think he continued to save the day after Endgame&nbsp;by leaving his mark with E.D.I.T.H. in&nbsp;Far From Home. Others speculate that Thanos was particularly concerned with Tony Stark&nbsp;because he&nbsp;misconceived the true power of Iron Man. Those theorists might&nbsp;be backed up by another claim that Howard Stark gave his son super soldier serum at a young age.

If you&#39;re a true fan of&nbsp;the MCU and miss Tony Stark as much as we do, then check out these explosive fan theories about Iron Man.

Iron Man Fan Theories That Make Us Miss Tony Even More

Film

T.J. Peters

We all adore Marvel&#39;s Earth-616 and DC&#39;s Prime Earth, but <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/strangest-marvel-earths-explained/tyler-mitchell" target="_blank">alternate versions</a> of superheroes deserve a little love every now and then, too. Yeah, the normal Batman and Superman are pretty formidable, but they don&#39;t hold a candle to All-Star Superman or the Batman Who Laughs. And if you thought Wonder Woman was powerful in the mainstream DC universe, check out the Diana Prince of&nbsp;Wonder Woman: Dead Earth.&nbsp;

What do you get when you take the morality out of super-geniuses&nbsp;like Reed Richards and Hank McCoy? You get the Maker and Dark Beast, of course. And those guys are&nbsp;evil. If this is all a little garden-variety for you, check out X-Man or Superboy-Prime. You might have to be a major comic book nerd to truly respect the power levels&nbsp;of those two, but trust us... they&#39;re seriously no joke. There&#39;s plenty more where those came from, so we&#39;re putting on our dimension-hopping boots to run through some of the most powerful alternate-universe versions of your favorite heroes.

The Most Powerful Alternate-Universe Versions Of Superheroes

The MCU is one of the biggest&nbsp;franchises in cinematic history. With over twenty films under its&nbsp;belt, countless interesting characters,&nbsp;and so much source material to pull from, it&#39;s no question as to why. But what about all the things left unsaid? All the characters and plot points we&#39;re still scratching our heads about? That&#39;s where fan theories come in,&nbsp;and when it comes to the MCU, there happen to be&nbsp;a lot of them.&nbsp;We managed to round up some of the most interesting fan theories surrounding our favorite God of Thunder.&nbsp;

Which Thor fan theory do you think is most believable? Vote up your favorites below!

15 Fan Theories About Thor That Are Wild Enough To Be True

Comic Books lists at Ranker provide the best comic book movies, games, characters, heroes, villains, and more voted on by 1000s of comic fans.

Comics & Anime lists on Ranker

Best Comic Book Movies, Games, Characters, Heroes, Villains, and More

Comics

Joker

Bane

Riddler

Dick Grayson

Raven

Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Endgame

Guardians of the Galaxy

Iron Man

Thor

What's your favorite Marvel movie? Character? Villain? Moment? Let's rank 'em.

Marvel on the Big Screen

Are you a Marvel fanatic? Vote on these lists of the best, funniest, dumbest, most underrated, etc. characters in the MCU to have your voice heard.

MCU Character Power Rankings

Comic Book & Superhero Movies

Since the debut of Iron Man in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been delivering top-notch superhero movies with some of the greatest comic book characters of all time. Featuring Thor, Captain America, Black Panther, and Doctor Strange, these are the best Marvel Cinematic Universe characters. This list of MCU characters also includes memorable villains, such as Loki, Vulture, and Killmonger, and characters from television properties like <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-agents-of-shield-storylines/jonathan-kantor" target="_blank">Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D</a>.

Who is your favorite <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/top-avengers-not-in-mcu/joedonley" target="_blank">MCU character</a>? Who <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/marvel-characters-missing-from-the-mcu-movies/williamsbrianjake" target="_blank">deserves more screentime</a>? While most&nbsp;of these Marvel superheroes have been popular before even making it onscreen, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/underrated-mcu-characters/joedonley" target="_blank">some lesser known characters</a>, like the Guardians of the Galaxy, are finally getting the attention they deserve.&nbsp;

Vote up the top characters in <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-mcu-movies/ranker-film" target="_blank">MCU movies</a>, and feel free to add underrated characters missing from the list.

The Best Characters In The Marvel Cinematic Universe

The best Marvel Cinematic Universe movies recreate the enduring characters for a whole new generation, using the classic comic book storylines&nbsp;to tell narratives that remain&nbsp;relevant today. Currently in Phase Three, the first two MCU Phases brought us Iron Man, The Avengers, and Captain America: Winter Soldier.&nbsp;Marvel sagas have a timelessness about&nbsp;them as morality tales of good versus&nbsp;evil will always be an overarching cultural concern. Out of all the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which ones do the best job of revamping these iconic characters for modern times?

Which Marvel films have struck a chord with audiences? Black Panther&nbsp;has received nearly universal critical acclaim and been lauded for using the characters and setting to make allegorical points about race relations in America. The Iron Man franchise shows how modern technology - if used responsibly - can serve humanity&#39;s benefit, as an&nbsp;iron suit and electromagnet&nbsp;give Tony Stark his power. The&nbsp;Guardians of the Galaxy&nbsp;and&nbsp;Avengers&nbsp;franchises illustrate the necessity of harmony and cooperation&nbsp;between allies to face down larger threats. Other good MCU movies include Ant-Man, Thor: Ragnarok, and Doctor Strange.

What are the best MCU movies? Vote up your favorites and vote down the worst MCU movies to rank them from best to worst.

If you like this list, you might like voting on the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/all-upcoming-marvel-movies-and-shows/ranker-entertainment" target="_blank">upcoming Marvel movies and shows</a>.

The Best Movies In The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ranked

All 24 Of The MCU Movies Ranked Best To Worst

Ranker Film

This list of teenage superheroes has been voted on by you. the fans. The are the best teenage <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-superheroes-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">superheroes of all time</a>! Being a teenager is both tough (because it's an awkward time) and awesome (because you're young and all of your joints work!) --- like these superheroes. From finishing yesterday's math homework and thinking about your crush by day, to saving the world and still thinking about your crush by night. Vote and help decide the best adolescent superheroes in comic book history. They may sometimes be&nbsp;identified as a young adult by casual comic book fans.Who is your favorite teenage superhero? Vote for your favorite young superhero now!

Miss Martian

The Best Teenage Superheroes

The Best Teenage Superheroes in Comic Books

Billionaire philanthropist playboy by day. Dark knight by night. Honoring his parents by cleaning up Gotham 24/7/365.

All Things The Batman

Batman has, arguably, the greatest rogues gallery in all of comics, so let&#39;s rank every Batman villain best to worst! Bad guys like The Joker, Two-Face, and Hush have been reeking havoc on Batman since the 1940s. Some of his greatest allies have even crossed the line here and there, back and forth, and become worthy foes, like The Red Hood, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/obscure-comic-book-characters-who-returned-2020/stephanroget" target="_blank">Phantasm</a>, and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/actresses-who-played-catwoman/celebrity-lists" target="_blank">Catwoman</a>. If you want to rerank this list, then you&#39;ll want to consult this <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/all-batman-villains-list-of-all-batman-enemies/all-enemies-and-supervillains">complete list of all Batman villains</a>.

Which is the greatest Batman villain? Is the Clown Prince of Crime your favorite Bat baddie, is it the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/batman-nemesis-bane/stephanroget" target="_blank">burly yet conniving Bane</a>, or is it perhaps the vivacious DC villainess Poison Ivy?

Make sure to vote up all your favorite <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/all-batman-villains-list-of-all-batman-enemies/all-enemies-and-supervillains?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Batman villains</a> from this Batman <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-movie-villains-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">villains list</a>, and vote down the ones you&nbsp;don&#39;t think are worthy to be a part of this impressive roster.

Check out these Batman bad guys!&nbsp;