Illya Kuryakin

A cool-blooded Silver Age operative, Illya Kuryakin made his comics debut in 1965's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. #2, brought to the page by artist Joe Certa during the height of the spy-fiction craze that gripped pop culture. Published under the DC banner, this enigmatic agent has proven surprisingly durable, with appearances stretching across an impressive five decades into 2016. He's best known in the catalog through Batman '66 Meets the Man from U.N.C.L.E., a crossover gem where he shares adventures alongside Napoleon Solo and rubs shoulders with the likes of Lorelei Circe and the Scarecrow — exactly the kind of gloriously pulpy company a Silver Age secret agent deserves.