Pro-Rata

Pro-Rata is a self-styled cosmic accountant and sorcerer who seeks ultimate financial power through a mystical key that unlocks the Great Cash Register in the Sky, making him one of Howard the Duck's earliest and most absurdly memorable foes.

Few villains make their mark quite like Pro-Rata, who burst onto the Bronze Age Marvel scene in the very first issue of Howard the Duck in 1976, courtesy of the wickedly inventive Steve Gerber and artist Frank Brunner. This offbeat corner of the Marvel Universe is exactly as gloriously strange as you'd hope — Pro-Rata shares those anarchic pages with Howard himself, Beverly Switzler, and even Spider-Man and Valkyrie, which tells you everything about the wild, genre-defying spirit of the series. Collected in prestige editions like Marvel Masterworks: Howard the Duck and the oversized Marvel Treasury Edition, Pro-Rata is a genuine piece of Bronze Age weirdness with a debut issue that any serious Marvel collector should have on their radar. Rare in total appearances but unforgettable in context, this is the kind of character that reminds you why Howard the Duck remains one of Marvel's most singular creations.