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Curated playlist

Comics characters introduced in 1964

  • Wonder ManWonder Man, whose real name is Simon Williams, died in the very comic book that introduced him. That issue was The Avengers #9, cover-dated October 1964 and published by Marvel Comics. Writer Stan Lee created him with artists Don Heck and…
  • Mac GarganMac Gargan, a Marvel Comics supervillain, once said he would go through anything "just so long as the pay is good!" That line tells you most of what you need to know about the man before the costumes. Gargan began as a private…
  • Ned LeedsNed Leeds is a Daily Bugle reporter in Marvel Comics, and the husband of Betty Brant. In 1987, readers learned that he had secretly been the supervillain Hobgoblin. By then he was already dead. That order of events shaped everything that…
  • Daredevil (Marvel Comics character)Daredevil is a Marvel Comics hero who first appeared in an issue with an April 1964 cover date. He is a blind lawyer by day and a costumed fighter by night, dressed in a devil-like outfit. His series sold modestly for years, and it came…
  • Kraven the HunterKraven the Hunter, born Sergei Nikolaevich Kravinoff, greeted Spider-Man with a borrowed phrase. In The Amazing Spider-Man issue 15, published in August 1964, he called the hero "the most dangerous game." The line comes from a short story…
  • Black Widow (Natasha Romanova)Black Widow, whose full name is Natalia Alianovna Romanova, first appeared in 1964 as a Soviet spy sent to seduce Tony Stark. Editor Stan Lee, scripter Don Rico and artist Don Heck created her for Tales of Suspense #52. On that first page…
  • Hawkeye (Clint Barton)Hawkeye, the Marvel Comics archer whose civilian name is Clint Barton, carries a bow so stiff that a man could not pull back its string. The man worked for Cross Technological Enterprises, and he tried to draw the hero's 250 lb-f bow and…
  • MysterioMysterio is a Marvel Comics supervillain whose greatest weapon was never strength. He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #13, dated June 1964, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. He became one of Spider-Man's most enduring enemies…
  • Scarlet WitchJack Kirby considered at least five names before the Scarlet Witch became the Scarlet Witch. Jinx, Witch Woman, The Sorceress, Evil Eye and Miss Witch are all listed on the back of a splash page in The X-Men issue 4. Writer Stan Lee and…
  • Electro (Marvel Comics)Electro, the Marvel Comics supervillain who first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #9 in February 1964, can throw bolts of roughly 100,000 volts from his fingertips. Yet he is better known for losing than for winning. Stan Lee and Steve…
  • Teen TitansThe Teen Titans are a team of teenage superheroes published by DC Comics, and many of them began as sidekicks to the stars of the Justice League. In February 1978, the final panel of Teen Titans issue 53 showed the heroes, now in their…
  • Sinister SixThe Sinister Six are a team of supervillains in Marvel Comics, drawn mostly from the enemies of Spider-Man. When the first five recruits gathered, each refused to give up the honor of killing him. So they let a random drawing decide who…
  • Quicksilver (Marvel Comics)Quicksilver, the Marvel Comics speedster whose real name is Pietro Django Maximoff, first appeared in The X-Men #4, dated March 1964. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created him. He can move and think at extreme speeds, and that second half of the…
  • ZatannaZatanna Zatara first stepped onto a comic book page in Hawkman #4, dated November 1964. Writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson created her for DC Comics. Today she is counted among the publisher's best-regarded supernatural heroes,…
  • Kang the ConquerorKang the Conqueror, the Marvel Comics supervillain whose birth name is Nathaniel Richards, first appeared in Fantastic Four #19, dated October 1963. In that issue he wore the crown of a pharaoh and went by Rama-Tut. He was a criminal from…
  • Mandarin (character)The Mandarin, the greatest enemy Marvel Comics ever gave to Iron Man, began as a request made across a drawing board. Artist Don Heck later recalled that writer Stan Lee wanted a villain modeled on the old Fu Manchu stories. According to…

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