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Karla Sofen
Karla SofenKarla SofenKarla Sofen

Karla Sofen

283 appearances · Bronze Age · 1979–2026 · 12 key issues
Who is Karla Sofen?

An ambitious and manipulative psychiatrist, Dr. Karla Sofen used her psychological expertise to coerce the original Moonstone into willingly surrendering the alien Kree gravity stone he carried, allowing her to absorb it into her own body and gain incredible superhuman powers.

Karla Sofen has been one of Marvel's most compellingly complex figures since Roger Stern and Sal Buscema introduced her in The Incredible Hulk #231 back in 1979 — a Bronze Age debut that launched nearly five decades of appearances across 259 catalog entries and 12 collector-recognized key issues. She's most deeply woven into the fabric of Thunderbolts, Dark Avengers, and Ms. Marvel, series that thrive on moral ambiguity and shifting allegiances, and she keeps genuinely electrifying company — sharing pages with Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Wolverine, and Ms. Marvel herself. Whether you're a longtime reader who's tracked her journey across the Bronze Age and beyond or a newer fan drawn in by the darker corners of the Marvel Universe, Karla Sofen is exactly the kind of layered, enduring character who rewards every issue you hunt down.

Identity

Real name. Dr. Karla Sofen

Powers. Expert Psychologist: Sofen is a trained psychiatrist.Incredible Hulk

Affiliations. Lethal Legion ; Ravencroft Institute Formerly: ; Thunderbolts ; Army of Evil ; Masters of Evil ; Dark Avengers (H.A.M.M.E.R./Initiative) ; Femizons ; the Corporation ; Aaru Project ; former ally of Doctor Faustus ; former partner of Blackout (Marcus Daniels)

★ First appearance
Captain America #192
Dec 1975

Trivia

  • Karla Sofen was retconned as the original Moonstone's psychiatrist, a role she exploited by psychologically manipulating him into surrendering the Kree gravity stone that transformed her into Moonstone herself.screenrant.com
  • Her most notorious turn as a 'hero' came on Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers, where she publicly posed as Ms. Marvel while knowingly serving a supervillain team.screenrant.com
  • Unusually for a Marvel villain, Karla was written as a licensed psychologist, and her stories leaned into that credential to depict her abusing patients through manipulation and self-harm rather than relying on straightforward physical violence.screenrant.com
  • Brian Michael Bendis has written more of Karla Sofen's comics than any other writer in our catalog — 30 issues.

Top series

Covers through the years — 1979–2023

The Incredible Hulk #231 1979
The Incredible Hulk #231
The Avengers #228 1983
The Avengers #228
The Avengers #279 1987
The Avengers #279
Fantastic Four Annual #23 1990
Fantastic Four Annual #23
Captain America #411 1993
Captain America #411
The Incredible Hulk #449 1997
The Incredible Hulk #449
Spider-Woman #10 2000
Spider-Woman #10
Thunderbolts #74 2003
Thunderbolts #74
Dark Avengers #1 2009
Dark Avengers #1
Siege: X-Men #[nn] 2010
Siege: X-Men #[nn]
Dark Avengers #184 2013
Dark Avengers #184
Thunderbolts #4 2016
Thunderbolts #4
Venom Epic Collection #2 2021
Venom Epic Collection #2
New Mutants Lethal Legion #3 2023
New Mutants Lethal Legion #3

Appearances (1–150 of 283, oldest first)

The Incredible Hulk (1968)
Captain America (1968)
The Avengers (1963)
Dazzler (1981)
#32
Titans (1976)
Ombrax-Saga (1986)
Fantastic Four Annual (1963)
#23
Avengers: Death Trap, The Vault (1991)
Venom: Deathtrap: The Vault (1993)
Tales of the Marvel Universe (1997)
#1
Deadpool (1997)
#3
Marvel Vision (1996)
Thunderbolts '97 (1997)
Star Trek / X-Men: 2nd Contact (1998)
#1
Marvel Special (1997)
Die Rächer (1999)
#6
Iron Man 1999 (1999)
Marvel Crossover (1999)
#17
Captain Marvel (2000)
#3
Spider-Woman (1999)
#10
Mutant X (1998)
#18
Thor (1998)
Fantastic Four (1998)
#28
The Uncanny X-Men (1981)
Avengers 2000 (2000)
Hellcat (2000)
#1
Maximum Security (2000)
#2
Earth X (2000)
Marvel Heroes Hors Série (2001)
#7
Thunderbolts: Justice Like Lightning (2001)
Giant Size Mini-Marvels: Starring Spidey (2002)
#1
Marvel Universe: Millennial Visions (2002)
#1
Marvel Heroes (2001)
#29
Avengers / Thunderbolts (2004)
Avengers Finale (2005)
#1
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: The Women of Marvel 2005 (2005)
Avengers Assemble (2004)
#4
Thunderbolts: Guardian Protocols (2007)
Marvel Zombies: Dead Days (2007)
Nova (2007)
#1
Thunderbolts: Breaking Point (2008)
#1
WWH Aftersmash: Damage Control (2008)
Thunderbolts: International Incident (2008)
#1
Thunderbolts: Reason in Madness (2008)
#1
Secret Invasion (2009)
Captain America: Road to Reborn (2010)
Spider-Man: Red-Headed Stranger (2009)
Mighty Avengers: Earth's Mightiest (2009)
Dark Avengers (2009)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z (2008)
#7
The Mighty Avengers (2007)
#21
Ms. Marvel (2006)
Incredible Hercules (2008)
Dark Reign: The Cabal (2009)
#1
Dark Reign: Hawkeye (2009)
The Amazing Spider-Man (1999)
Dark Avengers / Uncanny X-Men: Utopia (2009)
#1
Thor by J. Michael Straczynski (2008)
#2
Dark Wolverine (2009)
#75
Wolverine: Dark Wolverine (2009)
#1
Hulk (2008)
#13