2025 was a great year to be a fan of Marvel Comics, with dozens of new characters making their debuts – including some game-changing powerhouses who even Mephisto is scared of.
From X-Men to Captain America to the Ultimate Universe, fans met awesome new heroes and villains who will shape the stories coming our way in 2026. Here are the new characters you absolutely need to know about.
10
Hell Hulk
Debuted in Hellverine Volume 2 #5, Created by Benjamin Percy and Raffaele Ienco
A creation of the demonic scientist Severith, Hell Hulk was created as a weapon for Mephisto, but it almost killed the devilish villain when it actually awakened. While Mephisto ordered the monster destroyed, Severith was too proud of his work, arranging for the Hell Hulk to manifest on Earth, where it began a reign of terror that brought it into conflict with the Hellverine.
Hell Hulk’s most interesting power is that it emits demonic energy that causes all those around it to be consumed by rage. While the traditional green Hulk is all about the interior anger, Hell Hulk creates Hell on Earth just by walking down the street – a major threat that we’ll hopefully see again soon, albeit a character who could use some more specific motivations.
9
Silver Surfer, aka Major Kelly Koh
Debuted in Death of the Silver Surfer #1, Created by Greg Pak and Simit Kumar
An anti-alien soldier working for the Bureau of Alien Neutralization, Kelly Koh started out seeing all extraterrestrials as the enemy. However, when her boss Dennis Harmon damaged reality itself, she witnessed the kindness and nobility of the Silver Surfer and saw the error of her ways.
With Norrin Radd sacrificing himself to close a timespace rift opened by Harmon, he passed on his powers to Kelly, who took on the mission of helping outsiders, even (and especially) when it means going up against authority that heroes like the Avengers are forced to respect. Meet the new Silver Surfer!
8
Waffles the Bloodhound Sentinel
Debuted in Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 6) #9, Created by Gail Simone and Andrei Bressan
Recent X-Men comics have introduced a new breed of Sentinel – trained bloodhounds turned into cybernetic monstrosities. Basically the Terminator in dog form, the Bloodhounds were a terrifying foe… until a fight with the Uncanny X-Men’s new students reset one of them, awakening its affectionate side.
Nicknamed Waffles by its new owner Deathdream, this lethal robot dog is a surprising sweetheart… right up until someone threatens its owner. X-Men has introduced ‘good Sentinels’ before, but never this adorably.
7
Rogue Red
Debuted in Rogue Storm #1, Created by Murewa Ayodele and Roland Boschi
Introduced as part of the Age of Revelation event, Rogue Red is a duplicate of the original Rogue created thanks to a powerful artifact owned by the Collector. The new Rogue Red doesn’t have the original’s mutant powers, but packs a huge punch thanks to mystically empowered knuckledusters gifted to her by Storm.
Rogue Red is a heartbreaking character – someone who lost her true love in Gambit because he only had eyes for the original, and then was forced to hunt down and imprison her friend and mentor Storm after the goddess lost control of her powers.
Rogue Red is a hardcore fighter who runs her own X-Force, and will hopefully have a life outside the event that spawned her.
6
Ultimate Daredevil
Debuted in Ultimate Universe: Two Years In #1, Created by Alex Paknadel, Deniz Camp and Javier Pulido
Fans were ready to hate Earth-6160’s version of Daredevil because of his goofy outfit, but the concept behind it turned out to be an utter joy. This version of Daredevil is actually a godlike Beyonder who lost most of his omniscience in a heroic sacrifice.
However, a ‘blinded’ Beyonder is still incredibly powerful, and Ultimate Daredevil has a variety of meta-textual powers, including 4D karate that allows him to jump between comic panels, and ‘Reader-Sense’ that allows him to edit the comic’s script even as it plays out around him.
DD ends the issue by joining the Guardians of the Galaxy, and will be seen again in the Ultimate Endgame event.
5
Ultimate Lucas Cage, aka Luke Cage
Debuted in Ultimates Volume 3 #9, Created by Deniz Camp and Chris Allen
Also hailing from Earth-6160, Lucas Cage is a political prisoner of the Maker’s regime. When he was given superpowers by Tony Stark, Luke chose not to break out of prison, but to lead a systematic revolt, tearing down the world’s for-profit prison system, as run by AIM.
Lucas has traveled the world to form the ‘Ultimate Archipelago’ of micro-nations, forging a political movement while searching out worthy superhumans to turn into his Avengers. Look for Luke’s Avengers in Ultimate Endgame and future issues of The Ultimates, as they’ll be a major force in the war against the Maker.
4
Doom Academy’s Scoop
Debuted in Doom Academy #1, Created by MacKenzie Cadenhead and Pasqual Ferry
When Doctor Strange’s students were effectively stolen by Doctor Doom, they got to see Latveria’s magic academy. There, they made a few new friends, but the best of the lot was Scoop.
Scoop is a student journalist and the son of ‘The Editor’ – a maniacal propagandist who edits news reports to make Doctor Doom look like a hero. However, unlike his father, Scoop has scrupulous journalistic ethics.
A principled young journalist who knows what he’s about, Scoop has proved to be a genius addition to the Strange Academy crew.
3
Lady Henrietta, aka Henrietta Benjamin
Debuted in Uncanny X-Men Volume 6 #13, Created by Gail Simone and David Marquez
A mutant who can transform into living rock (as well as creating golems to do her bidding), Lady Henrietta’s story begins in the early twentieth century. Visiting Louisana to bury her mother, she encounters a whole subculture of mutants, long before the days of Xavier and Magneto.
Henrietta eventually discovered the mystical Penumbra, becoming the guardian of a realm where the souls of those who abuse mutants go to suffer when they die. Henrietta’s story is a dark, tragic tale that fills in a gap in the modern history of mutantkind.
2
Captain America, aka David Colton
Debuted in Captain America Volume 14 #1, Created by Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti
An idealistic soldier who joined the military following 9/11, David Colton did his best to become the next Captain America. In a flashback story, fans saw Colton go along with Steve Rogers on his first mission out of the ice, with the new Cap showcasing a worrying cynicism about the state of the world.
Sure enough, on a mission to Latveria, Colton snapped and instigated a massacre, and he and Steve traded blows.
While the comic implied Colton died due to flawed powers, we’ll be surprised if he doesn’t return in 2026’s upcoming ‘Road to Armageddon’ arc, as a new and improved villainous Super-Soldier.
1
Justina LaGuardia
Debuted in Giant-Size X-Men Volume 3 #1, Created by Al Ewing and Sara Pichelli
In a bold new retcon, Justina LaGuardia is the mutant who turned down Charles Xavier when he was recruiting for his second official X-Men roster (the one that introduced Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and more.) Her mutant power makes her ‘superior’ to anyone around her – stronger, faster and more powerful.
It turns out, that power applies to mutant abilities, and she was able to replicate and improve Xavier’s Omega-level telepathic abilities, wiping all memory of her from his mind. Justina has been in hiding ever since, training to master her powers and likely gathering her own team of mutant heroes. Look out for her return in 2026.
Those are the 10 best new characters Marvel introduced in 2025 – but they’re far from alone. Let us know which other Marvel newbies you loved this year, and what you think of our ranking, in the comments below.
