Pepper Potts

Virginia 'Pepper' Potts began as a sharp, resourceful secretary at Stark Industries who caught Tony Stark's eye and became one of his most trusted confidantes. Though she has no innate powers, Tony eventually built her the advanced Rescue armor, granting her flight, force fields, and repulsor capabilities.

Few supporting characters in Marvel history have proven as enduringly vital as Pepper Potts, who burst onto the Silver Age scene in Tales of Suspense #48 back in 1963, courtesy of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Over more than six decades she has grown from a fixture of Tales of Suspense and Iron Man into a fully realized figure whose 200 catalogued appearances — nine of them collector-recognized key issues — speak to a staying power that most characters can only dream of. She keeps extraordinary company, sharing pages with the likes of Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man, and Happy Hogan across the sprawling landscape of Invincible Iron Man and beyond. If you want to understand the heart of Iron Man's world, Pepper Potts is absolutely essential reading.