Michael Stockton

A product of Marvel's fertile Bronze Age, Michael Stockton made his first appearance in Marvel Feature #9 in 1973, brought to life by the creative team of Mike Friedrich and the legendary Craig Russell. The fact that his catalog trail stretches all the way to 2018 speaks to a quiet, enduring presence in the Marvel universe — one that has placed him alongside some genuinely heavy hitters, from Ghost Rider to Goliath to Dr. Nemesis, across titles like The Amazing Spider-Man and Marvel Comics Presents. He may not have the marquee name recognition of those giants, but for the dedicated collector, tracking down a character who has quietly persisted across 45 years of Marvel history — and who debuted in a book with Russell's distinctive artistry behind it — is exactly the kind of rewarding deep-dive that makes comics archaeology so much fun.