There was a time when Marvel was nowhere near as big as it is. The Golden Age was ruled by DC and Fawcett, with Superman and Captain Marvel handily beating everything else. It wasn't until the Silver Age, when Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and more created the Marvel Universe that the company became a sensation. Marvel is now the biggest pop culture juggernaut there is.
Over the years, the publisher has introduced characters that have changed the world of superhero comics. These influential characters set trends and became massive. It's impossible to picture comics in general and Marvel in particular without them.
10 Black Panther
Marvel has introduced iconic black heroes, with Black Panther being the granddaddy of them all. First introduced in 1966, T'Challa set a precedent like no other. The African monarch was one of a kind and struck a chord with readers. While he wouldn't be an A-lister until more recent times, Black Panther led to every big time black hero in the industry.
Black Panther, even when he wasn't an A-lister, was still a big player in the Marvel Universe. He was an iconic leader, a powerful warrior, and an ally to the best. He's finally taken his deserved place at the top, and it's impossible to deny just how much has changed because of him.
9 Shang-Chi
Shang-Chi was the first major Asian superhero to star in a solo title. Debuting in the 70s, he was a product of Marvel's creators' love of kung-fu movies, inspired by Bruce Lee. Before Shang-Chi, Marvel played into "yellow panic" characters, with most Asians appearing as villains or sidekicks. Shang-Chi broke that mold, becoming a star in the decade of his creation.
Of course, as kung-fu movies became less popular, Shang-Chi dropped to a D-lister. He was still a favorite of many despite only making sporadic appearances, but his example saw more Asian heroes introduced. He's going through a renaissance again, thanks to the MCU.
8 Daredevil
Daredevil started his career as blind Spider-Man. He was a happy-go-lucky hero swinging through NYC, fighting crime. He was a perfectly fine character, but there wasn't anything special about him. And then a writer/artist named Frank Miller was given Daredevil and comic history was changed forever. Miller, sometimes working with artist David Mazzucchelli, made Daredevil a true A-lister.
Daredevil became an icon on his own merits thanks to Miller and Mazzucchelli. Since then, he's been a huge part of the Marvel Universe. Fans love Daredevil, and every generation has their own brilliant Daredevil run.
7 Thor
Thor is Marvel's greatest warrior and for years was the powerhouse of the Marvel Universe. He wasn't the first time that a character from myth had appeared in comics, but he quickly became the biggest thanks to the team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The irony of Thor was that he was a character of Norse myth that Lee and Kirby threw into sci-fi epics, that anachronistic take making him so incredibly popular.
Thor was a founding member of the Avengers and is considered to be a part of the team's Trinity, their most important members. Thor presaged the rise of mythological superheroes like Hercules, and became an action powerhouse for Marvel. The God of Thunder works in any kind of story, giving fans everything they could want.
6 Iron Man
Iron Man is an amazing Marvel hero. From his simplistic beginnings as a repentant arms merchant turned superhero to the multi-faceted alcoholic to the morally grey science hero, Iron Man has changed a lot over the years. That's the appeal of the character for fans; Iron Man is always different every time he shows up.
Iron Man became Marvel's biggest star with the beginning of the MCU. No one would have guessed that Iron Man would have become the character that an entire cinematic universe was built around. For a time, he was the most popular superhero in the land.
5 The Hulk
The Hulk is a Marvel legend, even if his first series was canceled after six issues. Hulk was an interesting character in Silver Age Marvel. More akin to the pre-Fantastic Four #1 monster comics than the superhero books the publisher was putting out, Hulk's stories combined sci-fi and horror with superhero bombast, bringing something different to the publisher's fans.
Over the years, Hulk's tales would take on more psychological complexity, adding to what made the character so great. The Hulk also blazed trails outside of comics, his TV show making him a huge star. The Hulk showed that Marvel could go beyond the panels, presaging the company's future success.
4 The Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four are a unique Marvel team, their adventures taking them to new corners of the universe. Fantastic Four #1 was the first Marvel superhero comic since the 1950s, and quickly became a bestseller. Since then, the team has had its ups and downs in popularity, but it's hard to deny just how influential they were. Without their success, Marvel wouldn't look the same.
Reed Richards became the most interesting science hero in comics. Sue Storm grew from a one-dimensional cliché to the most powerful and multi-faceted member of the team. Johnny Storm was the blueprint for Spider-Man. Ben Grimm was basically Jack Kirby. Together, the group changed the way everyone looked at team comics.
3 Captain America
Captain America was easily Marvel's most popular Golden Age hero. Cap was the biggest patriotic hero of the day, wearing the red, white, and blue and on the frontlines of the war against Nazism. He ran out of steam in the '50s, but his return during the Silver Age drove fans crazy. Since then, he's become the icon that defines what heroism is at Marvel, as well as a true American hero.
Captain America is generally considered the leader of Marvel's heroes. His patriotism was never empty jingoism, and many creators have used the character to talk about the realities of the United States and what it really means. The MCU brought Cap to the masses and a whole new generation of fans learned why he was amazing.
2 Wolverine
Wolverine has always lived up to the hype. Introduced in The Incredible Hulk #181, he found stardom after being added to the X-Men. He became the breakout star of comics' biggest book, and his hard-edged personality became a building block for the anti-heroes of the 80s and 90s. He's grown immensely as a character, gaining facets that made him even more iconic.
Wolverine's popularity soon eclipsed that of Marvel's Silver Age icons. Thanks to the X-Men cartoon, video games, and movies he became a massive crossover star. Wolverine took the world by storm, and his success created an entirely new type of comic book superhero.
1 Spider-Man
Among Marvel's most popular characters, Spider-Man has always had an important place. In many ways, Spider-Man is the exemplar of Marvel's method of making characters. He was the true Everyman hero, someone who the readers understood because they were him. He shot to stardom quickly, and became Marvel's biggest hero, a distinction he holds to this day.
Spider-Man is a true multimedia icon. He's one of the heroes who everyone thinks of when they think about comics. Spider-Man broke new ground for Marvel, growing with his readers, and showing that a hero didn't have to be perfect. They just had to be responsible.