Eel

A street-level criminal operative who debuted in the Power Man and Iron Fist corner of Marvel's urban underworld, Eel is a slippery mercenary villain with ties to outfits like A.I.M. and Batroc's Brigade, making him a persistent nuisance across Marvel's street-level heroes.

Slippery, persistent, and unmistakably a product of Marvel's Bronze Age street-level scene, Eel first wriggled onto the page in Power Man and Iron Fist #110 in 1984, courtesy of Tony Isabella and Greg LaRocque. Over four decades this villain has proven surprisingly durable, racking up appearances across Captain America, Thunderbolts, and Daredevil — the kind of resume that marks a character as genuine connective tissue in the Marvel Universe. With team affiliations spanning A.I.M., Batroc's Brigade, and even the Fantastic Four, Eel has kept some genuinely eclectic company, sharing pages with the likes of Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and the Falcon. One collector-significant key issue anchors the character's legacy — a small but satisfying reason for longtime Marvel fans to dig through the long boxes.