Der Aal

Slipping onto the scene in 1999 through the pages of Marvel Special #4 — brought to life by a creative team that included Karl Kesel, Frank Borsch, Sal Buscema, and Cary Nord — Der Aal is a Modern Age figure published under Hachette's German-language Marvel imprint, a fascinating corner of the broader Marvel universe. With appearances spanning an impressive stretch from 1999 all the way to 2025, this character has quietly endured across the decades, turning up most notably in Marvel Origins and Marvel Special. The company is undeniably electric: the same issues feature the likes of Daredevil, Matt Murdock, Karen Page, and Bruce Banner, placing Der Aal squarely within some of Marvel's most compelling street-level and superhero territory. Rare in the catalog and carrying that distinctive international flavor, Der Aal is exactly the kind of discovery that makes digging through the wider world of Marvel publishing so rewarding.