Marvel has been taking a page out of DC's book lately by focusing on its legacy. Marvel has been around for a long time and in that time, some heroes have created mantles that have been handed down to the next generation, something that is quite natural when it comes down to it. Marvel has put a bit of a twist on this, as it's had some of its greatest mantles shared between men and women.
There's no rule saying that a role or title that was originally given to a man always has to stay within that sex the rest of its relevance and existence in the comics. And Marvel has embraced this, broadening the legend of these great mantles.
10 Jane Foster Became Thor When The Odinson Was No Longer Worthy
For years, Thor was the Odinson and little issue was taken with it. Eventually, it was decided that a change would be made and so a new person emerged as Thor, except this time it was as a Goddess of Thunder. The mystery didn't last long as it was revealed that it was Jane Foster. Jane made an amazing Thor, with her stint even outselling the Odinson's.
Thor is one of those mantles that no one would have suspected would have gone to a woman and when it did, it was a great thing. Jane made it her own and fans were into it, with some of them still missing her.
9 She-Hulk Took Over As The Hulk For A Time
There have been lots of versions of Hulk over the years but a surprising one was when She-Hulk actually took over as the Hulk. This was in the aftermath of Civil War II; Bruce was dead and She-Hulk woke up from a Thanos-induced coma wilder than ever. She took up the name the Hulk and tried to work through her issues but was a more bestial Hulk than usual.
Because she was She-Hulk, most never really expected her to just become the Hulk. While her time as Hulk wasn't a massive hit with readers, critics loved it and it remains an interesting part of She-Hulk's history.
8 Iron Man Has Had Several Different People In The Armor Including Riri Williams
Iron Man is one of the first Marvel heroes to pass on his name, first allowing James Rhodey (the future War Machine) to take over as Iron Man. Later, also after Civil War II, Iron Man would be put into a coma and two different people would take over for him. One was Victor Von Doom and the other was Riri Williams.
Riri was a self-taught engineering genius and built her own suit of armor. A Tony Stark based AI gave her permission to act as Iron Man and she made a name for herself wearing the red and gold. She'd eventually take up the name Ironheart but for a time she was the official Iron Man.
7 Men And Woman Have Been Christened Phoenix
The Phoenix Force is one of the most powerful forces in the Marvel Universe and has been used by many over its long existence. In comparison, there have been relatively few people who actually called themselves Phoenix, but there have been men and women who have done so. While the most well-known are Jean Grey and Rachel Summers, a future version of Quentin Quire has also been known as Phoenix.
During Avengers Vs. X-Men, Cyclops claimed the mantle as well, but seeing as he was going Dark Phoenix at the time he can't be considered a superhero at that point, he doesn't count when considering the more heroic side of things.
6 Bucky Has Been Many People And Not All Of Them Were Men
For most fans, there's only been one Bucky and that's Bucky Barnes, but he's nowhere near the only one. Rick Jones was Bucky for a short time in the Silver Age. Lemar Hoskins was Bucky to Johnny Walker's Captain America until he changed his name to Battlestar. There's one Bucky that often gets forgotten about and that's Rikki Barnes.
Rikki was Bucky in the short-lived Heroes Reborn event. The granddaughter of that world's James Barnes, she teamed up with Cap after he awakened and eventually made her way to the 616 universe because of Franklin Richards.
5 Hank Pym Has Been The Wasp
The Wasp died in Secret Invasion as a result of actions taken by the Skrull posing as Hank Pym. This devastated the real Hank Pym, who took up his wife's superhero moniker for his own for a time. Pym has gone through a lot of identities over the years, making a name for himself as Ant-Man, but him taking up the mantle of the Wasp wasn't something anyone predicted.
Hank kept the Wasp name for a few years, until Janet's resurrection, leading the A.I. Avengers during this time and wearing his ex-wife's distinctive wings. While his costume wasn't as stylish as Janet's, it was still pretty good.
4 Elektra Has Been Serving As Daredevil Lately
Daredevil is one of the toughest vigilantes in the Marvel Universe. He's been in some monumental fights over the years and more than once someone else has taken up the name Daredevil. Both times were when he was incarcerated. The first time, Danny Rand took over for him but the second his longtime lover Elektra Natchios took over for him.
This makes a lot of sense considering that both of them were trained by Stick and Elektra is one of the most skilled fighters around. She's as tough as they come, as well, and is perfectly suited to being Hell Kitchen's high-flying defender.
3 Clint Barton And Kate Bishop Are Both Hawkeye
Hawkeye has long been one of Marvel's bravest heroes and that bravery saw him sacrifice his life to save his friends. While he was dead, a teenage girl named Kate Bishop came along and proved that she was worthy of being called Hawkeye. Gifted Barton's bow by Captain America, she continued to prove herself and when Clint came back to life, they shared the mantle of Hawkeye.
The two Hawkeyes have become a great team, working amazingly well together. Theirs isn't a relationship of mentor and sidekick, but one of equals. They both respect each other and know that each of them is worthy of being called Hawkeye.
2 Captain Marvel Is One Of The First Mantles That Went To A Woman
The first Captain Marvel was the Kree known as Mar-Vell. He was most known as one of Marvel's first cosmic heroes and Thanos's most bitter enemies but he ended up dying of a Kree version of cancer from inhaling the toxic chemical Compound 13. Eventually, Monica Rambeau would take up the mantle, starting the legacy of women as Captain Marvel.
Vell's son Genis would become Captain Marvel and eventually, Carol Danvers would take up the name, becoming the most well-known Captain Marvel. Women have long been Captain Marvel and they're usually the most powerful ones.
1 All Wolverines Are The Best There Is At What They Do
Wolverine is the most dangerous mutant on the planet. Both of them are. While Logan was dead, his daughter X-23 took up his mantle, proving herself as a hero and making the name her own. Upon his return, she stepped back into her old X-23 identity but Logan was having none of that. To him, Laura had just as much right to be Wolverine as she did.
Now there are two Wolverines running around, which just means double the claw sandwiches for bad guys. Laura is just as much Wolverine as her father and the two have proven to be just as dangerous in completely different ways.