Martin Preston

Martin Preston stepped onto the Marvel stage in 1986's West Coast Avengers #4, courtesy of the creative team of Steve Englehart, Al Milgrom, and Joe Sinnott — a Copper Age debut with staying power that stretched all the way into 2017, a remarkable 31-year span for a character with a relatively modest footprint. He's most at home in the pages of Fantastic Four, and the company he keeps is genuinely impressive: The Thing, the Human Torch, Simon Williams, and the enigmatic Master Pandemonium have all shared adventures alongside him. With two collector-recognized key issues to his name and a Marvel résumé that spans titles from Avengers Assemble to Avengers: Scarlet Witch, Martin Preston is one of those quietly persistent figures who rewards the deep-diving fan willing to track down his appearances across three decades of Marvel history.