Marvel is much more straight forward than DC when it comes to tracking potential appearances. They don’t use digital titles and outside of Krakoa, you have a very reliable bet on what heroes are going to appear in what title. They also tend to favorite a wider spread of characters at any given time over DC, while also still showing a favoritism for classic characters. They don’t prefer Elseworlds in the same sense as DC, trying to focus primarily on the main universe. Characters have seasons, that can sometimes last for years, but eventually they have an off season.
The Fantasy Comic League began as a Marvel only product, so the stats provided are for the full 2020 year, up to Week 45 (Up Until November). If the heroes you are curious about cannot be found on this list, please reach out on Twitter. If the data exists, we will provide it.
The Predictions/Ratings Made are reflective of 2021 Q1
AVENGERS
Baltroc Ze Leaper (Georges Baltroc) – No Data Available
Looks like he leaped 2020 completely, but he’s teased as the part of a new Thunderbolts lineup for the King In Black event. Hopefully they stick around post KiB.
Rating: 4, Miniseries
Crossbones (Brock Rumlow) – 3.5 Points/Appearance, 4 Appearances
Crossbones is a mainstay in Captain America titles, and with Bucky and Faclon coming in and out of titles, that gives Crossbones plenty of scoring opportunities. He’s also very attached to Sin, Red Skull’s daughter, which ties him to the Skull quite a bit.
Total Points: 14
Rating: 5, On-Going
Red Skull (Johann Schmidt) – 2 Points/Appearance, 4 Points.
Red Skull has been a late addition to Captain America this year, and he’s not currently the central antagonist. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be in 2021.
Total Points: 4
Rating: 5, On-Going
Silver Samuari (Keniuchio Harada) – 2.5 Points/Appearance, 2 Appearances.
Silver Samuari is teased for the Wolverine: Black, White, and Blood miniseries. I don’t know how reliable he’ll be beyond that, but he’s crossed paths with Shang Chi and Logan enough to warrant a potential appearance in their series.
Ratings: 4, Miniseries
COSMIC
Galactus – 3.36 Points/Appearance, 11 Appearances
One of the most reliable Marvel Antagonists, he doesn’t do all that much in his appearances. Cosmic is where the heavy hitters lie for the Antagonist side.
Total Points: 37
Rating: 5, Miniseries, Frequent Guest Appearances
Kang The Conqueror – 4.67 Points/Appearances, 3 Appearances
Kang was basically teased for a larger storyline for each comic he appeared in during 2020. Kang’s going to have a good 2021, at least by his usual standards.
Total Points: 14
Rating: 4, Will Show Up
Knull – 4.33 Points/Appearance, 3 Appearances
The King In Black has arrived, blessed be his reign.
Total Points: 13
Rating: 8, Central Antagonist Of Line-Wide Event
Maestro (Bruce Banner) – 4.67 Points/Appearance, 3 Appearances
Maestro is getting a string of miniseries, but they’re dropping at an elevated pace. He’ll be great for a very short period in 2021.
Total Points: 14
Rating: 6, 2 Miniseries
Mephisto – 2.29 Points/Appearance, 21 Appearances
He’s always a contender in the upper echelons of villainy, but he’s never the first character that jumps to people’s minds. Definitely worth checking out if you want to go evil.
Total Points: 48
Rating: 5, Will Show Up
Star (Ripley Ryan) – 6.8 Points/Appearance, 5 Appearances
A new character, Star is an absolute powerhouse. She’s literally the Reality Stone. She’s teased as part of the King In Black Thunderbolts lineup.
Total Points: 34
Rating: 4, Miniseries
Thanos – 1 Point, 1 Appearance
Would it shock you to learn that Thanos only actually appeared once in the first ten months of 2020, that wasn’t a flashback to previously seen material? And that was a flashforward to material that is yet to happen, but was teased for 2021.
Rating: 5, Will Show Up
MAGIC
Kulan Gath – 6 Points/Appearance, 4 Appearances
The reason Conan is in the Marvel Universe, he’s been the central antagonist of Savage Avengers. The team heads into a final conflict with him in 2021, likely giving him strong performances in the first half of the year.
Total Points: 24
Rating: 5, On-Going
Loki – 2.27 Points/Appearance, 11 Appearances
Loki is one of the strongest antagonists, because of how he can walk the line between hero and villain. Ruling has not been the best use of Loki in 2020, but a renewed interest in being the God of Stories may take him places in 2021.
Total Points: 25
Rating: 5, On-Going
Nightmare – 3.33 Points/Appearance, 3 Appearances
Nightmare’s one of the most notable magical villains, and he’s teased for conflict against Doctor Strange in early 2021.
Total Points: 10
Rating: 4, Miniseries
Selene Gallio – 4.09 Points/Appearance, 11 Appearances
Is Selene a mutant? Yes, but she gets most of her screen time off the island. And she’s an absolute powerhouse of a character, but I fear 2020 was one of her seasons and 2021 will not.
Total Points: 45
Rating: 6, On-Going, Occasional Guest Appearance
SCIENCE
Doctor Doom (Victor Von Doom) – 6.15 Points/Appearance, 13 Appearances
Doom Reigns Supreme.
Total Points: 80
Rating: 8, 2 On-Goings, Frequent Guest Appearances
MODOK – 4.5 Points/Appearance, 4 Appearances
MODOK is usually a good performer as an antagonist and 2021 Q1 is going to be a strong start as he stars in his own miniseries, written by the Showrunners of his upcoming animated show. 2021 should be MODOK’s year, especially if people come back to the Avengers video game.
Total Points: 18
Rating: 5, Miniseries, Big Increase In Other Medium Presence
The Leader (Samuel Sterns) – 4.14 Points/Appearance, 7 Appearances
Samuel Sterns essentially became the star of Immortal Hulk towards the end of 2020. And as it heads towards it big conclusion, Sterns is sure to have a part to play.
Total Points: 27
Rating: 5, Ongoing
STREET
Absorbing Man (Crusher Creel) – 4.6 Points/Appearance, 5 Appearances
Absorbing Man has had a fantastic few years, thanks to appearances in the best books of the year. Al Ewing has done fun exciting things with Crusher’s power in Immortal Hulk and he looks to be a mainstay into the final run of issues.
Total Points: 23
Rating: 5, On-Going
Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) – 2.47 Points/Appearance, 17 Appearances
Few villains are as prominent as Norman Osborn, and he looks to be a mainstay of the Amazing Spider-Man book in 2021.
Total Points: 42
Rating: 6, On-Going, Occasional Guest Appearances
Juggernaut (Cain Marko) -3.5 Points/Appearance, 4 Appearances
2021 is going to kick off big for Juggernaut. He’s got a miniseries and a part to play in the final conflict against Kulan Gath. Being one of the good guys seems to be working out for Cain.
Total: 14 Points
Rating: 7, Miniseries and Team Book
Kindred (Harry Osborn) – 3.44 Points/Appearance, 9 Appearances
We’re currently in the midst of the big Kindred storyline, so Harry Osborn’s 2021 might be a little uncertain, but I don’t think they’ve made him Kindred just to kill him off. But I doubt his 2021 will be as a big as his 2020.
Total Points: 31
Rating: 4, Will Show Up
Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) – 2 Points/Appearance, 18 Appearances
Wilson Fisk wants to compete with the likes of Doctor Doom, Mephisto, and Norman Osborn, but being mayor has hindered his scoring capabilities considerably it would seem.
Total Points: 36
Rating: 7, On-Going, Frequent Guest Appearances
Mr Negative (Martin Li) – 2 Points, 1 Appearance
Martin is teased for Amazing Spider-Man in 2021. At the very least, that should give him a stronger performance than 2020.
Rating: 5, On-Going
Rhino (Aleksei Sytsevich) – 1.75 Points/Appearance, 8 Appearances
Rhino is one of the more prominent members of the Spider-Man Rogue Gallery and he’s teased as part of the new Thunderbolts lineup for King In Black. The only other Spider-Rogue with his appearances in 2020 was Scorpion, but he’s locked up on an alternate universe for the time being.
Total Points: 14
Rating: 5, Miniseries, Occasional Guest Appearances
Taskmaster (Tony Masters) – 3.86 Points/Appearance, 8 Appearances
Taskmaster is set for a nice 2021. He’s got a couple guest appearances lined up and he’s also got a miniseries of his own.
Total Points: 23
Rating: 6, Miniseries, Frequent Guest Appearances
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