Charles Bates

Stepping onto the page in the middle of one of Marvel's most ambitious and sprawling storylines, Charles Bates made his debut in the collector-significant Spider-Man Maximum Clonage: Omega #1 in 1995 — right at the heart of the Clone Saga era, when the Spider-Man corner of the Marvel universe was at its most gloriously chaotic. Over a surprisingly durable 17-year presence, this supporting figure kept remarkable company, sharing adventures with Spider-Man himself, Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, J. Jonah Jameson, and the enigmatic Scrier. With appearances spread across Peter Parker: Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Identity Crisis, and Maximum Clonage: Omega, Charles Bates is a quiet but persistent thread woven through some genuinely landmark Modern Age Spider-Man storytelling — the kind of deep-cut character that rewards the devoted collector digging into one of comics' most talked-about eras.