The Champion

Born in the Bronze Age pages of Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7 (1982), courtesy of Tom DeFalco and Ron Wilson, The Champion is one of Marvel's more deliciously singular cosmic figures — a being whose very name announces an outsized sense of self. Over four decades of appearances, this character has kept rarefied company indeed, crossing paths with the Silver Surfer, Captain America, and the Collector, among others, which tells you everything about the cosmic and earthly weight of the stories The Champion inhabits. Most at home in the pages of Silver Surfer and Avengers Assemble, The Champion may not be the most prolific presence in the Marvel catalog, but those 21 appearances carry real gravity — and any character still turning up in 2024 from a 1982 debut has clearly earned a permanent place in the Marvel cosmos.