Marvel Comics has been making some of the best heroes and villains in comics for decades. While the House of Ideas has given readers some amazing battles and insane ideas, one of the places where they’ve always excelled is the character drama. A big part of this has often been the supporting characters. These are the friends of the heroes, members of their families, and their various co-workers. They’ve played an important role in humanizing the characters and lending stories the kind of “real world” drama that made the Marvel Universe look like the world outside of readers’ windows. They’ve become some of the most beloved characters in comics, and some of them have proven useful as more than just walking, talking sources of drama and character-building.
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Over the years, Marvel’s supporting characters have been taken in all kinds of directions and some of them have proven to be integral to the success of the heroes in their professional lives as well as their personal. They have skills and knowledge that make them into some of the most useful people in the Marvel Universe, becoming legends in their own right. These seven Marvel characters don’t have any superpowers but have proven to be extremely useful, helping the heroes in all kinds of ways.
7) Mary Jane Watson
Spider-Man has had many love interests over the years, but the one that fans love the most is Mary Jane Watson (Marvel editorial prefers Gwen Stacy). Mary Jane started out as a friend of Peter and Gwen’s, dating Harry Osborn and being the vivacious, party girl of the group. The death of Gwen would see her and Peter grow ever closer, eventually leading to the two of them getting married in the mid ’80s. Their relationship became a fan favorite and Mary Jane proved to be one of the best parts of Peter’s life. She was always there for him when he needed her, giving him pep talks and helping him figure out what to do next. She’s gotten superpowers several times over the years – she’s currently the host of the Venom symbiote – and has helped protect New York City right alongside Spider-Man. The only reason she’s not higher on the list is because after “One More Day” creators decided that the best thing to do was make her a problem in Peter’s life. However, this can’t erase the years of help she gave him.
6) Edwin Jarvis
The Avengers are Marvel’s premiere defense force. All of the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe have been a part of the team, and it takes a lot to keep the group running smoothly. In fact, one of the most important factors in the team’s success over the decades has been Edwin Jarvis. Jarvis was the butler for the Stark family at their Fifth Avenue mansion and when Earth’s Mightiest Heroes formed, he became the butler for the world’s greatest superteam. Jarvis proved to be an integral part of everything. He kept them fed, kept their home clean and organized. He was a shoulder to cry on and always there with a kind word. He was a butler in the Alfred tradition; while he didn’t have to sow up anyone’s wounds, he was the rock the team depended on. His training in the Royal Air Force prepared him for dealing with the worst and he proved how stalwart he was every time Avengers Mansion was attacked. While he doesn’t get the credit he use to, there would be no Avengers without him.
5) Valerie Cooper
Valerie Cooper has become a rather integral part of X-Men ’97, the government liaison officer running X-Factor, but the comic version is is a bit different. The character was first introduced in 1983, working with and against mutants according to the way the winds of the law were leading things. She became a de facto ally of the team after a while, realizing that they did more good than otherwise, and would eventually be given X-Factor. Unlike in X-Men ’97, her and the team were actually working to help mutants for the most part, not running a flying prison camp. She did everything she could to make sure the team ran smoothly with their government overseers regardless of the administration. There were times when she was forced to make dangerous decisions, like when Sabretooth and Mystique were forced onto the team in a Suicide Squad situation, but for the most part she did everything she could to keep things going. She was no slouch in combat either, something that came in handy more than once. She did what she could for mutantkind and ended up being a boon to the X-Men and X-Factor.
4) Maria Hill
Maria Hill was created by Marvel mastermind Brian Michael Bendis, taking over SHIELD at the end of Secret War. She was an antagonistic presence at first; she was tired of the superheroes using SHIELD as their personal intelligence service and war chest. In Civil War, she took the lead besides Iron Man, commanding the special Capekiller units while ol’Shellhead dealt with the superhero end of things, cementing everyone’s dislike for her. She lost her spot to Stark at the end of the conflict, but still served in SHIELD, helping keep an eye on threats and helping the Initiative with intel, transport, back-up, and de-briefings. After Norman Osborn took over, she joined the underground, helping fight against him and HAMMER, working with Thor when Asgard came to Broxton, Oklahoma. This was a turning point in her relationship with the heroes; while she was still her usual charming self (I liked her, but never trust my taste in women), she only unloaded on them when they deserved it. She worked with the Avengers on numerous occasions, keeping a rather high rank in SHIELD and helping battle threats across the world.
3) Ben Urich
The Daily Bugle is the paper of record in New York City, the epicenter of the superhero community. The paper is an award winner and that’s because J. Jonah Jameson wants the best and Robbie Robertson gets it for him. There have been some amazing writers on staff, but few are as great as Ben Urich. He first appeared in Daredevil #153, reporting on ol’Hornhead and has since become the writer of note for the paper. He’s been known to work with various heroes across the city, like Spider-Man, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and others, pooling resources for investigations, but that doesn’t mean that he’s glazing the costumed champions of the city. He’ll also report on them – for example, he’s often written about the true identity of Daredevil or that time when he wrote the expose on Krakoan resurrection, revealing that mutantkind had conquered death. He’s mentored numerous young reporters and has worked for other publications, like Frontline. Everyone reads Urich’s articles; he can sway public opinion on a dime. He’s a great ally to have and an enemy who can ruin anyone.
2) Sharon Carter
Captain America is a hero from an older time, which means he’s very much at home with sidekicks of all kinds. It started with Bucky and went on from there, with Sam Wilson probably his best-known modern partner. However, an argument can be made that Cap has a better partner out there and she’s one of the toughest women in the world, Sharon Carter. Once known as Agent 13 in SHIELD, she started working with Steve Rogers and the two hit it off. They fell in love fighting evil and since then have been having one of the most complicated relationships you can imagine. Basically, both of them are devoted to their jobs and will take long periods of time away from each other. However, there are times when they are completely inseparable. Sharon is ridiculously skilled; this is a woman in the black ops world of the Marvel Universe and she has to be able to face the deadliest bad guys and the most dangerous world-ending threats. She can get into anywhere and do basically whatever she wants and if you try to stop her, what happens next is on you. Sharon is an amazing ally because she gets it done, regardless of what it is.
1) Nick Fury
I’m going to level with you here – I will go to my grave before I put Nick Fury Jr. above his father in any way (they should have just brought over 1610 Fury, a version of the character everyone liked and was at the time traveling the multiverse who also looked like Sam Jackson; it was one of the most infuriating pieces of MCU synergy because the way it was done was so blah). An argument can be made that he could considered a hero himself, but it’s honestly been ages since he had series or anything like that; most of his adventures are spy/military thrillers, often with mature language and violence, and out of continuity. Nick Fury was the face of SHIELD for years, working with and sometimes against the heroes to keep the world safe, starting with World War II, where he worked with Cap, Bucky, Wolverine, the Invaders, and his own Howling Commandos. He was the Man on the Wall, protecting the Earth from the worst threats from beyond while also keeping an eye on the planet itself, using the Infinity Formula and Life Model Decoys to keep him spry for decades. This was a man with plots within schemes within plans within strategies; he played his cards close to the vest. Not everybody liked him, not even those who called him friend, but they all respected him and knew without a shadow of a doubt that he fought as hard as they did.
Who’s you favorite powerless Marvel character? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
