With Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, the Fantastic Four and more,Stan Leeco-created many of the most iconic heroes inMarvelhistory. However, not all of Stan ‘The Man’ Lee’s characters became household names - there are plenty of great creations who don’t get the love they deserve, despite many of them embodying unique concepts that have sparked great stories.
Here are the 15 most underrated Marvel heroes co-created by Stan Lee.We’ve been strict with who appears on this list, showcasing Lee’strulyunderrated creations- those who even many Marvel fans often don’t know much about. For that reason, characters like Silver Surfer and She-Hulk who have recent TV and movie appearances won’t appear, even if they do still deserve more love from fans than they get. However, wewillbe counting someheroes that Lee introducedas villains if they were later redeemed - after all, it’s the nature of superhero comics that later creators take great ideas in new directions.
Superhero narratives are almost always collaborative in comics, so while Stan Lee created all these characters, some realized their full potential under later writers and artists. It’s also worth keeping in mind that some collaborators - most famously Jack ‘the King’ Kirby - accused Lee of taking undue credit relative to his actual input.
16Atlas, aka Power Man, aka Erik Josten
Debuted in Avengers #21 by Stan Lee and Don Heck
Erik Josten first appeared as anAvengersvillain, acting as a minion of Baron Zemo under the codename Power Man. Over the years, Josten enjoyed a minor role as a recurring villain, taking the names Smuggler and Goliath while boastingionic powers similar to the heroic Wonder Man. However, the ’90s saw the character reborn inIncredible Hulk #449, as Marvel introduced a mysterious new team of heroes - the Thunderbolts.
Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley’sThunderboltsfollowed a team of former villains now reimagined as heroes, debuting during a time where many of Marvel’s greatest crime-fighters were lost in another dimension. While some of the Thunderbolts were scamming the public, others like Atlas truly embraced the superhero life. In modern comics, Atlas tends to rely on his size-changing and immense strength, although he does have other ionic abilities such as flight and phasing.
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What makes Erik unique is his story of genuine supervillain to hero, keeping a lot more rough edges than a lot of outright do-gooders.Atlas may be a good guy, but he has a major chip on his shoulder against heroes and authority figures, and has dipped back into ‘evil’ when the vigilante life has gotten too difficult. Marvel has always found the humanity in its heroes, but Atlas in particular is a good-hearted character who struggles with feeling more at home on the wrong side of the law.
15Mimic, aka Calvin Rankin
First Appeared in X-Men #19 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
An early, often forgotten X-Men villain, Mimic has the combined powers of the five original X-Men. The character has appeared sparsely since his debut, generally failing to live up to his potential. That changed inExiles #1, when Judd Winick and Mike McKone introduced an alt-universe variant of Calvin Rankin. This series takes Lee and Kirby’s original story and imagines Mimic joining the X-Men after their first clash. Able to relate to each member by sharing their mutation,Mimic becomes the X-Men’s leader instead of Cyclops, leading to a world where mutants are more accepted than in almost any other reality.
Exiles' Mimic ditches some of his original powers in exchange for Colossus' steel skin and Wolverine’s claws,becoming the leader of the Exiles- unusual X-Men characters from different realities who travel the multiverse, working to fix broken timelines.
14Mach-X, aka The Beetle, aka Abner Jenkins
First Appeared in Strange Tales #123 by Stan Lee & Carl Burgos
Another member of the Thunderbolts, Abner Jenkins was introduced as the Beetle - an enemy of the Human Torch who used a disturbing armored suit to commit acts of evil. However,Abner is another character who was sincerely redeemed as one of the Thunderbolts, becoming Mach-1 (and later Mach-3, Mach-IV, etc.) EssentiallyIron Man without the generational wealth, Abner is constantly upgrading and redesigning his suits while changing his name to match - currently, he goes by Mach-X.
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13Hercules Panhellenios
First Appeared in Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Hercules has served on the Avengers multiple times, but it’s hard for the character to stand out when he’s essentially Thor with fewer powers and a less epic attitude to heroism. While Hercules is a storied hero, he’s also prone to bluster and carelessness, turning him into a figure who few other Avengers truly respect. Dan Abentt and Luke Ross’Hercules Volume 4did a lot of work torecontextualize Hercules as a burned-out hero struggling to confront his alcoholism, giving him new life as a weary warrior who chooses camaraderie and optimism because, after millennia fighting evil, they’re what get him through the day.
12Clea Strange
First Appeared in Strange Tales #126 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Clea Strange has a fantastic premise - the niece of the demonic mage Dormammu who, instead of joining him in ruling the Dark Dimension, instead becomes a freedom fighter. Sadly, Clea has rarely had a chance to shine outside of acting asDoctor Strange’s chief love interest, but she’s characterized as a far more bloodthirsty sorcerer- a rebel warlord to Strange’s former doctor. 2021’sDeath of Doctor StrangehadClea replace her fallen loveas Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme, showcasing what makes her so unique.
11The Two-Gun Kid, aka Matthew Hawk
Two-Gun Kid #60 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Matthew Hawk’s vigilante lawyer started out as a genuine Western hero - one of several back when Old West stories had more of a presence on comic shelves. However, Steve Englehart and George Perez gave the character the final ingredient for greatness inAvengers #142,having him travel through time and join Earth’s Mightiest Heroesin the present. The Old West’s greatest gunslinger fighting crime in the present is a great pitch, especially once the Two-Gun kid gets his hands on modern-day gadgets like Hawkeye’s jet cycle. Two-Gun has spent time in both the Old West and Marvel’s present ever since.
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10Doctor Druid, aka Dr. Droom, aka Anthony Ludgate
First Seen in Amazing Adventures #1 by Larry Lieber, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Doctor Druid possesses many similarities to Doctor Strange, and was also trained by the Ancient One. The biggest difference is that Druid is a huge jerk. Originally a mix between sorcerer and Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Druid later became an antihero who walks the line between hero and villain. In Walter Simonson and John Buscema’sAvengers #294, he psychicallyforced the Avengers to name him their leader, and has had a bad relationship with his fellow heroes ever since. While Doctor Druidwantsto do good in the world, he’s often suborned by Marvel’s villains, most recently infecting Iron Man’s armor with a mystic virus after being blackmailed by AIM.
9The Inhumans - Crystal, Karnak, Gorgon and Triton
First Appeared in Fantastic Four #36 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Following their disastrous 2017 TV series,Marvel has essentially ignored the Inhumansfranchise at every opportunity. That’s a shame, because while the Inhumans are difficult to write as the outright protagonists of their own stories, they have some of the most fascinating powers in the Marvel Universe. The Inhumans are a hidden society of humans who were experimented on by an alien race, developing the tradition of Terrigenesis - a ceremony where their bodies are transformed to awaken superhuman powers.
Medusa and Black Bolt are the most famous Inhumans, but most of the royal family have compelling abilities and backstories, especially considering how later stories have developed them:
8Rick Jones, aka Sleeper Agent, aka Whisperer, aka A-Bomb, aka Bucky
Debuted in Incredible Hulk #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Rick Jones was introduced as the Hulk’s best friend and sidekick, becoming the hero’s companion after Banner saved his life. Rick later became an honorary member of the Avengers, and has worked as a sidekick and hero with many different vigilantes. He worked as Captain America’s replacement Bucky, gained gamma powers as the A-Bomb, swapped bodies with Captain Marvel, andmost recently gained his own symbiote as Marvel’s new Sleeper Agent(not the new Venom, as fans had speculated.)
Through it all, Rick has become one of Marvel’s most interesting characters - a wannabe musician always on the periphery of superhero life, both allied with Earth’s heroes and struggling with his reputation as the ultimate superhero groupie.
7Lockjaw
First Appeared in Fantastic Four #45 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
The Inhumans' family pet is one of Marvel’s most underrated heroes, mostly because he sits exactly on the line of ‘knowingly goofy but still awesome’ that comics nail but movie adaptations tend to struggle with. Lockjaw is the universe’s greatest teleporter, able to access any location including alternate dimensions. While he’s faultlessly loyal to Inhuman leader Black Bolt, he’s also a frequent ally of Ms. Marvel and a founding member of the Pet Avengers,even wielding the Infinity Stones against Thanos.
