Wasp

After her scientist father was killed by an extraterrestrial creature, Janet Van Dyne approached his colleague Hank Pym, who outfitted her with size-reducing 'Pym Particles' and implanted bio-engineered wings and stingers, transforming her into the Wasp so she could avenge her father's death.

Few characters can claim to have been present at the very birth of Marvel's mightiest team, but Wasp has been there from the start — debuting in Tales to Astonish #44 in 1963, conjured into existence by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko at the height of the Silver Age. With 1,146 catalog appearances spanning an extraordinary 63 years, she is one of Marvel's most enduring presences, an Avenger through and through who has shared countless adventures alongside legends like Captain America, Iron Man, and Hank Pym. A staggering 82 of her appearances carry key-issue status, a testament to how consistently she has landed at the center of comics history rather than its margins. If you're building a serious Marvel collection, Wasp isn't a footnote — she's a founding chapter.