10 Best Marvel Superheroines, Ranked By Solo Issue Count

Marvel Comics has had many female superheroes over the years, covering every corner of its vast universe. Despite this, it took around the Bronze Age for many to lead their own solo series— but ever since then, many heroines have had titles of varying lengths.

As a result, many minor characters got the spotlight, from Dazzler to Black Widow, with even brand new characters such as Jessica Jones and She-Hulk getting series of their own, a huge risk with lots of rewards. These heroes have amassed the most solo issues over the years, based on legacy numbering but avoiding team books or guest appearances.

10 Jessica Jones Has A Long Run Of Mature Titles

77 Solo Issues

Jessica Jones has always been one of Marvel’s more mature characters, her original series Alias being the first book in the 16+ Marvel MAX imprint. MAX was Marvel’s way of breaking from the CCA and using their own rating system for comics, something Alias flexed to its best ability.

While Jessica’s stories aren’t graphic in their use of violence, with the extreme language being the most visually explicit part, the themes behind them were quite dark and complicated— perfectly suited for the uncensored MAX title. Jessica hopped to the standard imprint with The Pulse and got a solo series sporadically after that, with each one marking new phases in her life and character. While Jessica has no new series on the horizon, being mostly relegated to cameos in other characters’ titles, it’d be interesting to see where her story goes next.

9 Laura Kinney Underwent Many Adventures Before Becoming Wolverine

83 Solo Issues

Originally appearing in the “X-23” episode of X-Men Evolution, Laura Kinney joined the ranks of characters like Harley Quinn by quickly jumping into comics and gaining a following. While she had a rough start in the series NYX, Laura found her footing quickly after in a myriad of miniseries under the X-23 name.

Everything changed after All-New All-Different Marvel’s Death of Wolverine miniseries, where the titular hero lost his life. With Logan gone, only one person could take up the mantle: his daughter, Laura. Since then, the second Wolverine has gotten plenty of solo content, including a starring role in the upcoming Laura Kinney: Wolverine ongoing.

8 Ghost Spider Is A Hero Of Many Names

85 Solo Issues

Spider-Woman, Spider-Gwen, Ghost Spider— whatever name she goes by, the Gwen Stacy of Earth-65 is one of Marvel’s most successful new characters in recent years. Introduced in the Edge of Spider-Verse series, the character has been connected to multiversal adventures ever since.

Gwen was initially a resident of Earth-65, an incredibly different world from Earth-616. Peter Parker died as the Lizard, Matt Murdock became the Kingpin of crime in New York, and Mary Jane even became Carnage. The world was a playground for new ideas and themes related to being a costumed vigilante, but recently, Gwen has become a permanent fixture of 616 in the Spider-Gwen: The Ghost Spider series, leaving behind her world.

7 Ms. Marvel Was A Hit From The Start

85 Solo Issues

Ever since her debut in 2014, Kamala Khan has consistently been a fan-favorite character. The first issue of her initial series saw seven official reprints over the course of a year—a feat practically impossible for a new character. Since then, she’s been endearing as Ms. Marvel, an incredibly relatable character for younger readers worldwide.

If anything, Ms. Marvel was the modern take on a classic formula that made heroes like Peter Parker popular. Kamala had a supporting cast that went through their own arcs, close connections to other major heroes like Captain Marvel, and a personal journey and series of powers that truly resonated. While she hasn’t gotten an ongoing since The Magnificent Ms. Marvel, she had two miniseries during the Fall of X, and hopefully, her time as a mutant can bring her more story opportunities beyond her role in From the Ashes’ NYX series.

6 Elektra Has Been A Solo Character For Many Decades

107 Solo Issues

It would be easy to fall into a trap and assume Elektra is a character connected to Matt Murdock at the hip, especially with the character recently taking up the mantle of Daredevil alongside him. However, the anti-hero has spent years carrying her own stories from solo to solo. Her adventures began almost immediately after her revival at the end of Frank Miller’s Daredevil run.

Elektra would go on to topple beasts of evil, settle down and try to have a normal life as a civilian, take on groups like the Assassin’s Guild, find closure over her death at the hands of Bullseye, and more. While it may seem like Elektra has only had a few shorter ongoings, the number of solos and miniseries she’d had over the years recently brought her to her 100th legacy issue, written by the legendary Ann Nocenti. Since then she’s had two minis, each delving into her time as Daredevil, the Woman Without Fear.

5 Spider-Woman Has Consistently Been Given Great Titles

126 Solo Issues

While Jessica Drew was created so that Marvel could hold the rights to the concept of a “Spider-Woman” to prevent competing companies from battling against Spider-Man, she’s remained a fantastic character in her own right for years. She even has precious little to do with Peter Parker, her powers coming from a different source, and her stories having their own distinct tone.

Jessica’s comics have usually leaned more towards stealth and espionage rather than bombastic superheroics. She was even a private investigator and Brian Michael Bendis’ first choice for the series Alias before creating Jessica Jones. Her stories in recent years have also taken the time to focus on motherhood and her status as a parent, even briefly being forced into becoming Spider-Woman near the end of her pregnancy after a hiatus from her time as a hero.

149 Solo Issues

While other female heroes have a larger number of total solo issues (through legacy numbers or otherwise), Mayday Parker still holds the record for the longest solo series led by a female character at Marvel. The 1998 Spider-Girl series lasted for one hundred issues and an annual, with Spider-Girl kept alive purely through fan demand as the series was under constant risk of cancellation.

Spider-Girl was a vessel in which the MC2 (an abbreviation for the creative name “Marvel Comics 2”) world was explored, an alternate future timeline of the main 616 universe. Mayday herself was a great character in her own right, too, full of the same determination that fueled her parents, a unique supporting cast and gallery of rogues, and plenty of time to be fleshed out over the extensive run.

3 She-Hulk Debuted In Her Own Series

188 Solo Issues

It used to be, and still is, very uncommon for new characters from the Big Two to debut in the first issue of their very own solo series. Usually, they have to be established elsewhere for a creator to even have the chance to take them into their own hands— but due to the success of the Incredible Hulk TV show, Jennifer Walters first appeared in the pages of her very own Savage She-Hulk title.

Since then, the character of She-Hulk exploded in popularity, especially in the iconic Sensational She-Hulk run by John Byrne, which leaned into a more humorous tone for the character and introduced her ability to demolish the fourth wall. Later runs were able to balance the character’s comedy with her psychology and personal life, really fleshing out all aspects of Walters’ persona.

194 Solo Issues

Carol Danvers has become a sensation in recent years due to her push to the forefront of Marvel’s canon, especially after her first film, Captain Marvel, made over one billion dollars worldwide. It’s no surprise that she’s had a high number of solo issues over the years, starting back during her time as Ms. Marvel in 1976 as a successor to the hero Captain Mar-Vell.

For years, Captain Marvel has been an inspirational figure to many, especially given the hardships she endured during her life. From having her powers and memories stolen by a once-villainous Rogue to the traumatic events of Avengers #200, the character has deservedly been shaped into a long-running icon of Marvel’s superheroes. While her current solo has come to a close, Marvel is always quick to renew her series for a new #1.

1 Hellcat Has A Surprisingly Extensive Past

435 Solo Issues

At a glance, the character of Hellcat is a fairly niche one with a mere handful of modern solo series and adaptations. When diving deep into the character’s past, it’s easy to uncover that she was once simply Patsy Walker, teen romance comic lead— one of Marvel’s earliest and most prolific female characters, and not a superhero at all.

Debuting in 1944– only a few years after Wonder Woman and decades before iconic Marvel heroines like Wasp, Invisible Woman, Jean Grey, or Storm— Patsy was a sensation in the field of comedy romance comics, having a few solo series that lasted over a hundred issues each, not to mention a healthy amount of spinoffs. While she’s more well-known as Hellcat in the modern day, her early time as a sensation has shaped much of her history in and outside the Marvel universe— and surely keeps fans hoping for more comics starring the plucky hero.