8 Creators Who Secretly Defined Your Favourite Heroes

5. Chris Claremont, Kelly Sue DeConnick Et Al. - Captain Marvel

Although Carol Danvers has always been at the centre of the modern Marvel Universe, she hasn't always been depicted in a manner befitting her stature. In fact it's only recently that the character has really come into her own, and, without those recent runs, it's possible she may have never made it to the big screen in the first place.

Created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan, Danvers first appeared in the pages of Captain Marvel as a supporting character and love interest for the eponymous hero, Mar-Vell. Eventually, she gets caught up in a Kree explosion and receives the same move-set as her betrothed, and becomes Ms. Marvel (the Ms. at the time was considered quite progressive - so there's that too).

Sadly, Carol enjoyed little during her early years. Her treatment was best exemplified during the pages of Avengers #200, where Carol is kidnapped, raped and decides to spend eternity in a parallel dimension with her son (the rapist in question), and the Avengers are perfectly happy with this happening!

It was a complete joke, and it was only when Chris Claremont brought the character back for X-Men that she embarked on an upward trajectory. Claremont presided over her back-and-forth with Rogue, and laid the groundwork for Kurt Busiek and Brian Bendis to reinstate Carol as a key member of the Avengers decades later.

Arguably the biggest contribution to the character, however, was made by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Jamie McKelvie. McKelvie gave Carol her iconic red and blue uniform, while DeConnick gave her the Captain Marvel identity that defined the hero's modern self.