The Angel

Few characters can claim a pedigree stretching all the way back to 1939, but The Angel — debuting in Silver Streak Comics #1 courtesy of creators Ray Gill and Bill Everett — is a genuine Golden Age original, one of Marvel's earliest costumed adventurers. Over 85 years of publication history, this character has racked up 62 catalog appearances and eight key issues that any serious collector would want to track down, a testament to an enduring place in the Marvel universe. Marvel Mystery Comics served as a primary home, putting The Angel shoulder-to-shoulder with luminaries like Namor, Jim Hammond, and the Human Torch — the very pantheon of Golden Age Marvel — while later turns in X-Men Noir and X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain proved the character could find fresh life in darker, reimagined corners of the Marvel tapestry. If you love the raw, pulpy energy of comics' earliest days and the thrill of a character who has genuinely witnessed nearly the full sweep of the medium's history, The Angel is absolutely worth your time.