At one point or another, fans have to deal with the fact that their favorite superheroes' run as that hero will inevitably come to an end. Whether it be because they outgrow the mantle or because of an unfortunate and untimely death, basically every character's run as a hero has its day.

RELATED: 10 Best New Marvel Heroes Of The Decade

One of the major silver linings of that truth is that there is typically another character to pick up the hero mantle where the last one left off. Some are given the title, some adopt it to honor their favorite hero, and some even inherit the hero mantle left by an earlier generation. In whatever case lands them with a certain title, some of these legacy heroes actually become just as notable as the original. From spouses and children to best friends and entirely random characters, let's look at ten of the best legacy heroes in the history of Marvel Comics.

10 Star-Lord

Kitty Pryde in her role as Star-Lord

One of the more underappreciated relationships in Marvel Comics is the one between Peter Quill and Kitty Pryde. The two were an unlikely pairing that saw the X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy characters eventually get married. However, their relationship was eventually put in jeopardy when Quill overtook the role of King of the people of Spartax.

When he took on this new role, he abandoned both the Guardians of the Galaxy and his role as Star-Lord for a brief time. During that time, Kitty Pryde actually took up the mantle of Star-Lord and worked as a Guardian of the Galaxy. Although she ended up giving up her life as Star-Lord and a guardian, Kitty Pryde added an interesting ripple in the legacy of the Star-Lord character.

9 Hulk

Amadeus Cho and Totally Awesome Hulk side by side

One of the hardest and most bizarre hero mantles to pass along is that of the Hulk. However, genius teenager Amadeus Cho managed to find a way to absorb the gamma radiation away from Bruce Banner. After doing Banner the favor of relieving him of the Hulk, Cho gives a much-needed revitalization of the monstrous character. His version, the totally awesome Hulk, was a refreshing facelift for the character that brought with it new opportunities for the Hulk to work in younger hero groups. Bruce Banner is undoubtedly a favorite amongst the Marvel community, but Amadeus Cho has marked a new and relatable era for the Hulk.

8 Black Panther

One of the more obvious legacy heroes is Black Panther. Most fans, and many more after the release of the Black Panther film, know that T'Challa took over the mantle of Black Panther from his father T'Chaka. In fact, the passing down of the warrior title has happened for generations, typically given to the ruler of Wakanda.

RELATED: Black Panther: The 10 Strongest Wakandans, Ranked

Well, at one time, the mantle of Black Panther was actually shared by two children of the same generation. Black Panther made T'Challa's sister, Shuri, a quick fan favorite. Shuri actually had her moment as Black Panther in the comics, after her brother had fallen ill and incapable of carrying on the responsibilities of the hero. Hopefully, we get to see Shuri don her costume in a film one day, but for any fan of the character, her story in Reginald Hudlin's run of Black Panther is a must-read.

7 Nova

The character of Nova is an interesting one, with the changing of the guard leading to the successor being arguably just as popular as the original. The two wearers of the Nova mantle, Richard Rider and Sam Alexander, both brought completely different personalities to the character. Rider brought maturity, skill, and most importantly, experience to the character that Alexander simply couldn't.

After being handed the Nova helmet and responsibilities, Sam Alexander did all he could to train and learn the skills of heroism. Both characters helped make the Nova mantle great, and at this point, with over eight years of being Nova, Sam Alexander has become almost as synonymous as the hero as Richard Rider.

6 Thor

Female Loki vs Thor Jane Foster

One of the more notable passing of the torch moments for a Marvel Comics hero is Jane Foster becoming Thor. Although it technically wasn't exactly passed down by Thor Odinson himself, the legacy of the character still was passed along to Foster after decades of there being only one Thor.

While there will never be anyone like Thor himself, Jane Foster has held the title along with Mjolnir for almost six years. As great as the original Thor is and as hard as he may be to replace, the character undoubtedly benefited from a redesign with a female lead. While it was most likely a risky decision to make at the time, giving the mantle of Thor to Jane Foster has been a massive success for Marvel.

5 Hawkeye

Clint Barton and Kate Bishop in Hawkeye

One of the more unique legacy heroes goes to the two Hawkeyes. What's so interesting about Clint Barton and Kate Bishop is the overlap of the two both holding the same mantle. Not only were the two both Hawkeye at one point, but Barton even mentored Bishop for some time.

In most of these legacy heroes, the character to take over typically doesn't do so at the direction of the original. However, Clint Barton was adamant about Bishop staying as Hawkeye even when he rejoined the Avengers. The relationship between Barton and Bishop is a fascinatingly brilliant one and something that'll be fun to see brought to life in the upcoming Hawkeye series.

4 Spider-Man

We'll start by prefacing that, yes, there have been a number of people who have taken up the mantle of Spider-Man or some kind of Spider-Man-inspired hero. However, there's not better passing of the mantle than Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Morales is one of the best alternate versions of the web-slinger and anytime he and Parker are featured together, you're bound to have a hit. The legacy of Peter Parker's Spider-Man is a hard one to top, but ever since Miles Morales was introduced back in 2011 he's shown he could contend for the ultimate webhead crown.

3 Ant-Man And The Wasp

Both Ant-Man and the Wasp have seen the mantle passed down to a new generation. The changing of the guard for those characters involves both familial and random relationships that, in both cases, led to great new iterations of the microscopic heroes.

RELATED: The 10 Most Powerful Features Of Riri's Ironheart Armor

While Janet Van Dyne handing the Wasp mantle down to her step-daughter Nadia is significant, it's the passing of the torch of Hank Pym to Scott Lang that defines the more recent era of Ant-Man and the Wasp. Through Lang and Nadia Van Dyne, Marvel Comics helped shake the controversial opinions that surrounded the two heroes for years by incorporating more humor into their lives as superheroes. There have been several great series over the past few years that prove why Lang and Van Dyne are great replacements for the original Ant-Man and Wasp.

2 Iron Man

One hero legacy we'll hopefully see brought to the big screen soon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that of Iron Man. There have been several different iterations of replacements for the great Tony Stark, but there are arguably none better than Riri Williams' Iron Heart. In both the films and comics, Stark has had to relinquish his identity as Iron Man either from falling into a coma or, as we all unfortunately know, death. As a young super-genius, Williams was the perfect character to carry on the legacy of Iron Man. Much like how Clint Barton mentored Kate Bishop, an A.I. version of Tony Stark has always been there to guide Williams as she grows into a superhero. It's, without a doubt, a comic book relationship and legacy that would be interesting to see replicated in the MCU.

1 Captain America

Captain America Sam Wilson Steve Rogers

Speaking of the MCU, we're finally going to see this next legacy come to fruition on the big screen. There's no question that the mantle of Captain America is not an easy one to replace. However, between Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, the latter has certainly been the more popular and well-received of the two.

Although the Falcon has only taken up the mantle of Captain America fairly recently, he's always embodied the moral values and characteristics that made Steve Rogers such an incredible hero. As one of the most popular legacy continuations throughout the history of Marvel Comics, it'll be entertaining to see the outcome of Anthony Mackie's portrayal of Sam Wilson as the new Captain America.

NEXT: 10 Changes The MCU Made To Each Major Character From The Comics