Marvel's heroes have always had a special something that made them so great. For many of them, that started right at the beginning. A great origin story is very important, and that's somewhere Marvel has always excelled. Reaching back into the Golden Age, Marvel has done an amazing job of introducing new heroes.
These debut comics grab readers' attention from the start. Amazing Fantasy #15 and The Fantastic Four #1 have gone down in the pantheon of great Marvel comics, created by many of the best talents to ever work in the industry. A great debut doesn't always mean the premiering character will be a star, but it certainly helps.
10 Jane Foster As Thor
First Appearance: Thor (Vol. 4) #1, by writer Jason Aaron, artist Russell Dauterman, colorist Matthew Wilson, and letterer Joe Sabino
Jane Foster's tenure as Thor was massively popular, shooting Thor back into the sales stratosphere. After Thor was rendered unworthy in Original Sin, Thor (Vol. 4) #1 dropped with the Odinson mourning the loss of Mjolnir. When Frost Giants show up on Earth, the Odinson races down there, but learns a painful lesson.
The issue ends with a woman on the moon picking up Mjolnir. It's an excellent first issue, setting up the new status quo and introducing a mystery that will carry the book forward.
9 The Original X-Men
First Appearance: X-Men (Vol. 1) #1, by writer Stan Lee, artist Jack Kirby, inker Paul Reinman, and letterer Sam Rosen
The X-Men spent decades as Marvel's most popular team. While their Silver Age start wasn't the sales sensation the book would be later, X-Men (Vol .1) #1 is still a great comic. Basically anything by Lee and Kirby from this period is brilliant and this comic is no different.
Introducing Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, and Angel to readers, the book sets out its premise and gives readers time to get used to the new concepts. Then it's all-out action, as the team stops Magneto from taking over the Cape Citadel rocket launch site.
8 The All-New, All-Different X-Men
First Appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1, by writer Len Wein, artist Dave Cockrum, inker Peter Iro, colorist Glynis Wein, and letterer John Constanza
Giant-Size X-Men #1 brought the X-Men roaring back by introducing four new mutants, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Thunderbird, and teaming them up with Cyclops, Wolverine, Banshee, and Sunfire. This is the book that made people enjoy the X-Men again.
After Cyclops escapes being imprisoned with the rest of his team on the mutant island of Krakoa, he and Professor X form a new team of international X-Men to rescue them. This comic is a milestone in Marvel history. Not only did it introduce three fan-favorites, but it propelled the X-Men into their greatest era.
7 Ms. Marvel
First Appearance: Ms. Marvel (Vol. 3) #1, by writer G. Willow Wilson, artist Adrian Alphona, colorist Ian Herring, and letterer Joe Caramagna
Ms. Marvel quickly became a sensation, and it was all on the strength of her amazing first issue. Ms. Marvel (Vol. 3) #1 introduced Kamala Khan, a Muslim girl living in Jersey City. The book did a brilliant job of laying out who she is and what her world was like, engaging readers from the start.
It ends with her undergoing Terrigenesis. It proved to be the perfect way to introduce a new character. Ms. Marvel became a sensation because this issue was enough to hook readers. The comic gave them everything they needed and tantalized them with what came next.
6 Iron Man
First Appearance: Tales Of Suspense #39, by writers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, artist Don Heck, colorist Stan Goldberg, and letterer Art Simek
Iron Man's importance to Marvel history can't be understated. He's a major mover of events and all of that started in Tales of Suspense #39. Starring in "Iron Man Is Born!", Tony Stark was a playboy arms dealer captured in Vietnam, dying of a chest injury, and forced to make weapons alongside Ho Yinsen.
From there, it's a story familiar to any MCU fan. It's a perfect little slice of Cold War comic goodness, grabbing readers from the get-go.
5 Wolverine
First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1) #181, by writer Len Wein, artist Herb Trimpe, inker Jack Abel, colorist Glynis Wein, and letterer Artie Simek
Marvel has changed Wolverine's origin often, but his first appearance remains a rollicking good time. First appearing in The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1) #181, Wolverine put himself in between a titanic tussle as Hulk and Wendigo fought.
There was really no other way to introduce Wolverine. The ol' Canucklehead was there on behalf of the Canadian government, setting up that portion of who he was. That and the fighting was all readers had to go by and it was enough to keep them tantalized until his next appearance in Giant-Size X-Men #1.
4 Hulk
First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 1) #1, by writer Stan Lee, artist Jack Kirby, inker Paul Reinman, and letterer Artie Simek
The Hulk is a titan, battling Marvel's most powerful villains and heroes. The Jade Giant was introduced in The Incredible Hulk #1. The book introduces Bruce Banner and his supporting cast, before getting to the fireworks. It ends with the birth of the Hulk.
This story expertly melded horror, sci-fi, and superheroes. It was a modern day Jekyll and Hyde, if that stroy was expertly drawn by Jack Kirby, that is. The Hulk's first series didn't last very long, but this inaugural issue was a masterpiece. It introduced readers to Marvel's greatest monster.
3 Captain America
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1, by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby
Captain America wasn't Marvel's first superhero, but he was the one that truly made the publisher a contender in the Golden Age. Cap first appeared in Captain America Comics #1. The proverbial 98 pound weakling, Rogers wanted to fight the Nazis no matter what. He got that chance because of the Super-Soldier program.
He becomes Captain America, and his first act is getting the Nazi spy who killed Super-Soldier Serum creator Doctor Erskine. There are several more stories in the book, but that's the one that everyone remembers. It's an amazing debut, one that created a legend.
2 Fantastic Four
First Appearance: Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #1, by writer Stan Lee, artist Jack Kirby, inkers George Klein and Christopher Rule, colorist Stan Goldberg, and letterer Artie Simek
The Fantastic Four is Marvel's First Family, and their first appearance was the beginning of the Marvel Universe as everyone knows it. Marvel had been out of the superhero business for years, but DC's success motivated them to take another stab at it. This issue introduced Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Sue Storm, and her brother Johnny, who had a great destiny ahead of them.
The story is told in the past, showing how the FF got their powers in the fateful space mission that changed their lives, and in the present where they're fighting Mole Man and his monsters. It's Lee and Kirby gold, giving readers a brilliant story with amazing art.
1 Spider-Man
First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15, by writer Stan Lee, artist Steve Ditko, colorist Stan Goldberg, and letterer Artie Simek
Peter Parker's Spider-Man journey began in Amazing Fantasy #15. Fans met the bookish young man, witnessed the accident that gave him his power, and watched his uncle die, killed by a burglar he could have stopped.
This story lays out the perfect Marvel origin. It introduces Spider-Man and his world, gives him his powers, and then shakes things up completely. It's the story that every other Marvel debut wishes it could be, a succinct little masterpiece that sums up everything about Spidey in just 11 pages.