10 Best Marvel Heroes With The Greatest Comic Runs

Marvel Comics has published the adventures of several teams and heroes for decades, with many of these characters also known in other mediums. From Spider-Man and the Avengers to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, these heroes have fought against countless foes across just as many comic books. Of course, given the longevity of this publishing, it makes sense that certain characters have succeeded more than others.

A select few Marvel Comics heroes have what seem like consistently great comics from year to year. This has been the case for some of them since their creation, while others didn’t hit their stride until years later. Regardless of when this streak began, the comic books starring these heroes are almost always good reads.

10 The Fantastic Four Have Several Great Runs

Touted as the “world’s greatest comics magazine,” the printed adventures of the Fantastic Four have proven that moniker to be correct to some extent. The team came out swinging with the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby run, which featured various classic concepts and stories. Marvel’s idea of a modern “flawed” superhero made its debut in this run on the First Family.

Since then, several other writers have told their definitive tales of the team. These include Jonathan Hickman, Mark Waid, Mark Millar, John Byrne and more. Though the family has mostly remained the same, the stories of the Fantastic Four continue to impress fans and reach new heights. The current Ryan North run might even be the F4’s best set of comic books in years.

9 X-Factor Almost Always Scoops Up a Hit

When it began, X-Factor was one in a growing line of X-Men spinoffs capitalizing on the main book’s popularity. Besides monetary value and having the founding X-Men on their own team again, the book initially had little reason to exist and even less quality. Thankfully, it soon became an integral comic book, especially under the pen of writers such as Peter David.

Since Peter David’s X-Factor run, the team has had very good comic books. Most of these focus on the group as a mutant detective agency, differentiating it from all the other X-teams. The series also helped to highlight more overlooked characters, such as Multiple Man, a.k.a. Jaime Madrox.

8 Moon Knight Is Almost Always In a Full Phase

Moon Knight was a lesser-known yet popular Marvel hero in the Bronze Age and Dark Age of Comics. His stories reveled in both the street level and the macabre, with the latter emphasized more than ever in modern comics. The Charlie Huston Moon Knight run jumpstarted his current success, with later runs by Warren Ellis and Jeff Lemire lauded by many. Likewise, the Jed Mackay Moon Knight was one of the best modern Marvel titles, building on the success of previous writers and truly building Marc Spector up as a character.

There are a few less successful runs in the hero’s history, with the Max Bemis and Brian Michael Bendis Moon Knight comics not being well-received. Beyond these, however, the character has had a very consistent publication career. This likely stems from his flying under the radar to some extent, keeping him safe from some of the egregious changes that have happened to other heroes.

7 Ghost Rider’s Hits are Some of Marvel’s Most Underrated

Introduced in the Bronze Age as Marvel was following the renewed interest in horror movies, Ghost Rider’s nature and appearance might make some mistake him as a shlocky character. Nevertheless, his classic appearances were decent for their time. Likewise, Danny Ketch’s Ghost Rider has the best run in the franchise, with his comic books putting the character on the map.

The success of the 1990s Ghost Rider book inspired the launch of the wider Midnight Sons banner, with other characters such as Blade the Vampire Hunter. New versions of Ghost Rider have received their own sets of good comics, with the Robbie Reyes Ghost Rider seen as one of the few successes of the “All-New, All-Different” era. Thus, while the flaming skull and his deal with the devilish make him look downright Satanic, Ghost Rider’s comics are manna from heaven regarding supernatural and horror books.

6 The Hulk Isn’t Angry Over His Comics’ Quality

Initially, the adventures of the Incredible Hulk were just another Marvel title on the rack, with the green behemoth more well-liked than his actual stories. The Bronze Age began adding depth to his story through a somewhat controversial book called Rampaging Hulk. Peter David later evolved the Hulk like never before, giving him new personalities and making the series one of Marvel’s best.

Afterward, creators such as Bruce Jones and Greg Pak delivered their Hulk-sized hits, but the real crown jewel came years later. Immortal Hulk is perhaps the bestrun ever because it returns the character to his roots as a horror monster. The current Hulk series is also well-received, and it shows how, despite not being nearly as successful in the movies, Hulk is one of Marvel’s best – and strongest – solo heroes in the comics.

5 Venom Has Become Better Than Ever In the Past Decades

When Venom initially transformed from Spider-Man villain to Lethal Protector, it was more profit-driven than organic. While they were fun in their own right, these 1990s comic books are largely considered somewhat ridiculous and emblematic of the over-the-top era. Nevertheless, Venom has since recovered, with several of his other runs becoming fan favorites.

The run featuring Flash Thompson as Agent Venom was a huge hit, showing how the symbiote concept could evolve. He has one of the highest-quality glow-ups for a mainstream Marvel character, and Venom more than earned his popularity through the symbiote’s recent comic books.

4 Iron Fist Has Some of Marvel’s Most Underrated Books

Largely forgotten in the grand scheme, Iron Fist is highly underrated among Marvel’s heroes. His classic comic books from the Bronze Age were absolute gems, feeling more in line with the Sax Rohmer Fu Manchu novels than typical superhero fare. Likewise, the Power Man/Iron Fist book united him with Luke Cage, forming one of Marvel’s best friendships.

In the modern day, Iron Fist has had many classic runs. These include books by Matt Fraction, Kaare Andrews, and other creators, emphasizing how the story of Iron Fist is a supernatural martial arts narrative. Danny Rand is sadly out of the picture, but whenever he has a solo comic, it’s almost always good.

3 Lightning Almost Always Strikes for Thor

The initial adventures of Thor in the Silver Age were some of Marvel’s most underrated comics from that era, with writer Stan Lee more than succeeding at his self-imposed challenge of “writing a powerful DC character.” Afterward, there was a large gap of less than noteworthy Thor comics, but the Walt Simonson Thor run was truly divine. Afterward, another seeming slump ended with Dan Jurgens’ underrated run. Since then, J. Michael Straczynski, Jason Aaron and Donny Cates have all written Thor runs worthy of Mjolnir.

While he’s not always attributed this status, Thor is perhaps the “main” Avenger with the most great comic books. The number of must-read runs for the god of thunder surpasses those of Captain America and Iron Man. This has only continued with the current Immortal Thor series, which does for Thor Odinson what Immortal Hulk did for Dr. Banner’s alter ego. Thus, readers can’t go wrong when reading a new Thor comic or a collection.

2 The Punisher’s Publication History Is Bloody Good

Seen as one of Marvel’s most controversial characters due to real-world politics, The Punisher is a violent vigilante seeking street justice. Taking on the mob, terrorism and other forms of crime, Frank Castle is a one-man killing machine who will stop at nothing to complete his mission. Said mission has largely focused on having great comic books, as shown by the vigilante’s publication history.

The classic Punisher books from the 1980s were great in their own right, as they felt right in line with the Don Pendleton and Waren Murphy books that inspired the character’s creation. Garth Ennis gave Frank Castle his best moments in both the mainstream and the Marvel MAX comics, with the latter showcasing the brutal reality of such a vigilante. Jason Aaron’s MAX run and the mainstream comics by Ed Brubaker were also good, showcasing further links with the character and more grounded Marvel foes.

1 Daredevil Usually Has Marvel’s Best Comics

As initially envisioned, Daredevil was a low-rent Spider-Man from the same publisher that already had a web-slinger. Thankfully, Frank Miller came along and sharpened Daredevil’s horns, making the Man Without Fear the star of an acclaimed dark comic book. The tone that Miller cemented with ol’ Hornhead has mostly remained consistent with him, as fantastic runs by Ed Brubaker, Brian Michael Bendis, Ann Nocenti and Chip Zdarsky are cast in the same mold. The Mark Waid run is one of the few exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, Miller’s run reigns supreme.

The secret to Daredevil’s consistent success seems to be that he’s mainstream enough to always have a book but low-key enough to avoid constant crossovers and editorial interference. Thus, writers have been able to craft their vision as intended, which isn’t always possible with more well-known titles. This has worked without question throughout the years, and it seems that Daredevil is the Man Without Fear because he doesn’t fear a bad comic book run anymore.