The Marvel Universe is full of young heroes who are looking to make a difference in their community. While the next generation is always on the brink of taking over, Marvel Comics has put together numerous books based on educational institutions. These schools are designed to train up the vigilantes of tomorrow and the best of the best have stepped up as teachers in these initiatives.
Whether it’s the Avengers Academy, Avengers Initiative, Strange Academy, or even Charles Xavier’s school for gifted mutants, these schools have to ensure that the teachers in place are experienced, wise, and have a strong grasp of their own expertise. Some surprising characters have stepped up as professors, but each has something truly unique to offer to their pupils.
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10 Doctor Voodoo
Doctor Strange originally worked alongside Doctor Voodoo on the Strange Academy, but after the character’s death, Voodoo stepped up as the headmaster of the institution. Firm but fair, a lot of Voodoo’s time is actually spent ensuring the safety of his pupils and the smooth running of the entire facility.
However, he has on occasion stepped up to directly teach his pupils. He doesn’t believe in holding back and places a great deal of trust in these young minds. Most of all though, Voodoo sees great value in letting the students learn lessons for themselves so while he has been strict on occasions, he still prioritizes personal development just as much as magical.
9 Magik
Magik has had a tough life thus far and isn’t afraid to pass on some of that gritty and real knowledge to her students. In fact, since Magik has been involved in some of the darkest comic storylines it makes perfect sense that she would be installed at Strange Academy to ensure the pupils are prepared to fight back in dire circumstances.
Magik’s experience and knowledge of Limbo in particular have proven to be invaluable, with the students getting to grips with this troubling dimension. Magik has seen mentors like Professor X in action before, but has her own unique style that seems to be effective.
8 Tigra
Tigra is a veteran superhero. She’s been a member of the Avengers and the Defenders and has learned how to be a hero the hard way. While teachers like Magik take a tougher approach, Tigra has always been nurturing as a teacher. She brings the best out of her students.
Tigra was a mainstay at Avengers Academy, supporting Hank Pym in truly trying to set up a new generation. She believed in the ideology of the school and what it was trying to achieve, creating a strong bond with the students. However, when it came time to deliver justice she expelled students for their reckless actions, demonstrating she was always prepared to make the tough calls still.
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7 Ant-Man
Hank Pym felt tremendous guilt about his past, his negative contributions to the superhero community, and the actions of his Skrull replacement. As part of his redemption arc, he set up Avengers Academy, where he felt he could finally do some good for supers.
Perhaps he wasn’t the best person to serve as headmaster as he wasn’t completely emotionally stable. Utilizing the monikers of both Ant-Man and the Wasp throughout the school’s existence, he presided over a lot of chaos but many of the students in the intuition went on to achieve great things. Both Hazmat and Reptil for example continue to champion their generation.
6 Taskmaster
Taskmaster might be an unexpected choice as a teacher, especially when trying to train up new superheroes. The hired hand has seen and done it all, so his experiences are integral. Plus, his unique power set means that he can prepare his students for a variety of combat scenarios.
Ultimately, Taskmaster was paid handsomely to train students under the Avengers Initiative and actually started to take pride in his work. While his tenure was largely throughout the Dark Reign era where the Initiative had been corrupted, this famous mentor still set up his students for success.
5 Professor X
Professor X is the ultimate teacher. His school for gifted youngsters helped to build the foundation of the X-Men, one of the most important teams in superhero history. For a time, Professor X’s ideology was all about arming a future generation to defend a brighter tomorrow, for mutants and humans alike.
Although his principles have changed a lot in the years since, Xavier’s legacy will always include his time as a headmaster and a professor. Patient, caring, and consistent, it was hard not to learn something from the genius. Professor X helped so many students embrace their powers and become stronger both personally and as heroes.
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4 Agatha Harkness
Agatha Harkness is unpredictable and unreliable. Her complex history and underutilized powers have demonstrated that she’s a dangerous entity who could turn on her allies at any time, with unbelievable magic. But she also knows things that no one else does.
Harkness was brought into Strange Academy as a teacher, seemingly sharing many of those traits that have defined her for years. It’s unclear what she teaches in many of her classes, but it’s obvious that she doesn’t condone hiding controversial magic from her pupils. Agatha’s status as an elder of the Marvel Universe elevates her usefulness as a mentor.
3 Gauntlet
Gauntlet was a lesser-known character and while he isn’t one of Marvel’s strongest heroes, he is definitely well-placed as a leader. His military background gave him plenty of useful skills which he could apply to his students. He was a firm teacher and took on a crucial role in the Avengers Initiative.
He cared for his students but also for his reputation. At times, he was perhaps too harsh in his methods, and on his watch, MVP got killed. He struggled with the toll that the role took but tried to do the right thing for his students. Gauntlet was attacked by Slapstick during his time with the Initiative, demonstrating that despite his good work, his mistakes had made him enemies.
2 Speedball
Speedball is well-known as a member of the New Warriors, with the character getting into the superhero game at a young age. He’s made more mistakes than most and his involvement in the Stamford disaster truly changed him. He spent some time as Penance attempting to punish himself and contributed to the Initiative in a limited capacity.
But he also signed up to the Avengers Academy, so that he could make sure that those heroes who were coming into the system wouldn’t walk down the same tragic path as he did. There was a lot of guilt within Speedball, but when he had confidence in himself, he was a good teacher. His complexities shadowed his full abilities though.
1 Shadowcat
Kitty Pride has really proven herself as one of the best leaders the X-Men could hope for. But as a former student herself, she knows what it means to be a teacher that pupils can look up to. Shadowcat has been an integral member of Xaver’s School and eventually its head.
Indeed, Shadowcat has reformed the school itself and tried to shape its curriculum around her own ideals. She’s inspirational in every way and any student would be lucky to have her as their mentor. Kitty has always stood by her principles, even when questioned by her peers.
The next generation of superheroes has to come from somewhere and these Marvel Comics characters train and teach tomorrow’s X-Men, Avengers, and more. Read More