Sharon Carter

Niece of Captain America's wartime love Peggy Carter, Sharon followed her aunt's heroic example by joining S.H.I.E.L.D., becoming a highly skilled field agent who frequently partnered with Steve Rogers as Agent 13.

Few characters in Marvel's Silver Age lineup have proven as enduringly vital as Sharon Carter, who burst onto the scene in Tales of Suspense #85 in 1967, courtesy of the legendary creative duo of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Over nearly six decades of publication, she has remained a fixture in some of Marvel's most consequential stories, racking up 219 catalog appearances and nine key issues that collectors prize — a testament to how deeply she's woven into the fabric of the Marvel Universe. Her world is populated by the heaviest hitters in the Captain America corner of Marvel — Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, James Buchanan Barnes, and the ever-menacing Red Skull among them — and her longest runs in Captain America, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, and Secret Avengers speak to a character who doesn't orbit greatness so much as stand squarely within it. If you're serious about Marvel's spy-tinged, action-packed storytelling tradition, Sharon Carter is absolutely essential reading.