Lila Cheney

Rock royalty meets cosmic adventurer — Lila Cheney burst onto the Marvel scene in 1985's Uncanny X-Men #193, a Bronze Age creation from the legendary team of Chris Claremont and John Romita Jr. that immediately signaled she was no ordinary addition to the mutant tapestry. Over four decades she's woven herself through the pages of The Uncanny X-Men, The New Mutants, and X-Force, sharing adventures with icons like Wolverine, Storm, and Sam Guthrie while racking up affiliations that span from the X-Men all the way to the Shi'ar, the Imperial Guard, and the Starjammers — a roster that speaks to a character with one foot on Earth and another among the stars. With 79 catalog appearances and four key issues to her name, Lila has proven herself a cult favorite whose staying power across 40 years is a testament to the imagination Claremont and company poured into her from the very first page. If you love Marvel characters who bridge the street-level and the cosmic with genuine style, Lila Cheney is absolutely worth tracking down.