Wolfgang von Strucker

Few villains cast as long a shadow over Marvel's espionage corner as Wolfgang von Strucker, who slithered onto the Silver Age stage in Strange Tales #156 in 1967, conjured by Stan Lee and Marie Severin. For over five decades his sinister presence has haunted the pages of S.H.I.E.L.D. titles and beyond, keeping dangerous company with the likes of Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, and Jasper Sitwell — a rogues' gallery of spies and soldiers that tells you everything about the shadowy, Cold War-flavored world he inhabits. Whether lurking through Marvel Comics Presents or menacing the pages of Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, von Strucker is the kind of enduring antagonist whose very name signals that the stakes have been raised. If you love Marvel's world of espionage, intrigue, and larger-than-life villainy, this is a character whose long history rewards the curious collector.