10 Best Marvel Characters Who Became Superheroes Years Later

Not every superhero started out in comics by fighting villains after an exciting origin story. In fact, many superheroes spent years in comic books as sidekicks, secretaries, and even bullies to other heroes before they got a chance to become heroes in their own right. The most recent of these is Mary Jane Watson, who debuted in Marvel Comics in the 1960s and spent her entire time there as first Peter Parker’s girlfriend and then his wife. However, MJ is now the host for the Venom symbiote and is becoming a powerful hero in her own right, away from Spider-Man.

However, Mary Jane isn’t the first supporting character to become a superhero years later, and she won’t be the last.

10) Cassie Lang

Cassie Lang made her debut in Marvel Premiere #47 (1979), by David Michelinie and John Byrne, as the young daughter of Scott Lang, the second Ant-Man. Scott was divorced, and he got partial custody of Cassie, where she would spend lots of time at Avengers Mansion. However, while there, she messed around with Pym Particles because she wanted to grow up to be a hero, too. It worked, and she returned in Young Avengers (2005), 26 years after her debut in comics, when she took on the name Stature. While she died, she has since been resurrected and took on the name Stinger in The Astonishing Ant-Man #6 (2015).

9) Patsy Walker

Patsy Walker is one of the Marvel Comics characters who existed before Marvel was even a company. She first appeared in Miss America Magazine #2 (1944), created by Ruth Atkinson and published by Timely Comics. She starred in a teen romance comic book series, and it had nothing to do with superpowers. She then debuted in Marvel Comics in The Avengers #141 (1975). A few issues after her re-debut, Patsy took on the new costumed hero role of Hellcat in The Avengers #144 (1976), wearing the cat suit that Greer Nelson wore before her as the Cat. She has since been a member of the Avengers and Defenders, and she has gained magical and psionic abilities.

8) Pepper Potts

Pepper Potts debuted in Tales of Suspense #45 (1963) by Stan Lee, Robert Bernstein, and Don Heck. She served as Tony Stark’s secretary at Stark Industries, and she began to move up in the world when she took more control of Tony’s company, while also serving as a romantic interest on occasion for Iron Man, and then marrying Happy Hogan. It was 46 years after her debut that Pepper took on the role of Rescue in The Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2 #10 (2009) by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca, making her full appearance one issue later. Her armor was created to be used for rescue and defense purposes rather than for combat.

7) Amadeus Cho

Amadeus Cho was always somewhat of a hero, but when he debuted in Amazing Fantasy Vol. 2 #15 (2005) by Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa, he was more of a sidekick who was always the smartest person in the room. His powers, as they were, included being able to see things on a faster level than anyone else around him and accurately predict things that were going to happen to help Hulk and Hercules in their battles. However, 10 years later, he became a superhero when he absorbed Hulk’s gamma powers and became the Totally Awesome Hulk in 2015. He has since been slightly depowered, but remains a gamma-powered hero known as Brawn.

6) Carol Danvers

Carol Danvers debuted in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (1968) by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan. She was a United States Air Force officer and security chief at a NASA base. Through these appearances, she was a supporting character in the original Captain Mar-Vell’s stories. One year after making her debut, her genetics were altered after she was caught in the explosion of a Kree device, the Psyche-Magnitron, in Captain Marvel #18 (1969), fusing her DNA with Mar-Vell’s. It wasn’t until 1977, eight years later, that she finally debuted as the powered hero Ms. Marvel in Ms. Marvel #1 (1977).

5) Flash Thompson

Flash Thompson made his debut in the same issue as Spider-Man, with both appearing for the first time in Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962) by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. He was there as an antagonist for Peter Parker, bullying the young high school student to help show how becoming a hero was an even bigger deal when Peter became Spider-Man. Ironically, Flash was also Spider-Man’s biggest fan without knowing he was Peter. He ended up graduating from high school and joining the military, where he lost both legs in the Iraq War. This led the government to offer him the chance to become a super-soldier as Agent Venom, which happened in The Amazing Spider-Man #654 (2011), 49 years after his debut.

4) Jane Foster

Jane Foster debuted in Journey into Mystery #84 (1962) by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. She was a nurse and the love interest for Dr. Donald Blake, although she always had a stronger attraction for Thor, not knowing the two men were the same. For most of her existence, she was Thor’s love interest, but this changed 52 years after her debut. During a battle with cancer, she was deemed worthy and lifted Mjolnir, becoming the new Thor in Thor Vol. 4 #1 (2014) by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman. However, when she became Thor, her chemotherapy was flushed out, making her cancer worsen. She has since given up her role as Thor and has become a Valkyrie, starting in 2019.

3) Rick Jones

Rick Jones is one of the oldest sidekicks in Marvel Comics, debuting in The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He was the reckless teen that Bruce Banner tried to save when he was turned into the Hulk. Rick was also in the first Avengers comic, helping bring the team together for the first time, and he also served as a sidekick for Captain America and Captain Mar-Vell. He finally became a superhero 46 years after his debut when he became A-Bomb, a gamma-radiated hero, in 2008. Hulk de-powered him, but he is a superhero once again, as the new host for Toxin with the codename Captain Spider.

2) James Rhodes

James Rhodes is another Iron Man character who became a hero years after he served as a supporting player. He debuted in Iron Man #118 (1979) by David Michelinie, John Byrne, and Bob Layton, in a brief appearance as Tony Stark’s pilot and friend. He then became Tony’s personal pilot and confidant. However, four years later, he took Iron Man’s armor and became a substitute for an incapacitated Stark in Iron Man #170 (1983). He served as a member of the West Coast Avengers, but he stepped down when Stark returned. In Iron Man #281 (1992), Rhodes made his debut as War Machine, a role he has carried ever since.

1) Mary Jane Watson

Mary Jane Watson debuted, with her face partially obscured, in The Amazing Spider-Man #25 (1965) by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and made her full first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #42 (1966), designed by John Romita Sr. She became Spider-Man’s love interest and then later his wife in one of Marvel Comics’ most important weddings. However, their marriage ended during the “One More Day” event, and MJ moved on with her life without Peter after that. Things changed in 2023 when she took on the role of Jackpot in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (2023). However, she has moved up since then, and she is now Venom in Marvel Comics.

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