Yes, I am limiting myself again, I wanted to do my Top 10 Marvel heroes, I considered for a moment Superheroes, but I will come back and do DC at some point. I also considered adding in villains, but again, that’s another list, and why would I blend them all together when I can get a bunch of lists out of them. Look for some talk about this on 10 Minute Marvel as I’ll probably start doing deeper dives into some of these characters.

10 – Deadpool

Deadpool is basically the only straight up comedy act on the list. Yes, he is hyper violent as well at times but he lives in a completely absurd world of his own in a lot of ways. I was resistant to him for a while just because he had such a following and didn’t play a major part directly in the comics. But the stuff I’ve read of his generally is a good amount of fun and he works as a character who is comedy and doesn’t spend his time bumping up against the main characters but is just off in his own little world doing his thing. And then when he does interact with other characters, it’s good entertainment.

9 – Ant-Man

Now, do I prefer Pym or Lang as Ant-Man, probably Lang, but both are good. I think that they both provide an interesting feel for Ant-Man, but this will be more about Lang since he’s in the MCU as Ant-Man. I like the idea of a criminal turned super hero, because you get that blend of things that shouldn’t be done and still trying to be better than he was before. Also Paul Rudd just does a solid job in that role with comedy but also creating a character who has a bit of a heart. Lang and Ant-Man are a good blend of comedy and heart, which I think you’ll see further on the list.

8 – Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch could probably be a villain as well, but I think that she works well in either direction. As a hero she’s a terrifying power that you’re worried about won’t be able to control herself. On the flip side as a villain, she’s even more scary. I like a character who has just an insane level of power but you don’t know if they’ll be able to control it, and while some heroes, like the Hulk, can smash anything, Scarlet Witch is so much beyond that, if she makes a mistake, or loses control that can just alter the world, alter the past or present and completely change reality as you know it. Add in the fact that she’s not all that stable mentally, it creates an even crazier power set for her and more interesting stories as you wait for her to break.

7 – Magik

Now, admittedly she isn’t a character that I’ve read a ton of stuff focused directly on her, but I like her character in the X-Men comics that I’ve read. Her powers are interesting and she just has an edgier look to her than a lot of the other heroes. In fact, she’s sometimes a little bit shaky as to how actually good she is. But with that, she also has a complex backstory and a brother, Colossus who is also part of the X-Men. So that adds in an interesting dynamic to her character. Her power set with sorcery and teleportation are very interesting as well as she kind of has a larger breath to her powers than a lot of other characters.

6 – Doctor Strange

So with Strange, I actually was interested in him before the Doctor Strange film came out, that movie definitely made me more interested and brought about more comics because there hadn’t been many or any for a little bit. But his power set is just so interesting to me. I like the magic that he can do and just the breath of what it can cover. But I also like that so much of who he is, is tied into who he was and how he’s had his “come to Jesus” moment where he realized that his pride and his goals weren’t fulfilling his life and when it was all taken away from him he didn’t know who he was. There’s another character who is always trying to prove himself against his past, but he’ll show up later and it is interesting to see how they deal with their hubris in different ways.

5 – Rogue

Now, Rogue might be a surprising character, and some of it might be that she fairly often ties closely to another character higher on my list. But I also find her power and character interesting. She can absorb other peoples powers and basically neutralize them, but it comes at a cost. She absorbs and that means that she steals from them and she can’t control it, it doesn’t matter if she wants to or not, she will steal their powers and drain their life force. So how can she have a normal relationship with a human being and that’s a very common struggle with her. I think you’ll find that I like the characters who have those human struggles, both with previous ones I’ve mentioned and ones coming up. It just makes them feel more like they could be real people and real heroes.

4 – Thor

Now, let me preface this by saying, I’m 100% Norwegian, so I like Thor some for that reason. But that’s not just it. For Thor, I like the fact that you can get some more epic and mythological battles going on. It isn’t just Thor versus some supervillain, it can be Thor facing off against gods and comsic beings, and I like that you get a wider scope with him. Now, clearly he isn’t the only hero who has that, but I like him better than most. Now, the fact that he’s also displaced kind of from his world and having to deal with humans is interesting as well. I like a fish out of water, and I like a character who has flaws when dealing with that, and Thor definitely has flaws. He’s a good blend of big action, big moments and still be caring that works well.

3 – Iron Man

Now, I can thank the MCU for making me like Iron Man so much, and as much as I like Iron Man, so much of what I like about Iron Man is Tony Stark. He is a deeply flawed character who desperately wants to do the right thing and always ends up doing the right thing poorly. If he knew he was doing the wrong thing and did it anyways, or if he was doing the right thing and it always worked out, that’d be boring, but he fails so often. And not only does he fail at the big super hero things, Iron Man/Tony Stark fails at the small normal life things as well, relationships, drinking, drugs, and he’s just not a great member of society. But every time that he fails in his life, in saving the world, whatever it might be, he gets back up and tries again.

2 – Spider-Man

Now, I will say, I’m done for good with Uncle Ben dying, but I really like Spider-Man as a character. Apparently I like the characters that provide a bit of humor. Spider-Man does it in a really fun loving way, and I just like how wholesome and earnest his character is. I also really like him because of the 90’s cartoon and because of the cast of villains that he has. Spider-Man has some of the best villains to go up against, and they have done a solid job with them in the movies, and they always do a great job in the comics with them. I think that Spider-Man/Peter Parker works as well because he’s so relatable for kids and people in general reading comics. Issues with school and friendship and balancing of his life abound, and while Iron Man has relatable flaws as well, Spider-Mans are just a bit simpler and feel more like everyday life.

1 – Gambit

Now this mainly comes from watching the TV show in the 90’s and then carried into reading the comics in the mid 2000’s and early 2010’s. Gambit is just a fun character for me. I like him as a bit of a loner who doesn’t play well with others. But he has a good heart, he just doesn’t want other people to know it. There’s definitely a bit of a vibe that is similar to that of Wolverine, stand-off-ish and not a team player, but while a lot of people love Wolverine, I like it when Gambit does it better. He has an awkward kind of charm to him where things end up in his favor, after normally not starting out that way at all, and it just works for a comic book character.

So who are your favorite Marvel heroes? Do you have any overlap with me? There are so many characters that it’s just hard to pick 10 and really think about what makes some stand out over others.

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