Shere Khan

Shere Khan is the fearsome Bengal tiger and primary antagonist of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, adapted into comics beginning in 1942. A cunning, self-styled lord of the jungle, he harbors a deadly obsession with hunting the man-cub Mowgli.

Few villains carry themselves with quite the cold, regal menace of Shere Khan, who prowled onto the page all the way back in 1942's Real Heroes #5, making him a genuine Golden Age presence in comics. Over a remarkable span stretching into 2017, this fearsome tiger has haunted titles like Marvel Fanfare and multiple Classics Illustrated editions, sharing his jungle world with the likes of Mowgli, Bagheera, Baloo, and Akela. His appearances may be carefully curated rather than sprawling, but that selectivity only adds to his mystique — when Shere Khan shows up, it matters. For collectors with a taste for iconic literary villainy translated into sequential art across the full sweep of comics history, he's an atmospheric and rewarding quarry.