Stan Lee left behind a legacy that no other comic book creators can boast, outside of maybe Akira Toriyama. Not only did he bring about some of the most iconic superheroes, he also aided their comic book franchise by becoming the face of Marvel. He was like an old friend or a grandfather that was extremely enthusiastic about comic book heroes. Calling us all True Believers and telling us to believe in something more incredible than ourselves, he was there to make sure we made it a real experience where we lived the story along with the characters. These were the characters I truly grew up with and collected their merchandise by the truckload.
Deadpool
Generally overhyped, but striking up some good storylines, Deadpool is probably one of the best examples of perfection through parody. He is wacky, fun to watch, and actually had a very good run of comic books. He is far from the best and can may belong on some anti-hero list, but he qualifies well enough. He can be very funny, but he can also go a little overboard and sour the punchline. He may have started out as a parody villain, but he has devolved well enough to become one of the more memorable of the Marvel heroes.
Whether he be with the X-men or the X-Force, Cable has proven to be one of the most interesting characters with motives that sometimes borders along obsession. The best work with him is when he is out to defeat Apocalypse. He exploits every weakness and goes to ridiculous heights with which to destroy a nigh invulnerable villain. He has some of the best high tech gear and he is resourceful to no end. He kind of had a lame period when they gave him god-like powers and he teamed up with Deadpool, but he has always created a badass foil to his wacky antics.
Colossus
It sometimes happens that the strong man of a team comes out on top. Colossus is just an all around nice guy and comes from a different culture back in old Russia. His battles with Juggernaut are legendary and unfortunately he joins the Brotherhood of Mutants for a little while after his team up with the X-men. It's really a shame they didn't feature him more in the live action X-men movies, though it is understandable since his power is quite the CGI undertaking. They made up for it in the Deadpool movies thankfully.
Rogue
One of the most versatile characters in the Marvel roster. She also started out as a villain with the Brotherhood of Mutants, but ended up being one of the most valued X-men characters. Rogue absorbing Miss Marvel's powers and growing powerful like Supergirl made her confident and also looking awesome when beating a Sentinel's metallic brains in. Misrepresented by the movies, but given true love with Gambit in the comics, Rogue has had some ups and downs. The best iteration will always be from X-men the 1992 animated series.
She-Hulk
One of the best characters to come out of the Incredible Hulk and get her own series. Jennifer knows she's in a comic and she knows how ridiculous the concept is, so she just goes with it. She is smart mouthed, brilliant as a lawyer, and is among the best looking superheroes of the bunch. While she is not as strong as her cousin, Bruce Banner, in his green form, she has become a great hero in her own right. The best version is through the late 80's and through the 90's. You know, the one that was actually funny and cool.
Spider-Gwen
A character that came at the right time and had a great nostalgic flare to mix with spider powers. Gwen Stacy becoming Spider-Woman and then Ghost Spider was one of the best examples of bringing a character back the right way. She is one of the best things to come out of the Spider-verse, along with the initial storyline itself. Since then, she's teamed up with the Spider-verse team in something called the Web Warriors. While her recent exploits haven't been all that enthralling and they kind of ruined her story for a while by taking away her powers. Gwenom is still one of her best iterations. This character is awesome and she's even a drummer!
Hulk
The story of Bruce Banner getting nuked by gamma radiation is one that will live in the strong man tropes forever. The Incredible Hulk's battles with Abomination are classic, along with several of his other battles with giants and brutal beasts. This series has shown just how dangerous the Hulk really is, all through his comics. Nevermind those storylines where he's just Bruce Banner, it's all about transforming and bashing things! He's even beaten The Thing easily. His movies have had some ups and downs, but he also had a great TV series with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. This is one of the front runners for great superheroes and he will continue to be.
Wolverine
Once the frontrunner for the X-men as their best and most resourceful fighter, Wolverine has been all over and had his own very successful run of comic series. Introduced in the Incredible Hulk series, Wolverine went on to team up with pretty much everyone in the Marvel universe. His best comics come from his fights with Sabertooth, team ups with Spider-man and his origin story in the super violent Weapon X series. He is best when he is slicing and dicing. He's had so many parts in movies, animations and TV series like the multiple X-men series.
Thunderstrike
That's right, you read that correctly. Thunderstrike turned into a hidden gem of the Marvel series with a compelling and interesting series. His battles with Blood Axe and even Juggernaut are awesome. He was meant as a stand-in for Thor, and eventually joined him in Thor Corps for a brief stint. Eric Masterson had a lot of very good storylines dealing with new villains while also trying to discover who is behind the red skull mask of his arch nemesis wielding a magical double bladed axe. The conclusion is quite the twist and sadly, Thunderstrike has never had a real revival beyond someone else taking up his mantle for a small role. If there was ever a story to put in a graphic novel form, it's this series! Will it happen? Probably not.
Spider-man
You really can't beat the traditional sometimes. Spidey barely needs any introduction. The trope of being bit by a radioactive spider is etched into comic book history and Spider-man is literally the most profitable toy seller on the market. His storylines like Spider-verse, Spider Island, Maximum Carnage and his stint with the X-men are among the greatest in the industry. Spider-man is universally loved and Peter Parker has been through the ringer when it comes to tragic backstories and tragic stories in general. Battling the Sinister Six and the symbiotes have to be some of the best times with the web head, and he remains a hero with one of the best rogue galleries! He's often immitated, but never duplicated, Spider-man remains the best of the best.
