Gorilla-Man

Few characters can claim a debut in the pages of Marvel Age Annual #1 (1985) — a Bronze Age curiosity brought to life by a remarkable creative team including Kurt Busiek and Jim Shooter — and Gorilla-Man is exactly that kind of delightful deep-cut Marvel oddity. Over a publishing history stretching nearly four decades to 2022, this character has turned up in some wonderfully eclectic corners of the Marvel Universe, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Dr. Arthur Nagan, Ruby Thursday, and Shrunken Bones — a roster that tells you immediately this is the strange, gloriously weird end of the Marvel catalog. Most at home in titles like Heroes for Hire, Defenders, and Deadpool & the Mercs for Money, Gorilla-Man occupies that beloved niche of offbeat Marvel players who keep resurfacing wherever the action gets chaotic and unconventional. With a key issue to their name and a loyal cult following among collectors who know where to look, this is exactly the kind of character that rewards a curious fan willing to dig past the first tier.