Firestorm

Bursting onto the scene in 2005 courtesy of Stuart Moore and Jamal Igle, this Modern Age Firestorm is a DC creation who carved out a distinct place in the publisher's sprawling universe across a decade and a half. With appearances spread across Justice League of America, Firestorm, and the universe-shaking Countdown to Final Crisis, this is a character who rubbed shoulders with the absolute elite — Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Clark Kent among them. Twenty-four catalog appearances may sound modest, but the company this character keeps speaks to a genuine foothold in DC's modern mythology, and for collectors chasing the threads of 2000s DC continuity, that 2005 debut issue is exactly the kind of starting point worth hunting down.