Adrian Veidt

Few characters in comics history arrive with the weight that Adrian Veidt carries — debuting in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' landmark Watchmen #1 in 1986, he stepped onto the page already feeling like the most dangerous kind of genius. A Copper Age creation who has quietly endured across 34 years of DC publishing, Veidt shares his world with some of comics' most morally complex figures — Walter Kovacs, Edward Blake, the Comedian, Nite Owl — a constellation of characters that tells you everything about the dark, deconstructive universe he inhabits. His appearances stretch from Watchmen into Batman and Detective Comics, signaling a legacy that extends well beyond his origins. If you care about the moment superhero comics grew up and started asking hard questions, Adrian Veidt is essential company.