Though some might consider it a gimmick, the characters of Marvel Comics have been aging for quite a long time. Made prominent and popular by the release of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's Old Man Logan, aged versions of Marvel heroes and villains have snuck in and out of the pages of comics since, with most offering something new and unique to their respective characters. In many cases, just adding the words "Old Man" or "Old Woman" becomes a tell for fans to know that this story stars an older version of a beloved character. And plenty of heroes have gotten that treatment, most not in "real" continuity.
Heroes like Wolverine, Hawkeye, Captain America and Reed Richards have all seen themselves age in the decade or so, mostly for a specific story beat, but sometimes just to see what it would be like. Anti-heroes like Deadpool and the Punisher have also joined in the fun, with villains getting old in some more extreme cases, like Thanos the Mad Titan himself. To be fair, that last one includes a bit of timeline trickery, but we won't get too deep into it. But the real hook is when these older versions of heroes end up stronger or "better," in a sense than their younger counterparts. You'll be surprised to learn that quite a lot of heroes age with grace, learning from the trials and tribulations of their youth. Others, well, might be stronger and maybe a bit more evil. Here are 20 older versions of Marvel heroes better than the originals.
20 OLD MAN LOGAN
Logan may be the reason why this list even exists, but hey, he's earned it. The seasoned, grizzly Logan that we meet in Old Man Logan is a man betrayed by the world, but one willing to go to any lengths to try and clear his legacy, one that involved him ending (albeit accidentally) all of the X-Men.
When he enters the mainstream Marvel Comics continuity, we meet a Logan who has been humbled by his experiences, one more than willing to learn from mistakes and admit when he's wrong. We'll call that a win for the "better" column any day, even if his healing factor isn't as great as it used to be.
19 FRANKLIN RICHARDS
Franklin Richards is considered by many to have the most latent power in the Marvel Universe, so it only makes sense that this guy becomes one of the heaviest hitters to ever hit when he gets a bit older. We've seen Franklin Richards transcend human form, become one with the universe, get lost in space and even hang out at the end of time.
And sure, it probably helps that his parents are Reed Richards and Sue Storm, and that his uncles are the Human Torch and The Thing. It helps to have a strong support system like that. Couple that with some incredible abilities, and you've got yourself a later life that is surely to be better than your youth.
18 OLD MAN HAWKEYE
Hailing from the same twisted future as Old Man Logan, this older version of Clint Barton doesn't really have it all figured out either. While his youth was full of flings and marriages with Black Widow, Mockingbird and more, he's been humbled by his old age, even if he's still a bit of a jerk.
Fans will know that Hawkeye is technically deaf, but this older version of the character has him going blind as well, and how he learns to deal with that on a hero and superheroic level. His age changes his whole character, and he's still one mean sharpshooter. So it might not be better by your margin, but he's a better person.
17 MAESTRO
Alright, so this guy isn't really a Marvel hero, but he was! Maestro, the future, older version of Bruce Banner's The Hulk is quite the stunner when it comes to pure power. He's also incredibly intelligent, and he's messed with the timeline in a number of places. He's spent some time playing the Contest of Champions with Elders of the Universe, he's gone toe-to-toe with Spider-Man in 2099 and he even hung out in the main Marvel continuity for a bit.
Maestro is the best version of The Hulk, if only he was a good guy. He represents a version where Banner gave his intellect to his green friend and let his rage run wild for it. He's a "better" Hulk, just not a great guy altogether, though he makes for quite the villain.
16 NOH-VARR (ROYALS)
Many of you will know Noh-Varr from his exploits with the most recent Young Avengers team. He dated Kate Bishop (the best Hawkeye) and palled around with the rest of the crew. But it was also revealed that he's a total jerk, and he quietly faded into obscurity for a few years, until recently in the Inhumans' Royals series.
In it, Noh-Varr joins the Inhuman Royal Family and spends some time out in space, looking for a necessary cure for their people. We also get a glimpse of a far flung future, which sees Marvel Boy and Maximus as some of the last living Kree acolytes. Noh-Varr is now a bonafide hero, seemingly better than his younger self, but still regretful of past actions.
15 DEMIURGE (WICCAN)
Demiurge is what would happen if Wiccan let go of all of his earthly commitments and just gave into his demonic, magical power. And for a bit, including in the future, he does just this. Much to the dismay of his friends, former teammates and his partner Teddy, Demiurge is a "better" version of Wiccan with his power totally unleashed.
And in a way, it really does make sense for the character to go full force into his dark energy. After all, Scarlet Witch herself has had a few run-ins with unlimited power in attempt to distance herself from humanity. Unfortunately, that didn't work out so well, but for the sake of this power equals better.
14 ICEMAN (BATTLE OF THE ATOM)
The glimpse we get of an older Iceman in "Battle of the Atom" is quite the sight to behold. Not only do the ice heroes powers become increased tenfold, but they also become autonomous. Bobby Drake essentially becomes an ice wizard with the ability to create everything from a blizzard to a self-sufficient ice golem.
In terms of refined power, this older Iceman becomes the power perfect version of himself, easily rising to Omega Level in terms of X-Men team rankings. Sure, he's no telepath, but when you can control an army of ice monsters, you're kind of there anyway.
13 KANG THE CONQUEROR (NATHAN RICHARDS)
Again, we're all pretty certain that Kang the Conqueror is a villain, even if his younger self isn't. But if we're not looking at good vs. evil as the metric for being better, than Kang is most certainly more powerful the older he gets. For those not in the know, Kang is one of Marvel's greatest villain, a man who lives outside of time itself, traveling between years to build an empire for himself.
As you can imagine, it's quite annoying for the likes of the Avengers. And even with his younger self attempting to thwart his older counterpart's time exploits, (comic books!) it doesn't change just how far ahead of the game Kang is -- even to himself.
12 DOCTOR DOOM 2099
It might be kind of twisted to consider Doctor Doom any sort of hero (at least ahead of his most recent heroic turn), but at the very least, this anti-heroic version of Doom is quite powerful. And sure, Doom himself has been the god of the Marvel Universe, but even he had his weaknesses. In this case, Doom 2099 was able to balance that incredible power with trying to remain, well, the holder of that power.
Sure, it was considered "too edgy" by many, but it was a different look for Doctor Doom at a time when he was one of Marvel's most diabolical, goofiest villains.
11 SUE STORM
In all of the different alternate, older versions of Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, is a wrecking ball of reality warping energy. While some may just think she can create force fields, but it's all about psionic energy. As she gets older and goes toe-to-toe with universe-ending villains and cosmic forces, Sue Storm grows into one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe, manipulating light waves and weaponizing her psionic abilities.
In most of these stories, we're dealing with a post-apocalyptic event by some high-level supervillain. And guess who's always standing? Sue Storm, and that makes complete and total sense.
10 SPIDER-MAN (LAST STAND)
We're going to use "better" loosely here, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a Spider-Man that may have been able to prevent Uncle Ben's demise and stop the wild chain reaction that is Peter Parker's life. And despite the sadness that is the Last Stand Spider-Man, he was actually a pretty tactical, albeit deadly superhero. He took out some top villains like Kraven the Hunter and Doc Ock, and in doing so, probably saved countless others.
The Avengers might have placed him on the same level as The Punisher, but it doesn't stop how efficient this alternate version of the web slinger was, he's just not nearly as friendly (or alive) as his main continuity counterpart.
9 OLD WOMAN LAURA
This one is fairly new, but kind of awesome. At the tail end of writer Tom Taylor's run on All-New Wolverine, he wrote Laura and her sister Gabby years in the future, with Laura searching for one of her other sisters as she raced against the clock. Not only did it continue to prove that Laura is a fantastic Wolverine, but that she's able and willing to pass on her greatness to others, like Gabby.
On top of that, this story had a happy ending, and Laura was able to retire from her career as a Logan successor with a clear conscious and an accomplished mission. Not many heroes get to say the same.
8 KITTY PRYDE
What's better than Kitty Pryde? How about a war-hardened Kitty Pryde who survived a mutant purge and is the last bastion of hope against a post-apocalyptic future where mutants are hunted. That's peak Kitty Pryde! This older version of the X-Men hero is introduced in Years of Future Past, and is the mother to one of the last remaining mutants, and one of the few to survive being hunted by the Sentinels.
The story is about an intricate prison break, the relationship between Kitty and the other X-Men, and her fighting to protect her child. That's basically all of the best things about Kitty Pryde amped up even more.
7 CABLE
While a twisted, younger version of Cable might be hunting down the X-Men in Extermination, it's pretty clear that the time-hopping bounty hunter gets better with age. Throughout the years, we've seen him team up with everyone from X-Force and Deadpool to the main X-Men teams and some of the strongest Marvel heroes in the universe (and he's easily among that crowd).
The more Cable time-hops, the more he learns that better prepares him for any potential alternate timeline or messed up future, and if that's not one of the best weapons in an already-packed arsenal, we're not sure what could is.
6 WOLVERINE (GABBY KINNEY)
Hailing from the same future as Old Woman Laura, this older version of Gabby Kinney has evolved beyond the moniker Honey Badger to become the one, the only Wolverine. Not only is this future probably the best possible outcome, one where a hero as hilarious and wholesome as Honey Badger can become the best of the best, but it shows just how far the Wolverine mantle has changed as its hosts have aged.
And in this future, Gabby is just as grateful and helpful to Laura as she was the minute they started adventuring together. She's still hilarious, she's just also extremely famous, more powerful and certainly more deadly than she was a child.
5 CAPTAIN AMERICA (DANIELLE CAGE)
Speaking of best possible futures, how about the one where the prodigy daughter of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage becomes one of the greatest heroes in Marvel Comics, Captain America? Though we don't know much about Danielle Cage while she's a child, we do know that villains from across the Marvel Universe have tried to take and harness her power. What better way to fight back than by growing up and becoming Captain America?
And sure, many have worn the mantle, but there's just not one that's as exciting as a changing of the guard and a Marvel Comics future that has the child of two of its greatest heroes becoming an even greater hero herself.
4 KAMALA KHAN (EXILES)
Say what you will about the ragtag group of reality-hopping misfits in Exiles, but don't say a negative thing about this future version of Kamala Khan. Sure, that future is pretty morbid, and it gets totally wiped off the map, but it introduces us to a Ms. Marvel that has grown up and out of the shoes of her predecessor, and now leads a human resistance against a suppressive regime.
OK, so it's extremely depressing, but it shows that no matter the reality or the timeline, Kamala Khan becomes the hero that the people need her to be, destruction of that reality not withstanding. Plus, she uses an enormous gun, and that's weird and wonderful at the same time.
3 GROOT
This one is kind of a gimme, right? We all know that Groot is basically extremely capable in all of his forms, but the "older" and larger he gets, the more powerful he seems to be. From Baby Groot, all the way to full adult Groot, the tree-based hero develops more advanced language, tactical skills and deadly accuracy.
There's even a future where he literally become the equivalent of a world tree, with the knowledge and understanding of everything in the universe. Of course, he still knows how to utter those few words, "I am Groot." At least he has Franklin Richards to hang out with at the end of time.
2 COSMIC GHOST RIDER (FRANK CASTLE)
Another recent addition, this older version of Frank Castle might be one of the most original creations in the last few years of comics, and it's just crazy enough to work. While the regular ongoings of The Punisher might feel stale and played out, this version of Frank Castle is a bundle of weirdness that just so happens to wield some of the most powerful abilities in the universe -- including the Power Cosmic.
He's smashed the Silver Surfer, captured Thanos and split timelines in two, but we can't wait to see how Cosmic Ghost Rider continues to outdo himself. See that? We forgot he also had the Spirit of Vengeance until this last sentence.
1 KING THOR
Now, there are a few different versions of King Thor, but many of them involve the God of Thunder stepping out of the shadow of his father, Odin, and become a leader of Asgard and beacon for each of the Realms. King Thor knows loss and tragedy, but he also knows the power and purpose of humanity, and how their goings-on affect every part of the universe.
In some timelines, King Thor passes this knowledge onto his daughters or sons. In others, King Thor is a warrior fighting at the end of time, still using his experience and time as an Avenger to spread the good word of heroism throughout reality.