Editing Marvel Universe (section)

===Costumed superheroes and supervillains===
Within the fictional history of the Marvel Universe, the tradition of using costumed secret identities to fight or commit evil had long existed, but it came into prominence during the days of the American "[[Wild West]]" with heroes such as [[Phantom Rider|Carter Slade/the Phantom Rider]]. During the 20th century, the tradition was reinvigorated by [[Captain America|Steve Rogers/Captain America]] and the [[Invaders (comics)|Invaders]] in the 1940s, who fought for the [[Allies of World War II]].

Unlike the [[DC Universe]], few of Marvel's [[Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] characters have risen to prominence in modern publications; [[Captain America]] is one exception, and to a lesser extent, his contemporary, [[Namor]], primarily because both of these characters were reintroduced to readers and the Marvel Universe during the 1960s.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}

Marvel's most prominent heroes were created during the [[Silver Age of Comic Books]] in the 1960s to early 1970s, including [[Spider-Man|Peter Parker/Spider-Man]], [[Iron Man|Tony Stark/Iron Man]], [[Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor]], [[Hulk|Bruce Banner/the Hulk]], [[Doctor Strange|Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange]], [[Daredevil (Marvel Comics character)|Matt Murdock/Daredevil]], [[Hank Pym|Ant-Man]] and the [[Wasp (character)|Wasp]] (Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne), [[Black Widow (Natasha Romanova)|Natasha Romanoff/the Black Widow]], [[Hawkeye (Clint Barton)|Clint Barton/Hawkeye]], [[Quicksilver (character)|Pietro Maxmioff/Quicksilver]], [[Scarlet Witch|Wanda Maximoff/the Scarlet Witch]], the [[Vision (Marvel Comics)|Vision]], [[Wonder Man|Simon Williams/Wonder Man]], [[Hercules (Marvel Comics)|Hercules]], [[Ka-Zar (Kevin Plunder)|Kevin Plunder/Ka-Zar]], [[Groot]], [[Nick Fury]], [[Black Panther (character)|T'Challa/the Black Panther]], [[Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell)|Mar-Vell]] (the first Captain Marvel), [[Carol Danvers]] (also known as the first Ms. Marvel, Binary, Warbird, and the current Captain Marvel), [[Falcon (comics)|Sam Wilson/the Falcon]], [[Black Knight (Dane Whitman)|Dane Whitman/the Black Knight]], [[Silver Surfer|Norrin Radd/the Silver Surfer]], [[Jane Foster]] (also known as the second Thor), [[Warren Worthington III|Warren Worthington III/Angel]], [[Beast (Marvel Comics)|Hank McCoy/the Beast]], [[Cyclops (Marvel Comics)|Scott Summers/Cyclops]], [[Iceman (Marvel Comics)|Robert "Bobby" Drake/the Iceman]], [[Jean Grey]] (also known as Marvel Girl and Phoenix), [[Professor X|Charles Xavier/Professor X]], [[Polaris (Marvel Comics)|Lorna Dane/Polaris]], [[Havok (character)|Alex Summers/Havok]], [[Banshee (character)|Sean Cassidy/Banshee]], [[Mister Fantastic|Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic]], [[Invisible Woman|Susan Storm/the Invisible Woman]], [[Human Torch|Johnny Storm/the Human Torch]], [[Thing (comics)|Ben Grimm/the Thing]], [[Valkyrie (Marvel Comics)|Brunnhilde/the Valkyrie]], the [[Inhumans]] (composed of [[Black Bolt]], [[Medusa (comics)|Medusa]], [[Crystal (character)|Crystal]], [[Gorgon (comics)|Gorgon]], [[Karnak (comics)|Karnak]], [[Triton (comics)|Triton]] and [[Lockjaw (character)|Lockjaw]]), and [[Red Guardian#Alexi Shostakov|Alexi Shostakov/Red Guardian]].

Other notable heroes from the [[Bronze Age of Comic Books|Bronze Age]] and [[Modern Age of Comic Books|Modern Age]] from the early-to-mid 1970s to the early 1990s include [[Wolverine (character)|James "Logan" Howlett/Wolverine]], [[Storm (Marvel Comics)|Ororo Munroe/Storm]], [[Colossus (character)|Piotr "Peter" Rasputin/Colossus]], [[Nightcrawler (character)|Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler]], [[Luke Cage]] (also known as Power-Man), [[Iron Fist (character)|Danny Rand/Iron Fist]], [[Misty Knight]], [[Colleen Wing]], [[Mockingbird (Marvel Comics)|Barbara "Bobbi" Morse/Mockingbird]], [[White Tiger (Hector Ayala)|White Tiger]] (Hector Ayala), [[Shang-Chi]], [[Tigra|Greer Grant Nelson/Tigra]], [[Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)|Jessica Drew]] (also known as Spider-Woman), [[Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)|Ghost Rider]] (Johnny Blaze), [[Daimon Hellstrom]], [[Satana (Marvel Comics)|Satana Hellstrom]], [[Man-Thing|Theodore "Ted" Sallis/the Man-Thing]], [[Blade (character)|Eric Brooks/Blade the Vampire-Slayer]], [[Morbius|Michael Morbius/Morbius the Living Vampire]], [[Howard the Duck]], [[Monica Rambeau]] (also known as Photon, Pulsar, Spectrum and the second Captain Marvel), [[Moondragon]], [[Drax the Destroyer]], [[Star-Lord|Peter Quill/Star-Lord]], [[Gamora]], [[Rocket Raccoon]], [[Punisher|Frank Castle/the Punisher]], [[Moon Knight|Marc Spector/Moon Knight]], the [[Eternals (comics)|Eternals]] (composed of [[Ikaris]], [[Thena]], [[Ajak (comics)|Ajak]], [[Makkari (comics)|Makkari]], [[Kingo Sunen|Kingo]], [[Phastos]], [[Forgotten One character)|Gilgamesh]] and [[Sprite (Eternal)|Sprite]]), [[War Machine]], [[Nova (Richard Rider)|Nova]] (Richard Rider), [[Adam Warlock]], [[Power Pack]], [[Betsy Braddock]], [[Ant-Man (Scott Lang)|Scott Lang]] (the second Ant-Man), [[Black Cat (Marvel Comics)|Felicia Hardy/the Black Cat]], [[Silver Sable]], [[Kitty Pryde|Katherine "Kitty" Pryde]] (also known as Shadowcat, Ariel, Sprite, Star-Lord and the Red Queen), [[Emma Frost]] (also known as the White Queen), [[She-Hulk|Jennifer Walters/the She-Hulk]], [[Cloak and Dagger (characters)|Tyrone Johnson/Cloak and Tandy Bowen/Dagger]], [[Captain Britain|Brian Braddock/Captain Britain]], [[Squirrel Girl|Doreen Green/Squirrel Girl]], [[Elektra (character)|Elektra Natchios]], the [[New Mutants]] (composed of [[Magik|Illyana Rasputin/Magik]], [[Karma (character)|Xi'an Coy Minh/Karma]], [[Danielle Moonstar|Danielle Moonstar/Mirage]], [[Cannonball (Marvel Comics)|Sam Guthrie/Cannonball]], [[Wolfsbane (character)|Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane]], [[Cypher (Marvel Comics)|Doug Ramsey/Cypher]], [[Warlock (New Mutants)|Warlock]] and others), the [[New Warriors]], [[Legion (Marvel Comics)|David Haller/Legion]], [[Thunderbird (John Proudstar)|John Proudstar/Warpath-Thunderbird]], [[Rogue (Marvel Comics)|Anna Marie LeBeau/Rogue]] and [[Jubilee (character)|Jubilation Lee/Jubilee]].

Some of Marvel's more recent creations from the mid-to-late 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, such as [[Deadpool|Wade Wilson/Deadpool]], [[Gambit (Marvel Comics)|Remy LeBeau/Gambit]], [[Cable (character)|Nathan Summers/Cable]], [[Domino (character)|Neena Thurman/Domino]], [[Blink (character)|Clarice Ferguson/Blink]], the [[Thunderbolts (comics)|Thunderbolts]], [[Yelena Belova]] (also known as the second Black Widow), the [[Runaways (comics)|Runaways]], the modern [[Guardians of the Galaxy (2008 team)|Guardians of the Galaxy]], the modern [[Defenders (comics)|Defenders]] (based on [[The Defenders (miniseries)|the Netflix MCU version of the same name]]), [[X-23|Laura Kinney/X-23]] (a.k.a. the second Wolverine), [[Shuri (character)|Shuri]], the [[Dora Milaje]], [[Daisy Johnson]] (also known as Quake), [[Phil Coulson]], [[Melinda May]], [[Bucky Barnes|Bucky Barnes/the Winter Soldier]], [[Maria Hill]], [[Miles Morales]] (the second Spider-Man of the Ultimate Marvel Universe), [[Hope Pym|Hope van Dyne]] (also known as the Red Queen and the second Wasp), [[Cassie Lang]] (also known as Stature, Stinger, Ant-Girl and Giant-Girl), the [[Stepford Cuckoos]], [[Amadeus Cho]] (also known as the second Hulk), [[Kamala Khan]] (also known as the second Ms. Marvel), [[Hawkeye (Kate Bishop)|Kate Bishop]] (also known as the third Hawkeye), [[Moon Girl (Marvel Comics)|Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl]], [[America Chavez]] (also known as the second Miss America), [[Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes)|Robbie Reyes]] (also known as the fourth Ghost Rider), [[Ironheart (character)|Riri Williams/Ironheart]] and [[Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)|Spider-Gwen]] ([[Gwen Stacy]] of Earth-65) have become popular characters in their own right.

Prominent teams of superheroes include the [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]], the [[X-Men]], the [[Fantastic Four]], the [[Defenders (comics)|Defenders]], the [[Inhumans]], [[S.H.I.E.L.D.]], the [[Howling Commandos]], the [[Guardians of the Galaxy]], the [[Runaways (comics)|Runaways]], the [[Midnight Sons]] and the [[Thunderbolts (comics)|Thunderbolts]]. All these groups have varying lineups; the Avengers have included Marvel's major heroes as members at one time or another. The X-Men are a team of [[Mutant (Marvel Comics)|mutants]] led by [[Professor X]] and include many of Marvel's most popular characters, such as [[Wolverine (character)|Wolverine]] and others. The Fantastic Four are viewed as "Marvel's First Family" of superheroes, usually consisting of [[Mister Fantastic]], the [[Invisible Woman]], the [[Human Torch]] and the [[Thing (comics)|Thing]], as well as siblings [[Franklin Richards (character)|Franklin]] and [[Valeria Richards]]. The Defenders were an ad hoc team usually brought together by [[Doctor Strange]] which has included the [[Hulk]], [[Namor|Namor the Sub-Mariner]] and the [[Silver Surfer]], while the most recent incarnation of the team consists of street-level New York City heroes [[Daredevil (Marvel Comics character)|Daredevil]], [[Jessica Jones]], [[Luke Cage]] and [[Iron Fist (character)|Iron Fist]]. The Guardians of the Galaxy include Marvel's cosmic characters such as [[Adam Warlock]], [[Star-Lord]], [[Gamora]], [[Drax the Destroyer]], [[Rocket Raccoon]] and [[Groot]], but the team has also introduced other heroes into the roster such as [[Kitty Pryde]], the Silver Surfer, the Thing and [[Nova (comics)|Nova]]. The Inhumans are a royal family consisting of [[Black Bolt]], [[Medusa (comics)|Medusa]], [[Crystal (character)|Crystal]], [[Gorgon (Inhuman)|Gorgon]], [[Triton (comics)|Triton]], [[Karnak]] and [[Lockjaw (character)|Lockjaw]], who rule the city of Attilan. The Runaways are a group of teenagers and a dinosaur consisting of [[Alex Wilder]], [[Nico Minoru]], [[Karolina Dean]], [[Chase Stein]], [[Molly Hayes]], [[Gert Yorkes]] and [[Old Lace (comics)|Old Lace]] who rebel against their evil parents known as [[The Pride (comics)|the Pride]]. The Midnight Sons consist of supernatural heroes such as [[Blade (character)|Blade]], [[Ghost Rider]], [[Moon Knight]], [[Elsa Bloodstone]], [[Daimon Hellstrom|Hellstrom]], the [[Werewolf by Night|Werewolf]] and the [[Man-Thing]]. The Thunderbolts' original incarnation were supervillains disguised as superheroes consisting of [[Citizen V]] (a.k.a. [[Helmut Zemo]]), [[Abner Jenkins|MACH-IV]] (a.k.a. the Beetle), [[Songbird (character)|Songbird]] (a.k.a. Screaming Mimi), [[Karla Sofen|Moonstone]] (a.k.a. Meteorite), [[Fixer (Marvel Comics|Techno]] (a.k.a. the Fixer) and [[Jolt (comics)|Jolt]], while the current incarnation of the team is made up of reformed supervillains/anti-heroes working for the government: [[Deadpool]], the [[Punisher]], the [[Red Hulk]], the [[Bucky Barnes|Winter Soldier]] and the [[Ghost (Marvel Comics)|Ghost]]. Although teams of supervillains are few and far between, notable examples include the [[Masters of Evil]], the [[Emissaries of Evil]], the [[Brotherhood of Mutants]], the [[Sinister Six]], the [[Frightful Four]], the [[Lethal Legion]], the [[Legion of the Unliving]], the [[Black Order (comics)|Black Order]], the Annihilation Wave, and the [[Cabal (comics)|Cabal]].