The creation of the Marvel Universe didn't end in the 1960s.
Sure, the incredible output of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and the rest produced dozens of classic characters from Spider-Man to the Fantastic Four to the Hulk to the X-Men and way beyond in the span of not all that many years, but any good Marvel historian will tell you that while the opening chapter of this saga may be pretty thick, you should keep on reading until the end.
Marvel.com sought to prove our point this week by seeking out respected members of our creative and editorial community and asking them about some of their favorite Marvel creations of the modern era.
It's Friday, so kick back, relax and enjoy.
KEVIN GREVIOUX (writer of NEW WARRIORS): I think the best new character in the last 20 years is by far the Sentry, created by my man Paul Jenkins. Here you have a Thor/Hulk/Superman level character who is blessed with great power, but is also both insane and quite literally his own worst enemy in his alter ego the Void. I find that kind of dichotomy fascinating. That first limited series Paul did is one of my favorite reads of all time.
WILLIAM MESSNER-LOEBS (former writer of THOR): I always liked She-Hulk. So many heroes seem to view their powers as a duty or a curse and She-Hulk just seemed to be having so much fun.
RAFA SANDOVAL (artist of INCREDIBLE HERCULES): One of my favorite characters created in the last 20 years is Venom. I thought his first appearances by Todd McFarlane were brilliant. Nobody made Spider-Man suffer like Venom. In my view,
he's one of those characters who is very dynamic and different from the stereotypical villain. Any super hero who has to fight Venom is in for a bad time.
DAVID MICHELINIE (writer of IRON MAN: LEGACY OF DOOM): It may seem an odd choice for a favorite "character," but I kind of liked the sentient Iron Man armor that Joe Quesada came up with a few years ago. I thought the idea that Tony Stark had actually created life, inadvertently or not, was groundbreaking. That point wasn't really focused on in the stories, but it was a concept that opened up all sorts of ramifications, and I thought that was pretty cool.
ARON COLEITE (writer of ULTIMATE X-MEN): Cable. It's gotta be Cable. And not the telekinetic Askanison stuff, but the original. The guy who hid acid in his metallic arm. Bad ass.
CHRIS YOST (co-writer of X-FORCE): Pete Wisdom. He was so incredibly unlikeable on the surface, and then the more you dug into him, you saw that he was a hero through and through. It was like the next stage of the anti-hero had arrived at Marvel: the Warren Ellis mean old bastard hero.
HUMBERTO RAMOS (upcoming artist of RUNAWAYS): Venom rules! He even got a movie!
KAARE ANDREWS (writer/artist of SPIDER-MAN: REIGN): I really dug Dakota North's original five issue limited series from the '80s. Hot chicks, guns, hot chicks…did I mention hot chicks? She's shown up since as a supporting character, but it's like seeing your old girlfriend from high school 20 years later after she's
married some weird guy. Love to get her back!
DAVID AJA (former artist of IMMORTAL IRON FIST): Easy one: Orson Randall. I co-created him and he has opium and two 45s. Honorable mentions to Fat Cobra's victory wenches and Bride of Nine Spiders. Oh wait, I created them too. You might be thinking I'm an egomaniac, but I'm just in a rush and didn't have much time to think about this answer.
REILLY BROWN (artist of NEW WARRIORS): My favorites would be the whole cast of characters from GENERATION X, especially Chamber and Husk. They had such unique and original powers which visually looked very cool and had interesting applications within the story.
ROB LIEFELD (creator of Cable and Deadpool): It's a tie [between] Cable and Deadpool.
RICK REMENDER (co-writer of PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL): I'd have to go with Venom. He's had the most impact as far as newer villains go for sure. He's got a great visual presence and works on a few interpersonal levels as a new classic arch-nemesis for the ol' web head.
BOB GALE (writer of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN): Ha! That's easy: Joe Quesada!
RALPH MACCHIO (Marvel Executive Editor): Okay, my favorite new character from the last 20 years is Ultimate Spider-Man. What I love about him is that he's Spider-Man as I most enjoyed him: a high school kid still screwing up all the time. It was really a dream come true to be able to edit a book where Spidey was once again in high school with all the teenage angst associated with that. I love the world that Brian [Bendis] has created for him in the Ultimate U., the cast, the villains, etc. There's something about him being 15 and still new to so many things in the world that's utterly charming. I hope he stays a student forever in our little universe.
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