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 stats provided are for the first 27 weeks of 2021. Putting these lists together takes a lot of time and effort, so we focus on strong performers and those with guaranteed titles. If there are heroes you are curious about that cannot be found on this list, please reach out on Twitter. If the data exists, we will provide it.
The Predictions/Ratings Made Are For October 2021
OTHER
Conan – 84 Points, 10 Appearances (12th Overall)
What a great choice for your team.
Titles: Conan, Savage Avengers
Deadpool (Wade Wilson) – 54 Points, 8 Appearances (34th Overall)
2021 continues the off-tread of Deadpool not getting a lot of attention. Is this a trend? Has Deadpool’s time in the light come to an end? He’s got no title, his mini had an issue cut off, and he’s not crossing over much.
Titles: Deadpool: Black, White & Blood
Harpy (Betty Banner) – 10 Points, 4 Appearances (198th Overall)
The finale of Immortal Hulk carries Betty into the Defenders, where she remains in the hands of Al Ewing.
Titles: Defenders, Immortal Hulk
Namor – 60 Points, 13 Appearances (26th Overall)
Namor’s had a large focus on him over the past couple years. 2021 gave him his own tie-in to King In Black and an antagonistic focus against the Avengers.
Titles: Avengers
Shanna – 19 Points over 4 Appearances (132nd Overall)
So Ka-Zar has an miniseries, but he has no data and I want to highlight Shanna has done really well in her Appearances in 2021 so far.
Titles: Ka-Zar: Lord Of The Savage Land
AVENGERS
Black Panther (T’Challa) – 110 Points, 27 Appearances (9th Overall)
Black Panther is having a great 2021 in the comics. The finale of Coates’ run had him making big moves, he still lead the Avengers, and now he’s about to get a new origin story tied to Storm.
Titles: Avengers, Black Panther, Black Panther Legends, Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers, Last Annihilation: Wakanda, Phoenix Song: Echo #1
Black Widow (Natasha Romanov) – 74 Points, 10 Appearances (17th Overall)
Black Widow is one of the strongest performing Marvel characters. Her title is a great Points pool.
Titles: Black Widow
Blade (Eric Brooks) – 59 Points, 20 Appearances (29th Overall)
Blade’s future in 2021 was uncertain, but he’s been doing well for himself. Vampires are all the rage at Marvel right now.
Titles: Avengers, Darkhold: Blade, Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers, Phoenix Song: Echo #1
Captain America (Steve Rogers) – 177 Points, 45 Appearances (2nd Overall)
The second strongest character in the Marvel Universe, he’s constantly toe to toe with Logan for that silver medal.
Titles: Avengers, Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers, Phoenix Song: Echo #1, United States Of Captain America
Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) – 121 Points, 30 Appearances (6th Overall)
Captain Marvel is a powerhouse of a character, racking up meaningful appearances no matter what capacity she shows up in, be it leading role or guest star.
Titles: Avengers, Captain Marvel, Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers, Phoenix Song: Echo #1
Echo (Maya Lopez) – 43 Points, 11 Appearances (50th Overall)
Our newest Phoenix, Echo is definitely want to grab for your team. She’s also received focus from many Marvel Voices specials.
Titles: Marvel Voices: Comunidades, Phoenix Song: Echo #1
Falcon (Sam Wilson) – 27 Points, 6 Appearances (96th Overall)
If you’re wondering if the launch of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier helped Falcon, the answer is no.
Titles: Untied States Of Captain America
Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes) – 34 Points, 11 Appearances (72nd Overall)
The weakest Avenger, points wise. Hopefully this little boost in attention will get him higher up the charts to the rest of his Avengers brethren.
Titles: Avengers, Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers, Marvel Voices: Comunidades #1, Phoenix Song: Echo #1
Iron Man (Tony Stark) – 114 Points, 34 Appearances (8th Overall)
2021 has actually been an off year for Tony Stark. He’s usually in the 200 range by this time, within the top 5. This year he sits at 8th with 114 Points.
Titles: Avengers, Darkhold: Iron Man, Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers, Iron Man, Phoenix Song: Echo #1
Luke Cage – 60 Points, 18 Appearances (27th Overall)
Luke Cage has been killing it without a title of his own. And now he’s got one coming in October.
Titles: Luke Cage: City On Fire
She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) – 66 Points, 21 Appearances (22nd Overall)
Jennifer is one of the weaker Avengers picks, but she’s still doing better than her cousin Bruce. We’re currently in the midst of the World War She-Hulk arc in Avengers, which means Jen might have a strong back half in 2021.
Titles: Avengers, Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers, Immortal Hulk, Phoenix Song: Echo #1
Thor – 139 Points, 38 Appearances (4th Overall)
Thor has performed stronger under Donny Cates’ pen than he had under Jason Aaron’s. He’s a strong draft on any team.
Titles: Avengers, Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers, Phoenix Song: Echo #1, Thor
War Machine (James Rhodes) – 38 Points, 12 Appearances (62nd Overall)
Rhodey appears, but he hasn’t gotten a lot of the focus when he does. Still, between Iron Man and Captain Marvel, he should be okay for the rest of 2021.
Titles: Captain Marvel, Iron Man
White Widow (Yelena) – 28 Points, 4 Appearances (91st Overall)
The only thing holding Yelena back is Appearances. She’s having a killer year, thanks in large part to being the protagonist in Black Widow, where she was played by Florence Pugh.
Titles: Black Widow, Winter Guard
Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) – 28 Points, 7 Appearances (92nd Overall)
It has not be a great year for Bucky Barnes. Not his MCU show could pull him back up into a better performing class.
Titles: Untied States Of Captain America
COSMIC
Agent Venom (Flash Thompson) – 30 Points, 6 Appearances (86th Overall)
Flash Thompson returns from the dead thanks to King In Black. He’ll be starring in Extreme Carnage, but his fate afterwards is unknown.
Titles: Extreme Carnage
Emperor Hulkling (Teddy Altman) – 26 Points, 5 Appearances (99th Overall)
The Kree/Skrull Overlord has fared okay amongst his few Appearances, but this coming Annihilation will be a real test of his ability to rule.
Titles: Last Annihilation
Gamora – 24 Points, 7 Appearances (110th Overall)
Gamora just makes it into the top 5 of the Guardians to bank on, but one of her teammates edged her just slightly to take the title of best Guardians in 2020.
Moondragon – 32 Points, 6 Appearances (76th Overall)
The main Guardians team is pretty big these days, so I’m just emphasizing the leaders and the best three performers outside of them. Heather is the best of the others.
Titles: Guardians Of The Galaxy, Last Annihilation
Nova (Richard Rider) – 37 Points, 8 Appearances (64th Overall)
Richard Rider seems to be the main star of the Guardians of the Galaxy series, so if you wanted to fill out a cosmic slot on your roster, he’s not a bad choice.
Titles: Guardians Of The Galaxy, Last Annihilation
Rocket Raccoon – 32 Points, 12 Appearances (77th Overall)
Rocket sits proudly as the 4th best Guardians member, which is pretty good for a trash panda.
Titles: Guardians Of The Galaxy, Last Annihilation
Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd) – 27 Points, 5 Appearances (95th Overall)
Norrin’s had a solid year and hopefully the Defenders and Al Ewing’s on-going Cosmic universe keep on making use of him.
Titles: Defenders
Star-Lord (Peter Quill) – 35 Points, 8 Appearances (69th Overall)
Star-Lord’s a solid Cosmic performer, but he’s second to Nova right now.
Titles: Guardians Of The Galaxy, Last Annihilation
Venom (Dylan Brock) – 10 Points, 1 Appearance (195th Overall)
Dylan put up 10 Points in his 1 Appearance as the new Venom. He’s one to watch for sure, great stealth pick.
Titles: Venom
Venom (Eddie Brock) – 63 Points, 8 Appearances (18th Overall)
King In Black changed Eddie Brock in a pretty big way and his on-going series is now going to be written by two of the biggest talents in the comics game, one of which is the architect for Marvel’s Cosmic line. I’d keep an eye on Eddie.
Titles: Venom
Wiccan (Billy Kaplan) – 17 Points, 5 Appearances (142nd Overall)
Billy’s doing good by Young Avengers standards, but he’s not breaking the bank for a team either.
Titles: Last Annihilation, Trial Of Magneto
FANTASTIC FOUR
Brainstorm (Valeria Richards) – 14 Points, 7 Appearances (164th Overall)
I don’t want to talk about this.
Titles: Fantastic Four
Human Torch (Johnny Storm) – 52 Points, 16 Appearances (38th Overall)
Slott’s influence on these characters is clear here, as favourite Johnny Storm gets a bump up to second best FF Member.
Titles: Fantastic Four
Invisible Woman (Susan Richards) – 49 Points, 18 Points (43rd Overall)
Slott’s a bane to these characters. All of them were doing around the 100 Point range last year, and Susan/Reed were well past it. Susan Richards has been hit hard.
Titles: Fantastic Four
Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) – 74 Points, 21 Appearances (18th Overall)
Reed was top 5 Marvel last year, now Black Widow’s outscoring him with ten Appearances. It’s a mighty tumble he’s taken, and he’s the best performing FF Member.
Titles: Fantastic Four
Powerhouse (Franklin Richards) – 15 Points, 8 Appearances (158th Overall)
So Franklin Richards is a character that has been handicapped for some story reason. It really hurts him. He’s the worst 8 Appearance performer. That’s a lot of bunk Appearances.
The Thing (Ben Grimm) – 51 Points, 27 Appearances, (39th Overall)
So The Thing actually has the most Appearances for an F4 character, but he’s third overall. Immortal Hulk has shown him a lot of love in the past year, it’s been a great time to be a fan of The Thing.
Titles: Fantastic Four, Immortal Hulk
MAGIC
Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange)- 75 Points, 27 Appearances (16th Overall)
How much will his death affect his status in the back half of 2021? I feel like if any hero can overcome Death, it’s Stephen Strange.
Titles: Death of Doctor Strange, Defenders, Symbiote Spider-Man
Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) – 7 Points, 4 Appearances (247th Overall)
This pitiful stat will go up in the back half of the year, with a Darkhold event focused around her, as well as a murder trial.
Titles: Darkhold, Trial of Magneto
Shang Chi – 50 Points, 6 Appearances (40th Overall)
Shang Chi puts up huge Points in his Appearances. The first arc of his on-going is coming to an end in October but his movie looms close.
Titles: Shang-Chi
SPIDER-FAMILY
Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) – 68 Points, 14 Appearances (20th Overall)
Black Cat is having a great year and her biggest storyline yet, Infinity Heist, is kicking off in the back half of 2021.
Titles: Black Cat, Symbiote Spider-Man
Scarlet Spider (Kaine Parker) – 9 Points, 4 Appearances (227th Overall)
He’s a frequent guest in Iron Man, and may see a boost in profile as Ben Reilly does.
Titles: Iron Man
Spider-Girl (Anya Corazon) – 15 Points, 5 Appearances (115th Overall)
The last Spider-Girl standing, Anya Corazon continues on in the pages of Black Widow.
Titles: Black Widow
Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) – NO DATA AVAILABLE
He’s about to be the star of a thrice monthly title, so he’s one to get your hands on.
Titles: Amazing Spider-Man
Spider-Man (Miles Morales) – 117 Points, 20 Appearances (7th Overall)
Miles Morales is among the best. He’s got a team title, a solo, and frequent guest appearances. 2021 has been better for him than 2020 in half the time.
Titles: Champions, Marvel Voices: Comunidades #1, Miles Morales: Spider-Man,
Spider-Man (Peter Parker) – 285 Points, 50 Appearances (1st Overall)
The top Marvel Hero, get him while you can. However, the end of the year looks to supplant Peter in his own title, in favor of Ben Reilly.
Titles: Amazing Spider-Man, Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) – 83 Points, 15 Appearances (13th Overall)
2021 has bene a great year for Jessica, and while I think it might slow down in the back half with less Spider-Family focus, she’ll still do great with putting up points.
Titles: Spider-Woman
STREET
Daredevil (Elektra Natchios) – 41 Points, 7 Appearances (52nd Overall)
The split focus on Matt and Elektra in Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil ihas worked out really well for Elektra.
Titles: Daredevil
Daredevil (Matt Murdoch) – 34 Points, 7 Appearances (70th Overall)
A guaranteed use of senses every issue he appears, Daredevil is a safe reliable bet that doesn’t tend to rack up points all that often.
Titles: Daredevil
Hulk (Bruce Banner)- 56 Points, 11 Appearances (32nd Overall)
Bruce Banner is a snag with the Immortal Hulk going on. The finale comes in October, but he has a new on-going lined up with Donny Cates.
Titles: Hulk, Immortal Hulk, Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads
Misty Knight – 40 Points, 12 Appearances (55th Overall)
Misty Knight has had a really strong 2021 and will continue on in Iron Man. She may also appear in Captain America, Carnage, and Luke Cage related materials.
Titles: Iron Man
Moon Knight – 2 Points, 1 Appearance (327th Overall)
This will skyrocket once his on-going launches.
Titles: Moon Knight
YOUTH
America Chavez – 38 Points, 5 Appearances (60th Overall)
America Chavez puts up points when she appears and she’ll show up a few more times for sure in 2021. I hope she brings Kate with her.
Titles: Marvel Voices: Comunidades #1
Emperor Hulkling (Teddy Altman) – 26 Points, 5 Appearances (99th Overall)
The new Emperor of the Kree-Skrull Alliance, I’m sure we will see plenty of Teddy in the new year.
Titles: Last Annihilation
Ironheart (Riri Williams) – – 39 Points, 8 Appearances (57th Overall)
Riri Williams is a solid performer, building off a good 2020 into a stronger 2021.
Titles: Champions
Ms Marvel (Kamala Khan) – 71 Points, 11 Appearances (19th Overall)
Kamala is a very reliable character, even when her own title is gone. She’s in Champions, she’s got a Miniseries, and she’s a big part of the upcoming “Last of the Marvels” storyline.
Titles: Captain Marvel, Champions, Ms. Marvel Beyond The Limit
Nova (Sam Alexander) – 22 Points, 4 Appearances (118th Overall)
Sam’s been doing much better in 2021 compared to 2020.
Titles: Champions, Marvel Voices: Comunidades #1
Reptil (Humberto Lopez) – 32 Points, 3 Appearances (75th Overall)
Look at those numbers. He was putting up double digits for every Appearance he had. I hope the momentum continues for Reptil.
Titles: Marvel Voices: Comunidades #1
Shuri – 30 Points, 7 Appearances (86th Overall)
She’s a decent performer in the Black Panther title, and has a high potential to appear in a variety of titles, from the Voices collection to almost any teen/Panther related book.
Titles: Black Panther, Last Annihilation: Wakanda
Viv – 28 Points, 4 Appearances (91st Overall)
Another great pick from the Champions, she puts up points when she appears.
Titles: Champions
Categories: Previews
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