Ox

Few characters capture the gritty street-level flavor of Marvel's Copper Age quite like Ox, who muscled his way onto the page in 1987's Spider-Man [Hi-C Mini Comics] #2, brought to life by a creative team that included the legendary Sal Buscema and Bill Mantlo. Over nearly three decades — 1987 to 2016 — Ox carved out a persistent presence in the darker corners of the Marvel Universe, turning up most frequently in the pages of Daredevil, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the kind of titles where the streets feel dangerous and the threats are refreshingly human-scaled. He shares those mean streets with a notably colorful cast — Fancy Dan, Montana, Jackson Brice, and others — company that speaks to the rough-and-tumble underworld milieu he calls home. Nineteen appearances across nearly three decades may not make Ox a household name, but for collectors who love the texture of Marvel's street-level storytelling, he's a satisfying piece of the puzzle.