This isn’t a list of the best Marvel characters, the most powerful Marvel characters, or even the ones who sell the most comics or movie tickets. Instead, this is looking at how you, as part of the general public, value and rank the various characters of Marvel. Using data survey tools, copious research, and some convos with current (and former) people inside Marvel, I’ve boiled down a list of the top 5 most popular characters from Marvel – not just comics, not just movies, not just t-shirt sales or what have you, but an overall consensus by getting out of the comics bubble and looking at the bigger picture.

One thing you’ll see from this list is that Marvel’s top five characters are all white dudes. While characters like Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Spider-Gwen have made significant strides, for decades, Marvel was hyper-focused on protagonists that were white men – thinking their predominantly male fanbase primarily wanted to read stories starring people like them (or like the type of person they wanted to be), despite the success of DC’s Wonder Woman. This mindset became a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy to the point of a fallacy, but one they’ve been able to break out of in recent years to some degree.
 

The most popular Marvel character: Spider-Man

Peter Parker wasn’t the first Marvel hero,  but just a few short years after his debut, he became the official face of Marvel, to the point he’s been the one character on their printed checks for the past 20+ years. Spider-Man is the one character inside Marvel that has consistently been so popular that he has at least two ongoing comics each month, sometimes as many as six per month. Spider-Man is also the one fans seem to be drawn to most, resulting in the most Marvel animated series, the most live-action movies, and also the Marvel hero with the most number of popular spin-off characters who seem to also be a hit – hello Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, and the whole Spider-Verse side of things.

For a hero who, in-story, is known for not having the greatest luck and becoming the proverbial underdog, Spider-Man is in many ways the epitome of Marvel as a whole.

The most popular Marvel characters, 2nd Place: Deadpool

Originally created as a reject from the Weapon X program that created Wolverine, Marvel’s Deadpool, in many ways, has become the raw voice of Marvel –  someone who can run out of blades and bullets, but never runs out of words to say, reacting to the world around him. Deadpool is also a character who went through heavily development over the years – beginning as a concept Rob Liefeld brought to Marvel, then co-creator Fabian Nicieza coalescing his personality and greatest weapon (his mouth!), then through added layers brought to the character from the likes of Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness and on to his actor/producer/animal guide Ryan Reynolds.

The most popular Marvel characters, 3rd place: Wolverine

Wolverine wasn’t created to be a leading man, but that loner spirit forged a path we have all wanted to follow since he was created by Len Wein and Herb Trimpe to be a one-off adversary for the Hulk. Originally created to be a teenage roughneck, he became the irascible anti-hero thanks to Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, John Byrne, and others in the X-Men. Forged in the fires of ‘70s western heroes like Clint Eastwood and unpredictable street-tough loners like those in Robert DeNiro movies (you know the ones), Wolverine broke through by being the contrast to the classic heroes of the Marvel U – while still having a strict moral code.

Not bad for a character with knives on his hands.

The most popular Marvel characters, 4th place: Captain America

While G.I. Joe might own the trademark for ‘Real American Hero,’ in the world of pop culture, I’d hazard a guess that, for most people, if you asked who the realest American hero in pop culture fiction would be, they’d say Captain America. While some upstanding role models in the superhero community can sometimes bristle at the responsibility and the need to remain positive, Captain America has done that with aplomb, becoming the epitome of a military hero despite not (usually) having to carry firearms.

While quietly being the subject of the greatest retcon ever done by Marvel Comics, Captain America has grown to be the pillar of the Avengers and the positive side of patriotism.

The most popular Marvel characters, 5th place: Iron Man

Can swagger be a superpower? However you classify it, Marvel’s Iron Man has it – in spades. Iron Man is a relatively late addition to this list, with his full potential only realized in the wake of the uber-successful 2008 movie that kickstarted the MCU. Much in the same way Tony Stark didn’t reach his final form until he had to put that Arc Reactor into his body and create the Iron Man armor, Marvel’s Iron Man didn’t become his fated self until Robert Downey Jr. took him on – and gave him the personality (and facial hair) that was quickly adopted back in the original comics.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• All the upcoming MCU movies, TV series, and specials on the horizon
• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst