The '60s was the golden age of Marvel, with most of its heroes introduced in the decade. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first created Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and more in this iconic time-period. Today, they are the most dominant force in media. However, not all of these Marvel Heroes have become household names and have since gone into obscurity for years. So, for today's look back at the forgotten heroes of yesteryear, we'll be taking a look back at the Groovy '60s and pick ten famous heroes from the era that the world has forgotten about.
10 Guardians of the Galaxy(1969)
Everyone knows about the Guardians of the Galaxy, right? Starlord, Rocket Racoon, and the rest have all become household names. But, these aren't the Guardians of the Galaxy we're talking about. The original Guardians were nothing like their big-screen counterparts, consisting of straight face intergalactic heroes.
The team was created by Arnold Drake and penciled by Gene Colan in Marvel Super Heroes presents #18. While the issue sold well, this version of the Guardians wouldn't be seen again till the '70s. Even then, the only character that audiences would recognize is Yandu.
9 Polaris
Polaris was an odd addition to the X-Men line-up. Created by Arnold Drake and Jim Steranko, she was first introduced in 1968 before being made an official X-Man a few months later. Like Magneto, Polaris had the power of magnetism. After the Giant-Sized X-Men re-launched the team in the '70s, Polaris was out and remained a supporting character who had an on-and-off-again relationship with Havok. She eventually made her live-action debut in the short-lived X-Men TV series, The Gifted.
8 Black Knight
Whether he's a hero or a villain, no one remembers Black Knight. The original was a villain named Nathan Garrett introduced in Tales of Suspense #52 and again in #73, where he did battle against Iron Man. He even went up against the Avengers in issues 6, 14, and 15. The Dane Whitman version of the character was later introduced in 1968, where he was mistaken as a villain by the Avengers.
To prove himself to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, he infiltrated the Masters of Evil and helped the team defeat them. He's been an Avenger, a Defender, and much more, but the world has forgotten about this Marvel Hero.
7 Changeling
As his name implies, Changeling has the power of Metamorphoses. He could change his body into anyone and even mimic their voice perfectly. Aside from that, there isn't that much to say about Changeling. He was only around for five issues before being axed off in a battle with Grotesk in an explosion. If there's anything that Changeling is known for, it's that he was the very first member of the X-Men to ever die in the comics. His role would later be more fleshed out in the '90s X-Men animated series.
6 Banshee
Another member of the X-Men that has gone into obscurity, Banshee, has been around since '67, where the Factor Three first captured him before being saved by the X-Men and later joined up with the Merry Mutants. Like the mythical creature of the same name, Banshee has the power to use super-sonic screens to attack his foes.
He also uses his skills in conjunction with his costume to allow himself to fly great distances. He did make his big-screen debut in X-Men: First Class, but he got killed off-screen before the sequel, Days of Future Past.
5 The Inhumans
For years, Marvel has been trying to make the Inhumans a thing. The group of superpowered beings from the Darkside of the moon have been around since 1965 in the pages of the Fantastic Four. The main group consists of Black Bolt, his wife Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, Triton, Crystal, and Lockjaw. For the most part, The Inhumans have been relegated to the background of most of the Marvel Universe. For a time, Disney and Marvel tried to make the Inhumans the next big thing, intending to replace the X-Men with them. However, after their failed TV show was canceled after one season, the Inhumans went back into obscurity.
4 Wonder Man
Simon Williams was once the owner of Williams Innovation. When his company started to lose profits to Stark Industries, he attempted to embezzle funds from his company but was caught and incarcerated. After Barron Zemo and The Enchantress bailed him out, Simon agrees to be their guinea pig and is transformed into a living being made up of Ionic energy.
He later reformed to the side of good and eventually became an Avenger. He's a bit of a showoff, but Wonder Man was pretty popular in his day but has sadly gone off the radar for some time now.
3 Sersi
Sersi was initially introduced as a one-off character in Strange Tales #109, based on the ancient character Circe. Rather than turning people into pigs, she can transmute any matter into anything that she wishes, along with creating illusions. Unlike her fellow members of the Eternals, she wanted to become one with humanity and even did so for centuries. While the world outside of comics is unfamiliar with her, it soon will when Sersi makes her debut in 2021's The Eternals.
2 Hercules
With Stan Lee and Jack Kirby already creating their version of the Norse God of Thunder, the duo decided, "Why not create the Marvel version of the champion of the Greek gods?" And so, Hercules was created. First appearing in Journey into Mysteries Annual #1, Hercules served as a bit of a rival to Thor. The two would butt heads and even work together until Hercules got his series in the '70s. Since then, he's been an Avenger, a Defender, and was also one of the founding members of the Champions. Much like other versions, Hercules is a mighty warrior with immense strength and loved by everyone in the Marvel Universe. That sadly hasn't given him that much attention outside of the comics.
1 Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell)
Stan Lee and Gene Colan first created the original Captain Marvel in the '60s. Mar-vell was initially a spy from the Kree Empire sent to observe humanity. Slowly, he turned over to the side of good and became an ally with Marvel's Mightiest Heroes till his death in the '80s. What was the reason for his creation? So Marvel could get the rights to the name. No really, the only reason for his birth was so Marvel could get the rights to the name since DC had bought Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel. So, they made Captain Marvel and DC had to Re-title their Captain Marvel series to Shazam. Later on, DC dropped their guy's name to Shazam, and the rest is history.