Bengal

Bengal is a deadly mercenary and martial artist whose past is rooted in the Vietnam War era, having trained relentlessly to become a near-superhuman combatant. He first clashed with Marvel's street-level heroes after emerging as a formidable assassin-for-hire.

Prowling out of the Copper Age in 1989, Bengal made a striking debut in Marvel Comics Presents under the masterful creative pairing of Don McGregor and Gene Colan — two names that practically guarantee a character with depth and visual electricity. Over a run stretching all the way to 2025, this Marvel figure has proven surprisingly durable for a character with a relatively select number of appearances, turning up across titles as varied as Avengers: The Initiative and the recent Spider-Boy. Along the way, Bengal has shared pages with a compelling cast — Tigra, Constrictor, Justice, and others — suggesting a character equally at home in street-level confrontations and broader Marvel ensemble drama. If you love discovering the quietly persistent corners of the Marvel Universe, Bengal is exactly the kind of figure worth tracking down.