The Marvel Universe added many new characters to its ever-expanding universe this year despite the many obstacles and setbacks that hampered the release of new comics. This line-wide expansion was due in part to the many events that the heroes found themselves involved in, such as Empyre, X of Swords, and King in Black, to just name a few.
The characters introduced included brand new concepts and ideas, along with older established characters taking on new identities. Marvel's galactic universe and X-Universe saw the largest number of new characters along with the publisher continuing to diversify their titles and characters, offering a more inclusive sandbox while also providing a launchpad for upcoming projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
20 EMPYRE: New Kree & An Undead Mutant
The intergalactic Empyre event introduced quite a few new characters to the company's already vast array of space-based characters. In Empyre: Fantastic Four #0, The Profiteer, an Elder of the Universe, and Jo-Venn and N'Kalla, two children being groomed to be gladiators, were just a few of the new characters that were introduced and are now a part of the Marvel Universe.
During the line-wide event, some well-known characters got some upgraded powers and new looks. Carol Danvers became the Supreme Accuser (replacing Ronan) and discovered she had a half-sister, Lauri-Ell. Other new characters include Stormranger, a Kree nano suit once bonded to Ms. Marvel, who became self-aware and a ruthless space vigilante. The undead mutant Explodey Boy, who can detonate parts of his body, also joined the universe during the event.
19 X Of Swords: The Sword Bearers
The X of Swords event not only revealed the past of Krakoa, the home of the new mutant nation but revealed a new dark threat to their existence. Arakko— the sister entity of Krakoa that was once part of Okkara the sentient South Pacific island— was attacked and split into two creatures by the twilight sword, returned with its inhabitants seeking revenge.
The sword bearers from Arakko, such as Pogg Ur-Pogg, Redroot the Forest, Bei the Blood Moon, and Solem, first appeared in the event books like X OF SWORDS: Stasis#1 and the ongoing series titles such as Wolverine. Other new threats such as Locus Vile in the pages of Hellions. The event also revealed the original Four Horsemen of Apocalypse going back to ancient Egypt.
18 Outlawed: C.R.A.D.L.E.
Being a young superhero isn’t easy, but in 2020 trying to fight crime and evil-doers and being under the age of 21 made life even harder. With the passage of “Kamala’s Law,” kicked off Outlawed as young heroes such as Kamala Khan, Miles Morales, and other young heroes became the target of the newly formed taskforce C.R.A.D.L.E aka the Child Hero Reconnaissance And Disruption Law Enforcement Organization with the responsibility of policing and making sure that young heroes who don’t comply with the new rules are barred from their extracurricular activities.
The task force led by Dum Dum Dugan consists of former young heroes such as Justice, Jake Oh, Speedball, and Timeslip first appeared in Champions #1 and sent shockwaves throughout the universe.
17 Codex & Virus Armor
The symbiote madness continued in 2020 as established Venom characters got some upgrades, making them new characters, laying the groundwork for future storylines. When Eddie Brock and his son Dylan are transported into an alternate future, they find themselves in a world where Venomized Avengers are the police force for their mysterious leader named Codex.
When Codex was first introduced, his identity was unknown, but finally revealed to be a grownup, Dylan. The Virus Armor, a modified Mark III War Machine armor, was the creation of Mac Gargan, whose sole purpose was to use the symbiote-killing augments to exact his revenge on Venom, whom he blamed for ruining his life.
16 Captain Marvel: Heroes From The Future
Following the events of Empyre, it was back to business as usual for Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers. While investigating a mysterious signal in a forest, Carol finds herself transported to the future, the dark and broken dystopian nightmare from Captain Marvel: The End, part of the Marvel event that revealed how the superheroes met their final fates. Carol finds herself in 2052, one year after her future self sacrificed herself to reignite the sun.
Once she gets over the initial shock of finding herself displaced in time, Carol is heartbroken that many of her friends and allies are gone. While dealing with this shock, she does reunite with older versions of friends such as Spider-Woman and her now-grownup son, Gerry Drew. She also meets the future heroes such as Sora, the daughter of Forge and Kwannon (formerly Psylocke); Fantomex5, Namor's son Ove; and Brigid Thorsdottir, Thor's daughter.
15 X-Men: A New Breed Of Bad Guys
Outside of the X-Men event X of Swords, new characters also continued to appear in the other series, such as X-Force and New Mutants. After being captured and experimented on, Domino came face to face with a new anti-Domino character, who somehow came to possess Domino's uncanny luck factor. The New Mutants were forced to face their darkest nightmares after confronting Tashi Repina, a young mutant with the ability to make nightmares a reality.
Juggernaut met his opposite in D-Cel, a homeless teenage girl with the ability to slow kinetic forces who, like him is not a mutant but still possessing extraordinary powers the opposite of his own. It was also revealed that Apocalypse, during his reign in ancient Egypt, had a wife named Genesis, who was also the mother of the first horsemen.
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Spider-Man is no stranger to foes who have taken the name of Sin-Eater. In 2020, the Amazing Spider-Man creative team of Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley introduced a new Sin-Eater, resurrected by Kindred, who was a supernatural force never before seen, suspected of preceding all other Sin-Eaters. Following the orders of Kindred, the newly resurrected Sin-Eater continued his vendetta against those he perceived as criminals, cleansing them of their sins.
Miles Morales found himself in his version of The Clone Saga when he found himself in a massive fight with a doppelganger dressed in a spider costume like his own curiosity of The Assessor who attacked and captured Miles. Meanwhile, over in Spider-Woman, Octavia Vermis, the daughter of the former Hydra Commander Otto Vermis, took it upon herself to take down her father's killer, Jessica Drew, while pursuing her own goals of domination.
13 The Immortal Hulk: Rachel Green & Glowboy
In the pages of The Immortal Hulk, two new notable characters were introduced in 2020. In the ongoing title by series scribe Al Ewing and artist Javier Rodriguez, Glowboy a mutant whose powers manifested in his early teens. Glowboy's full powers and potential are unknown, but his blood causes his body to emit a luminescence, hence his name.
Little is know about Glowboy except that he, for a time, found refuge in a mutant community in the sewers and somehow became indebted to Kingpin, who used his blood as the DNA source for the creation of the Mutant Growth Hormone. The second character, Rebecca Green, a girl turned into a monster by Gamma, was created by Jeff Lemire and Mike Del Mundo for the one-shot issue The Threshing Place.
12 Strange Academy: The Class Of 2020
In 2020 the Strange Academy opened its doors to Marvel's most promising young sorcerers and mages, giving them the opportunity to study and hone their craft under the tutelage of some of the best magic users in the universe. The class of 2020 included new characters such as Emily Bright, a young girl who has been aware of her magical powers since birth; Doyle Dormammu, Dormammu's illegitimate son; Shaylee Moonpeddle; Zoe Laveau; Calvin Morse; and Dessy.
The new academic venture has also drawn the attention of The Hollow, a mysterious group of magical beings that look like anthropomorphic trees clad in tattered purple robes. The Hollow see the student of the Academy encroaching on their territory, with the goal to annihilate the school and devour the students.
11 THOR: Black Winter & The Rokkva
Writer Donnie Cates, aside from giving Thor a new look and powerset when he took over the series after Jason Aaron, introduced a new threat for the God of Thunder: The Black Winter. A multiversal cosmic entity, The Black Winter, is like Galactus, but on a far larger scale, consuming entire universes as opposed to individual planets.
In Thor Vol 6 #2, Cates uses the Black Winter to make a nod to the Justice League, Metropolis, and Darkseid before slaughtering of the heroes and the universe as "the hand of creation" that is the DCU is known for. In the Jane Foster, Valkyrie series, the Rokkva, a primordial antilife entity and contagion of death according to Asgardian legend which roamed the cosmos and mindlessly destroying or corrupting everything it, before Jane captured it
10 Wolverine: Pale Girl & Louise
Wolverine, the best that there is, may have met his match in the two newest characters introduced in his latest solo series. Meredith Milly, also known as Pale Girl, is the enforcer for the criminal organization that traffics the drug derived from the pollen of the flowers found on the island of Krakoa. Pale Girl, who appears as a mysterious, ghostly presence, can manipulate minds with considerable psychic defenses.
If ghostly mind-taking enforcers weren't enough, Wolverine had to deal with vampires in 2020. Luckily for him, he had some help from Marvel's new character and vampire hunter, the mysterious Louise. A member of the vampire hunter faction known as the Nightguard, Louise saves Logan more than once and is more than likely to make future appearances.
9 Ms. Marvel: Amulet
The Magnificent Ms. Marvel #13 introduced Amulet, an Arab American superhero from Dearborn, Michigan, created by the series creative team of writer Saladin Ahmed and Jordanian-American illustrator Sara Al-Fageeh.
Amulet, whose secret identity is Fadi Fadlalah, is described by the creators as a fun and mysterious Lebanese-American teen. She is the latest character in the Marvel Universe’s increasingly diverse group of new superheroes, which includes the Filipina superhero Wave and Chinese hero Sword Master. While little is known about the character, his powers are magical in nature, and big things are in the works for the character.
8 Ant-Man: Ve'trock, Phthira, Crematrix, Thread, & Macrothrax
In the 2020 miniseries by Zeb Wells and Dylan Burnett, Ant-Man Scott Lang and his daughter Cassie, who now goes by the super name Stinger, find themselves up against The Swarm and his band of insectoid villains. Scott gets more than they bargained for after taking a job to help local beekeepers, only to uncover a global conspiracy that threatens the entire world.
Led by Swarm the former Nazi scientist Fritz von Meyer and established insect villains such as Tusk are joined by newcomers Phthira, the insectoid Queen of the Biting Wingles; Ve'trock, the insectoid King of the Bees, Wasps, and Ants; Crematrix, the insectoid Queen of the Web-Spinners; Thread, a hivemind creature composed of silkworms; and Macrothrax, attempt to conquer the world. Ant-Man and Stinger must put their family issues aside and work with the Avengers to swat this new threat.
7 Shang-Chi: The Five Weapons Society
The new Shang-Chi limited series from writer Gene Luen Yang and artists Ruan & Philip Tan added a new layer to Marvel's Kung Fu Masters already rich mythos and part of the build-up for the upcoming Shang-Chi feature film scheduled for a May 2021 release.
The introduction of The Five Weapons Society is a secret group comprised of five separates "Houses": House of the Deadly Hand, House of the Dagger, House of the Sabre, House of the Hammer, and House of the Staff, each of which its own champion each named after the House they represent.
6 Guardians Of The Galaxy: West Spiral Arm Guardians & Prince of Power
For the Guardians of the Galaxy, 2020 wasn't just traveling around listening to the latest mixtape, as they found themselves active participants in the Empyre event. Things got dark for the space heroes when Al Ewing and Juan Cabal supposedly killed Star-Lord by the redesigned Gods of Olympus, who also received new powers. Gamora, believing that Quill had been killed, formed her own team of Guardians, named the West Spiral Arm Guardians consisting of Drax, Groot, and Moondragon, who offered their services to protect the galaxy for the right price.
In the same issue where Gamora formed her new team, another new character, The Prince of Power, who possesses superhuman abilities, gifted to him by a mysterious wizard, joined with the new Guardians and Blackjack O'Hare to carry out a hit on Rocket Raccoon. The Prince of Power is also expected to be a major player in the next Infinity Gem storyline.
5 The Old Made New: Spirit of Corruption, Man-Slaughter, & Ronin
Last year some familiar characters reemerged into the spotlight with a new purpose or with a new look. Former Ghost Rider Danny Ketch became the Spirit of Corruption in Ed Brisson's short-lived Ghost Rider series. AfterJohnny Blaze's violent take over of Hell, it seemed that the only person to stop him was Danny, which caused Blaze to try and kill Ketch.
Danny found himself transported to limbo, where he is transformed into the new Spirit of Corruption. In Weapon Plus: World War IV #1, by Benjamin Percy and Georges Jeanty, biochemist Ted Sallis was transformed into Man-Slaughter, a soldier of All-American soil, ready to report for duty. Hawkeye: Freefall found Clint Barton searching for the identity of the man, now wearing his old Ronin costume, and the answer just may be harder than hitting a Bullseye.
4 Avengers: New Starbrand
In January of 2020, The Avengers found themselves on the hunt for the new incarnation of Star Brand. After locating Starbrand deep in the Shi'ar Galaxy, Earth's Mightiest Heroes find themselves in a battle with the cosmic entities of Silver Surfer, Terrax, the Tamer, and Firelord over the fate of the new Star Brand. The story arc written by Jason Aaron and artist Ed McGuinness was the culmination of a story that had been building since Aaron took over the title.
The history of the Star Brand character goes back to the 1986 New Universe imprint started by Jim Shooter but was folded into the main universe over the years as the obscure character and the idea that Earth needed a sentient force of energy to ensure its survival was popular with creators.
3 The Legion Of Foom
Black Panther's strikeforce, The Agents of Wakanda, had a run-in with a new threat: The Legion of Foom. In Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #7 and #8, three Space Dragons attacked Avengers Mountain looking for "the traitor" they believed The Avengers were harboring.
It turned out that a shrunken Fin Fang Foom, the infamous shape-changing Space Dragon known for wreaking havoc on Earth, had been hiding in a trash can in the Avenger's Headquarters. Luckily, Fin offered a truce and departed on good terms with the heroes.
2 Marvel Voices: Goddess Spider
In the anthology Marvel's Voices #1, the universe's most famous spider got a new and dark origin story. While there have been many stories told about the infamous spider that gave Peter Parker his powers, 2020's telling of the spider's origin takes those backstories and not only creates one story about the spider's life but also provides context for its current status while adding a much darker background to its unknown history.
The new origin follows the original story from Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15 but fills in that it bit Cindy Moon (Silk) first and then Peter later. Also, unlike the original origin where the spider is killed, this story reveals that it instead survived in a lab, acquiring the nickname "Spider-Hulk," and even becoming inspired to take to the streets to fight crime, despite its natural urges to kill. The spider adopted the name Goddess Spider, though it remains unknown if, in the future, she will be friend or foe.
1 Werewolf By Night
The Werewolf by Night character concept traces its beginnings back to the old horror titles from the publisher, but in 2020 Marvel's horror original made a comeback in a new miniseries by Benjamin Jackendoff, Taboo (of the Black Eyed Peas), and Scot Eaton.
The new incarnation of the character is Jake, aka Red Wolf, a Native American living on a reservation in Arizona. Jake must not only answer the call to "protect his people" from a malevolent werewolf but also deal with a "family curse" and "an unholy experiment." It is also rumored that the original Werewolf by Night Jack Russell will appear in the upcoming Moon Knight series from Disney+ as an homage to the comic that Moon Knight made his first appearance.