Most of the really famous Marvel characters -- the ones even non-fans could identify with no trouble -- have been around for many, many years. They're the ones who tend to get their own big budget movie adaptations and multiple comics devoted exclusively to their adventures. But Marvel didn't stop creating great characters in the '70s. Plenty of newbies have hit the ground running and dashed straight into fans' hearts for good. This article will shine a spotlight on some of the youngest members of the Marvel family, the ones who have only been around for ten years or less. Despite still being a little wet behind the ears, they have already proven themselves to be fascinating, complex and full of potential for great future stories.

On the other hand, not every new character can be a winner. Some of Marvel's newer creations have, admittedly, been less than great. Some have even been downright horrible. So to maintain a little balance, we'll also mention one character from the last decade who was so heinous and ill-conceived that they should be buried in the back of a longbox and forgotten as quickly as possible. But it's important to remember that characters this bad are in the minority. Most of the newcomers -- and most of the characters on this list -- are well worth getting to know better. After all, just because a character doesn't yet have a decades-long legacy under their utility belts doesn't mean they are any less deserving of our love and admiration.

20 RIRI WILLIAMS

Riri-Williams-02

Tech genius Riri Williams got into MIT as a young teen. Almost immediately, she set to work reverse engineering Tony Stark's famous Iron Man armor. Despite being notoriously paranoid about other people gaining access to his inventions, Tony decides to take Riri under his wing.

After Iron Man falls into a coma, Riri steps up to take his place as the new Armored Avenger. She calls herself Ironheart and has since flourished as a superhero in her own right. To date, her accomplishments include bringing down Latveria's dictatorship and joining the Champions, a group of teen heroes led by Ms. Marvel.

19 MS. MARVEL

Ms Marvel

Despite debuting a mere five years ago, Kamala Khan has rocketed to fame as Marvel's brightest new star. She used to be an ordinary, superhero-loving teenager from Jersey City. But after gaining superpowers from a Terrigen Bomb, Kamala takes the name Ms. Marvel in honor of her hero, Captain Marvel, and begins her journey to becoming a true-blue hero.

Ever energetic and optimistic, and with help from her endlessly supportive circle of friends, Kamala sets out to make the world a better place in her own inimitable way. She has made multiple appearances in the cartoon Avengers Assemble, and Marvel has floated the possibility of Kamala getting her own movie, too.

18 MILES MORALES

Spider-Man Miles Morales costume

Miles originated on Earth-1610, the Ultimates universe. Here, Peter Parker died protecting his friends and family in Ultimate Spider-Man #160. Haunted by the knowledge that he could have used his own spider powers to help his hero, Miles vows to become Spider-Man and protect New York in Peter's place.

After the destruction of Earth-1610, Miles successfully made the jump to Earth-616, the main Marvel Universe. He even joined the Avengers for a while and finally got to fight beside the original Spider-Man. Miles will make his feature film debut in this year's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, where he will have to contend with his new powers and his father's dislike of Spider-Man.

17 KID LOKI

Kid Loki shows off some magic

A new twist on a classic villain, Kid Loki first appeared after the original Loki -- the one who has bedeviled Thor since 1962 -- sacrificed himself to save the world. But this Loki was different. He was much younger, of course, and he had no memory of his past life or his predecessor's evil ways.

Finally, it seemed Loki might have a chance to take his immortal life in a new, fresh direction. But then things got complicated. The original Loki came back, killed Kid Loki and took over his body. Since then, a grown-up Loki has kept busy, running for president and even snatching the title of Sorcerer Supreme from Stephen Strange.

16 MS. AMERICA

America Chavez lost her parents at a young age and has bounced around the multiverse ever since. Her mothers were both superheroes, and she has followed in their footsteps, using her enhanced strength, speed and other powers to go up against everyone from Thanos to evil versions of her dead parents.

Although she briefly dated a boy, Ms. America has since come out as a lesbian and is living her life exactly the way she wants to. That apparently involves joining as many super-teams as possible, including but not limited to the Teen Brigade, the Young Avengers and the Ultimates.

15 ANEKA AND AYO

As members of the Dora Milaje, Aneka and Ayo are among the most elite warriors in Wakanda, and possibly the world.  They have sworn to protect and obey the royal family. But when Aneka rebels and Ayo rescues her from execution, their place in the world is suddenly a lot less secure.

Ayo and Aneka go on the run, now using their skills and two sets of stolen armor to protect women from abusive and corrupt men. And in between all the butt-kicking, they still find time to be adorably in love. Here's hoping they get to spend many more years defending the defenseless -- and cherishing each other.

14 EZEKIEL STANE

Obadiah Stane is one of Tony Stark's greatest nemeses. But his son Ezekiel, who debuted in 2008, also deserves a spot on any list of Iron Man's greatest foes. He has hated Tony since childhood, and now he is channeling that aggression into exciting new Tony-killing technologies.

One could argue that Zeke is an even more successful supervillain than his late father. Both on the screen and on the page, Obadiah only managed to execute one grand scheme against Iron Man before dying. Ezekiel has been around for a full decade and is still out there, arming suicide bombers and trying to take over parts of Wakanda.

13 NADIA VAN DYNE

unstoppable-wasp

Hank Pym's daughter was kidnapped and taken to the Red Room, where all of Russia's Black Widows receive their training, before Hank even had a chance to know she existed. By the time Nadia grows up, she is determined to get out of the Red Room and meet her father. A scientific genius in her own right, she steals some of her father's Pym particles, shrinks down and escapes to America.

Nadia soon meets up with her stepmother, Janet van Dyne. Jan agrees to share her codename, the Wasp, with Nadia, and a new superhero is born! Nadia will be getting her own comic, The Unstoppable Wasp, this fall.

12 SAM ALEXANDER

nova-sam

The Nova Corps, an intergalactic police force, has been around since the '70s. But Sam Alexander, the Corps' newest member, only debuted in 2011. He stumbled across his father's Nova Helmet, and Gamora and Rocket Raccoon of the Guardians of the Galaxy taught him how to use it properly. Now able to fly, manipulate energy and use telekinesis, Sam has become one of Earth's premier superheroes.

Nova has lent his talents to both the Avengers and the Champions. He also successfully made the leap to TV. Sam Alexander has had a recurring role in two cartoons: Ultimate Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy.

11 SILK

Cindy Moon was bitten by the same radioactive spider that gave Peter Parker his powers. But unlike Peter, Cindy was forced to spend the next several years in a bunker with no access to the outside world. If she left the bunker, the villain Morlun, who holds a grudge against everyone with spider powers, would kill her.

Eventually, Spider-Man releases Cindy and informs her that Morlun is dead for the moment. Cindy then decides to follow in Spider-Man's footsteps and becomes a costumed crime-fighter by the name of Silk. Silk has proven so popular that, according to rumor, she might be getting her own movie very soon.

10 ANGIE MARTINELLI

After the death of her would-be lover, Captain America, Agent Peggy Carter was in desperate need of a friend. She found a great one in the form of Angie Martinelli, a sharp-tongued waitress and aspiring actress.

Angie quickly proved her worth, providing Peggy with a place to live and even covering for her despite not knowing her very long and having no idea that Peggy is a secret agent. Sadly, that was only in the first season of Agent Carter. Angie didn't appear much in the second season, and as of now, there is no third season in the works.

9 AVA AYALA

white-tiger

The original White Tiger, Hector Ayala, gained superpowers from three special amulets. After he is stopped while escaping punishment for a crime he didn't commit, his daughter took on the amulets and the white suit of the White Tiger. Then the role fell to Hector's sister, Ava.

Since her 2011 debut, Ava has been all over the place, joining multiple Avengers-inspired teams and even playing a supporting role in Ultimate Spider-Man as one of Peter Parker's school friends and superheroic ally. She is a fierce warrior with a desire for justice so strong that, even now that she no longer has the power-giving amulets, she continues to be White Tiger anyway.

8 NED

Ned Leeds Jacob Batalon Spider-Man Homecoming

The Ned who appears in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming appears to be a combination of Ned Leeds, a former reporter for the Daily Bugle, and Ganke Lee, friend and ally of Miles Morales. Played by Jacob Batalon, the MCU's Ned is Peter Parker's best friend and the only person who knows that he is Spider-Man.

Ned relishes the opportunity to play wingman to a hero, helping Peter to unlock his suit's full potential. It was this boundless enthusiasm that won fans over and made them eager to see more of the character. Fortunately, there was plenty more to come: Ned briefly appeared in Avengers: Infinity War and will costar in next year's Spider-Man: Far From Home.

7 DOTTIE UNDERWOOD

Dottie Underwood in Agent Carter

The woman known as Dottie Underwood may look, sound and act like an innocent Midwestern girl, but that's just what she wants you to think. In reality, she is one of the fearsome Black Widows, trained from childhood to be a ruthless spy and assassin.

Underwood spends much of the first season of Agent Carter trying to kill the title character.  She uses every trick in her arsenal -- and it is a very large and diversified arsenal -- to no avail. Dottie Underwood is ultimately captured by the Strategic Scientific Reserve, a precursor of S.H.I.E.L.D. They get nothing out of her before the FBI takes her away. In fact, she is so good at her job that we still don't know her real name.

6 PHIL COULSON

Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson

Agent Coulson first appeared as a minor supporting character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008's Iron Man. He charmed fans to such an extent that, even after supposedly dying in The Avengers, Coulson was made the starring character of a new TV show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., that is still on the air today.

But Coulson's presence is not just limited to the big and small screen. He made the jump to comic books in 2011, first appearing in Battle Scars #1. Of course, he was then killed off a few years later, but we all know Coulson is very good at rising from the dead.

5 THE VISIONS

The Visions

Feeling lonely, the Vision, synthezoid member of the Avengers, builds himself a small family and moves them into a house in the suburbs. His wife, Virginia, and twin children, Viv and Vin, attempt to live an ordinary, human life. But they are neither ordinary nor human, and the Vision family's happy home life unravels with distressing speed.

The children struggle to fit in at school and to find their own place in the world. Virginia in particular is a tragically compelling character. She commits horrible acts to maintain the family's thin veneer of normality, but each step she takes only drags them further away from their shared, impossible dream.

4 MELINDA MAY

Melinda May in Agents of SHIELD

Melinda May is Phil Coulson's second-in-command on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. At first, she doesn't want to leave her desk job, as she is still haunted by a mission that went wrong years earlier. But she is a professional first and foremost. She joins Coulson's team despite her own misgivings.

Despite her reticence to reenter the field, Agent May has embraced her role as pilot, mentor, trainer and world-protector. After five -- soon to be six -- seasons as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most reliable and hard-nosed operative, fans can be sure that Melinda will always be there to save the day, come what may.

3 HONEY BADGER

Gabby Kinney as Honey Badget

Debuting in 2016's All-New Wolverine #2, Gabby Kinney is yet another Wolverine clone. She takes the name Honey Badger and joins her older "sister," Laura, an earlier clone formerly known as X-23, in fighting bad guys.

Gabby is significantly less angsty than her fellow clones. Even though she's lost many loved ones and will most certainly die young due to her nanomachine-infected bloodstream, Gabby maintains a positive attitude and does everything she can to help others. And sometimes, "helping" involves using her healing factor to gift Deadpool her middle finger so it can flip him off forever. Who wouldn't love a caring and generous person like that?

2 NAKIA BAHADIR

Nakia Bahadir in Ms. Marvel

Nakia is Kamala Khan's, aka Ms. Marvel's, best friend. She has no superpowers, but she has provided vital moral support to Kamala on multiple occasions. She also showed compassion and kindness to their mutual friend Zoe, who has an unrequited crush on Nakia.

Not only is Nakia a great character in her own right, she is also an important one. She wears a hijab and insists that everyone call her by her full name rather than the Americanized nickname "Kiki."  Between her and Kamala, readers get to see that there is more than one way to be Muslim, and that no one way is better or worse than the others.  This show of diversity is important, now more than ever.

1 NEVER WANT TO SEE AGAIN: HYDRA SUPREME

Hydra Cap

Fans freaked in 2016 when Captain America, Marvel's most potent symbol of freedom, resistance and anti-fascism, pledged his allegiance to the Nazi-affiliated terrorist group known as Hydra. Worse still, this wasn't a case of simple brainwashing. Cap had always been a secret Hydra agent, right from that first day when we saw him punch Hitler on the cover of Captain America Comics #1.

Later, we learned this evil Steve Rogers was, thankfully, not the same Steve Rogers people have loved and admired since World War II. Rather, this was a Steve Rogers from another universe where he'd been indoctrinated into Hydra as a child. It was a tacky stunt at best. If this version of Steve is never referenced again, we won't be sorry.