5 Marvel Heroes You Didn’t Know Were Legacy Characters

Legacy superhero identities are one of the strongest aspects of long-running comic books. They allow the heroes we know and love to transcend their singular existence and become an idea that can touch an infinite number of people. Legacies show how the hero has impacted the world, and let the people they inspired pick up the torch. Even when new characters have nothing to do with their legacy, they still represent a new take on a great idea, or show how a hero has much deeper roots in the world than anyone thought. There are all kinds of legacy heroes, and all of them can be equally entertaining.

While legacy is usually more associated with DC, Marvel has more than its fair share of heroes’ mantles being passed around. Sometimes, heroes are associated with a legacy that they or even the audience don’t know about. Today, we’re going to shine a light on those great connections by taking a look at five Marvel heroes who you probably didn’t know come from a superhero legacy. While the names might not always be the same, these five take up the torch of someone who came before them, and they all represent something great. With all that said, let’s leap into these legacies.

5) Hulk

The Hulk has borne many names, from the Green Scar to the Worldbreaker, and most recently, the Fractured Son. However, he wasn’t the first with that title. The original Fractured Son was the One Below All’s original gamma behemoth, the proto-Hulk, Enkidu. Tammuz was a young man from the distant past sacrificed to a meteor that glowed with gamma energy, which allowed the One Below All to make him his avatar. He continued on a monstrous rampage for five thousand years before meeting the Eldest. She attempted to use his flesh to free the Mother of Horrors, but the One Below All murdered them both to prevent this. Enkidu was the first human cursed by gamma, and was, for all intents and purposes, the first ever Hulk.

4) Ghost Rider

For a long time, it was thought that Johnny Blaze was the only Ghost Rider, but it was revealed that not only can there be multiple, but there have been innumerable Ghost Riders before him. There have been cavemen, cowboys, and there’s going to be cosmic-spanning heroes in the future. Most famously, Earth’s first Ghost Rider was a member of the Avengers 1,000,000 BC. He was the start of the long, long line of Earth’s Spirits of Vengeance, setting the standard for how these deals would go for every vengeance-chaser that followed suit.

3) Human Torch

The most famous Human Torch is Johnny Storm, a member of the Fantastic Four, but the original Human Torch was very different. Jim Hammond was a Golden Age hero and comics’ very first android, appearing as one of Marvel’s very first superheroes. He originally faded into obscurity around the end of WWII, and Johnny was likely named after Jim in homage to one of Marvel’s foundational characters. Johnny has certainly become far more popular than Jim, but the original Torch is still present and has shown that he more than has what it takes to carry a story in Ultimates (2024).

2) America Chavez

While she normally goes by America, our resident interdimensionally charged hero is also occasionally called Miss America, a reference to her unknowingly continuing the legacy of the original Miss America, Madeline Joyce. She was another Golden Age hero who faded into obscurity after WWII, meeting her end in Giant-Size Avengers #1. There’s no outright connection between these two besides the name, but both women represent the perception of American femininity at their times of publication. They are both trailblazers and icons of a better world. Much like Captain America, they stand for what they believe their home should be, much more than what it actually is. 

1) Jubilee

Believe it or not, even the X-Men’s favorite little sister is a legacy character. The original Jubilee was a girl named Darla. She was a member of the Bratpack, who were superpowered children kidnapped and brainwashed by Mojo. She had the same fireworks power as her successor. Given how similar these two are, it’s likely that this is a case of wanting to use a character but not being able to, so they created a near-identical duplicate. Jubilee is a character who has practically faded into obscurity herself, which could mean that she’s carrying on the legacy of the original, in that regard.

Which Marvel legacy character is your favorite? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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