Captain Marvel, Jr.

Few Golden Age heroes carry the electric charge of Captain Marvel, Jr., who burst onto the scene in Master Comics #22 in 1942, brought to life by writer Bill Woolfolk and the gloriously detailed art of Mac Raboy. A genuine product of comics' earliest heroic era, this character has endured across an extraordinary 76-year publishing span — a testament to the kind of staying power only the most beloved figures achieve. Along the way, Captain Marvel, Jr. has shared pages with luminaries like Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Billy Batson, and Freddy Freeman, placing this hero squarely at the heart of one of the Golden Age's richest corners of superhero mythology. With two key collector issues to the name and appearances spanning Master Comics to Outsiders and beyond, Captain Marvel, Jr. is exactly the kind of foundational figure that reminds you why the Golden Age still matters.