10 Best Marvel Heroic Legacies

Marvel started publishing superheroes in 1939, and since then has built up some of the greatest legacies in comics. DC is well-known for their legacy characters, with numerous Golden Age superheroes birthing whole families of heroes. However, Marvel has done legacy differently. Most of their heroes are more modern then their distinguished competition and took longer to build their legacies. However, numerous heroes in the Marvel Universe have created their own legacies and families of related heroes, each of them defined by the heroes who started it all. As with many things, the House of Ideas took a concept and made it their own.

Over the years, there have been some amazing families of Marvel heroes that have built up the greatest heroic legacies imaginable. They have created mantles that have been used to create all-new heroes, many of whom have become some of the best around. These ten Marvel heroic legacies have proven to be the most prestigious, their members joining the ranks of the best heroes ever.

10) Iron Man Family

Tony Stark has created numerous Iron Man armors over the years, and he’s worn all of them. He’s made the mantle of Iron Man legendary, and it was only a matter time before other people took up his mantle. The first was James Rhodes, who posed as Iron Man for a time, and would later become War Machine. The two of them worked together for years, and were soon joined by Pepper Potts in the Rescue armor. Later, Riri Williams and Victor Von Doom would get their own Iron Man armors. The Iron Man family of heroes is smaller than some others, but it’s one of the most important hero families around.

9) The Ants

Hank Pym became a superhero in 1962, and has created one of the most varied legacies in Marvel history. Pym created Pym Particles, the helmet that allowed him to communicate with ants, the stinger blasters, and the Wasp’s wings. As Ant-Man, he helped found the Avengers along with the Wasp, and since then both of them have had numerous characters take up their mantles. Scott Lang and Eric O’Grady both became Ant-Men, Nadia Van Dyne (and Hank himself) have taken up the Wasp mantle, and Lang’s daughter has used Pym Particles as Stature and Stinger. All of this is before we get to the various heroes and villains who have used Pym’s other names, like Giant-Man, Goliath, and Yellowjacket. It’s one of the largest legacies in the Marvel Universe.

8) The Thors

There have been many versions of Thor, but a lot of these are just alternate universe Odinsons. However, the Odinson of Earth-616 has built himself a pretty impressive legacy. The Odinson had Mjolnir taken away and granted to Beta Ray Bill for a time, but would regain the hammer. Later, Eric Masterson would become the new Thor, battling evil alongside the Avengers. Eric would lose the hammer when the “real” Thor came back (it’s complicated, but Eric controlled the power of Thor, while the old “thee, thou” Thor was gone; that version would eventually take control again in the mid ’90s). And, in more recent years, we’ve gotten Jane Foster as Thor, one of the most popular versions of the hero. There have been several more Thors than people think over the years, Jane’s just the latest.

7) The Summers Family

Cyclops is the greatest mutant superhero of them all, and he’s a created a legacy of excellence for his family. The Summers are one of the most powerful mutant families ever. There’s ‘Clops, obviously, and his brother Havok, who followed his sibling into the superhero game. He eventually learned that his father Christopher had become the intergalactic pirate Corsair. Then there’s his son Cable and his alternate reality daughter Rachel. Jean Grey married into the family, and we’d later learn about the third Summers brother Vulcan. Finally, Hope Summers was the first mutant born after M-Day, and given the name Summers, but at the end of the Krakoa Era we’d learn that Jean Grey impregnated Hope’s mother with the Phoenix Force, making her an actual Summers as well.

6) The Hulks

The Hulk is the strongest one there is, and has birthed a rather varied line of legacy heroes. The first was She-Hulk, his cousin, but later Rick Jones would become the Hulk for a short time (and down the road would end up as the new Abomination). His archfoe Thunderbolt Ross would become Red Hulk, and the love of his life Betty would become Red She-Hulk, and later Harpy. Amadeus Cho would join the greater Hulk family and later become the Totally Awesome Hulk, before taking the name of Brawn. The irony of the Hulks is that most of the other members of this gamma irradiated family are greater heroes than Bruce, but they all come together when the chips are down and prove that the Hulk isn’t just a monster.

5) Wolverine Family

Wolverine has become one of Marvel’s greatest heroes, but no one would have figured him for the father of a family of heroes. However, in the 21st century, Marvel has greatly expanded his role, introducing readers to two new Wolverines. First, there was Dark Wolverine, Logan’s son Daken. Laura Kinney, who was known by the designation X-23 took up the mantle of Wolverine after Logan died, becoming the third to bear the name. Later Honey Badger/Scout would join Laura, making the Wolverine family into a multi-generational unit of heroes.

4) Captain Marvel Family

Captain Marvel is a more traditional, DC-style superhero mantle. Mar-Vell was the first Captain Marvel, the Kree protector of Earth, and he became a legend. He worked with Carol Danvers, who took up the name Ms. Marvel and held it for years. After the death of Mar-Vell, Monica Rambeau would take up the mantle, and later Genis-Vell, Mar-Vell’s son. The mantle would lie fallow for a time, and Carol would take it up. However, there are also related mantles to the Captain Marvel family. After Monica stopped being the Captain, she became Spectrum and later Photon (names that Genis-Vell and his sister Phyla have also taken), and beyond Carol there have been two more Ms. Marvels: Sharon Ventura (although she’s technically a Fantastic Four hero) and Kamala Khan. The first Captain Marvel created an amazing legacy that has spread across the Marvel Universe.

3) The Spider Family

Spider-Man is Marvel’s most relatable hero and the 21st century has seen him create a whole family of related heroes. The first member of the Spider family was introduced in the mid ’90s, with Spider-Clone Ben Reilly, who would become the Scarlet Spider (later Kaine Parker, another clone, would take this mantle). There’s Miles Morales, of course, who replaced the 1610 Peter Parker after his death and came to Earth-616. Spider-Gwen also came from her own Earth. Nowadays, there’s even a Spider-Boy and Spider-Girl. It took him a while, but the Web-Head has amassed quite a family of heroes.

2) The Richards’ Family

The Fantastic Four is the First Family of the Marvel Universe. Reed Richards and Sue Storm married, and Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm joined the family as “brothers”. The two would later have two children, Franklin and Valeria, and the group has become a universe saving family. Ben ended up marrying Alicia Masters and adopted a Kree and Skrull child, while Johnny plays the heart throb. The Richards family has saved the entire multiverse numerous times, and created some of the greatest technology in the world. The name Richards means something in the Marvel Universe, as one of their descendants would eventually become Kang (oh, and Reed’s dad was a time-traveling genius as well).

1) The Captain Americas

Captain America is Marvel’s greatest hero and has created an amazing legacy for himself. As of right now, there have been five different Captain Americas: Steve Rogers, William Burnside in the ’50s, Johnny Walker, Bucky Barnes, and Sam Wilson. Bucky also has his own legacy, with Jack Monroe, Rick Jones, and Lemar Hopkins taking up the mantle. Steve has left the mantle and used the name Nomad (which Monroe eventually used) and the Captain (which only he has used). Sam has his own legacy as well as the Falcon (with Joaquin Torres). None of these heroes would have existed without the heroism of Captain America.

What are your favorite Marvel legacies? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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