Crucible

Emerging from the fertile creative soil of Mark Gruenwald's celebrated Captain America run, Crucible made their debut in issue #343 back in 1988 — right in the thick of the Copper Age, when Marvel was pushing its heroes into bold, politically charged territory. With only a handful of catalog appearances, this is a rare, niche figure whose pages are shared with some heavy hitters: Captain America himself, the fan-favorite Diamondback, and Steve Rogers. A true deep-cut for the dedicated Gruenwald devotee, Crucible is exactly the kind of find that reminds collectors why combing through late-'80s Marvel back issues is always worth the effort.