Who are the most complex/layered characters in the Marvel Universe?

[OOTCS]

The Marvel character with the most complex layers is undoubtedly Paige Guthrie (AKA Husk).

Well done there.

[Crossfist]

This!

There is so much about Matt that makes him a compelling and complex character. He is a lawyer that is also a vigilante, he is a Catholic who dresses like the devil and beats people within an inch of their life. And while he has enhanced senses that benefit him greatly, he still has a disability that can hinder him. He was one of the few heroes I can think of that got their "powers" through an act of heroism as he pushed the blind man out of the way from the oncoming truck that was carrying the radioactive material. He makes mistakes and he has had to suffer the consequences for them. I like that he grew up poor and that he feels so connected to Hell's Kitchen and the people in it. He feels very human and more relatable than most of the characters in the Marvel Universe. Part of this is because writers are often given the latitude to write him in ways they may not be able to write for other characters.

I am reminded of an interview I saw with Frank Miller (I think it was part of some bonus content for the Daredevil film), where Miller states that Matt should probably be a villain given all that has happened to him in his life. Yet, he finds the strength to persevere, he doesn't give up. That to me makes him a fascinating character.

From what little I've read of DD (Miller, and everything from Smith to the end of Bendis) I think I agree. Matt I feel has a kind of chaotic psyche I relate to. He's fucked up, but he pushes on.

[DrNewGod]

It's done right less than I'd like, but The Sub-Mariner belongs on this list. Arrogant, yet noble and decent. Heroic, but not necessarily a hero in service of the surface world, and not the least hesitant to serve his own people's interests at anyone else's expense. Hot-tempered, but often wise and great hearted. Truly complex since 1939.
EaHb_U4WsAAkbPA.jpg

[K7P5V]

It's done right less than I'd like, but The Sub-Mariner belongs on this list. Arrogant, yet noble and decent. Heroic, but not necessarily a hero in service of the surface world, and not the least hesitant to serve his own people's interests at anyone else's expense. Hot-tempered, but often wise and great hearted. Truly complex since 1939.
EaHb_U4WsAAkbPA.jpg

To the utmost, I agree.

Still love his series from the '90s...

[DrNewGod]

To the utmost, I agree.

Still love his series from the '90s...

Yeah, that outfit screams 90s alright.

[scribbleMind]

Lots of great picks in this thread. I can disagree with none of them. I'd like to add that Eddie Brock has come a very long way.

[PCN24454]

Do you mean complex or complicated because they have two very different meanings.

[Immortal Hulk]

Daredevil (his history speaks for itself!)

Hulk (you can virtually anything with him:you can play the whole Jekyll & Hyde duality, you can go cosmic, phantasy, more "down to earth" - even kind of street level with Mr. Fixit -, can go just plain horror/supernatural and suspense. The theme of DID is a vital piece of the character, and you can do stories with just the interactions between the personas. This aspect alone is more than enough to justify his complexity: he always changes and evolves; new incarnations appears and others disappears. I could go on and on.

Moon Knight: the mystery about his origin and relation with a god. His personalities and the conflicts between them are fascinating, imo.

Those are what I consider the most complex. There are some layered characters, like Namor & Magneto, too!

[Zelena]

I would say Magneto, but I would take only Claremont’s stories as well as Lobdell’s and Carey’s…

If I consider everything that has been published, it’s not complexity, it’s inconsistency…

[SpideyCeo]

I think miles morales so far is more complex than peter is.

[SpideyCeo]

Mary Jane Watson -- The Love Interest as a character has fallen by the wayside because so many, rightly, see it as a kind of prop for male characters or a prize, and without agency. That's been true for a lot of ladies in comics, and definitely the case with Lois Lane. In either case, Mary Jane Watson is the most complex, layered, and interesting version of that trope...to the point that she's not just a love-interest for Peter, but the second most important character in Spider-Man after Peter Parker. So many writers (Conway, Stern, DeFalco, Michelinie, Fraction, JMS) and in Ultimate Marvel (Bendis) have dove deep and unlocked shades in her. She was the most complex and best written female character Stan Lee ever made (not that that's saying much) but she became so much deeper after that in later hands. The epilogue in ASM#122 is still today one of the most impressive feats of pencilling (by Romita Sr.) in terms of nonverbal communicating of interior character growth.


.

Its your opinion, but i respectfully disagree. To me, its not peter parker whos the most important character, its the hero Spider-Man, then Peter second. Third place is personally either norman osborn or hell uncle ben, a dead guys influence is peters reason for anything really even the reason for having the confidence to even date mj with knowin what that means as spidey.

[K7P5V]

Moon Knight: the mystery about his origin and relation with a god. His personalities and the conflicts between them are fascinating, imo.

To the utmost, I agree.

Still love his series from 2014...

[Midnight_v]

Quote Originally Posted by Immortal Hulk View Post

Moon Knight: the mystery about his origin and relation with a god. His personalities and the conflicts between them are fascinating, imo.

To the utmost, I agree.

Still love his series from 2014...

This. All of this.

[BitParallel]

Tony Stark, Tony Stark and Tony Stark.

Wait, did I mention Tony Stark? ...Yup! Tony Stark

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Its your opinion, but i respectfully disagree. To me, its not peter parker whos the most important character, its the hero Spider-Man, then Peter second. Third place is personally either norman osborn or hell uncle ben, a dead guys influence is peters reason for anything really even the reason for having the confidence to even date mj with knowin what that means as spidey.

In terms of character appearances, after Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson makes the most appearances across all comics. Jameson is in third place but not far behind.

So those are the three most important characters in the stories. The one who appear most often and recur most often...and as such the stories are about them.