Marvel Comics Figure #523: Forgotten Characters #16/20 Leiko Wu

 

Leiko Wu is a master spy and martial artist in Marvel Comics, best known as a key ally and romantic partner to the Master of Kung Fu, Shang-Chi.

She debuted in Master of Kung Fu #33 (July 1975) thanks to Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy.

Born in Hong Kong, Leiko is a highly skilled secret agent for the British intelligence service MI6. Alongside allies like Sir Nayland Smith and Blackjack Tarr, she dedicated her life to taking down Shang-Chi's villainous father (originally Fu Manchu).

Her romantic life is notoriously messy. She was torn between her deep love for Shang-Chi and her complex relationship with fellow MI6 agent Clive Reston (whom she eventually married and divorced).

During one mission she infiltrated the UK Triads for MI6 but got pulled too deep, eventually taking over a criminal clan. She was brutally murdered by the White Dragon faction but was later resurrected through dark mysticism by Midnight Sun.

Facts: Paul Gulacy, famously based Leiko Wu's physical appearance on the acclaimed actress Shirley MacLaine, modeling her sharp, distinct haircut and facial features after her.

Despite being Shang-Chi's most prominent love interest and partner for decades in the comics, she was completely absent from the 2021 MCU film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, where her traditional role as a sharp-witted ally was loosely split between the original characters Katy and Xialing.

Here is her video:

Marvel Comics Figure #522: Forgotten Characters #15/20 Zawadi

Zawadi is a formidable warrior and monster hunter from the Marvel Universe, created by writer Roger Stern and artist Mike Manley. She made her first appearance in Marvel Universe #4 (September 1998).

Hailing from the isolationist nation of Wakanda during the 1950s, Zawadi gained superhuman strength, speed, and enhanced senses after secretly consuming the sacred Heart-Shaped Herb—a plant usually reserved exclusively for the Black Panther. 

She left her homeland after teaming up with the immortal adventurer Ulysses Bloodstone and subsequently became a core member of The Monster Hunters, a pre-Avengers team that protected Earth from giant kaiju-like threats and alien invasions during the Cold War era.

Her name means "gift" or "precious gift" in Swahili. 

Additionally, despite her comic book debut happening in the late 1990s, her character's timeline is actually retrofitted into Marvel's history, placing her primary adventures decades earlier in the 1950s. 

She is also notable for being one of the very few non-royal Wakandans to successfully consume the Heart-Shaped Herb without dying from its lethal toxicity.

and the video:

Marvel Comics Figure #520 and #521 : Forgotten Characters #13/20 Missing Link and #14/20 Fever Pitch

Missing Link #13 (later known as Lincoln Brickford) is a superhuman character created by writers Bill Everett and Roy Thomas, along with artist Marie Severin, making his first appearance in The Incredible Hulk #105 in July 1968.

The Missing Link was originally a primitive, Neanderthal-like humanoid born thousands of years ago who became trapped underground during a volcanic eruption, placing him in suspended animation. In the modern era, an atomic bomb test caused a fissure in the Earth, releasing him. The intense exposure to nuclear radiation drastically mutated his biology, transforming him into a giant, glowing creature with a glass-like crystalline body capable of generating and absorbing massive amounts of volatile radiation.

He has primarily served as a powerful powerhouse and occasional antagonist to the Hulk. Captured by foreign scientists who sought to use him as a living weapon, he was smuggled into the United States to detonate a radioactive blast on Wall Street, which led to his first monumental clash with the Hulk. Due to his unique radiation aura, his touch has the bizarre ability to trigger or reverse Bruce Banner's transformations. Over time, he sought a peaceful life, adopting the name "Lincoln Brickford" and living secludedly in West Virginia with a human family who tutored him, though his unstable, radioactive body frequently caused accidental devastation and conflicts with heroes like the Spaceknight Rom.

Fever Pitch #14 is a mutant supervillain, the character was created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Terry Dodson, making his first appearance in Generation X #50 in February 1999.

Nothing is known about his true identity or past before his mutation. When his powerful pyrokinetic abilities first manifested, the intense organic flames instantly blew off his face and eventually consumed his entire skin and body over the years. As a result, he is visually characterized as a living, flaming skeleton.

Throughout his publication history, Fever Pitch has primarily served as a terrorist and mercenary villain. He began his criminal career as a member of Gene Nation, a radical mutant group led by the Dark Beast, where he clashed with the young heroes of Generation X. Later on, he was forcibly recruited into Banshee's paramilitary group, the X-Corps (under mind control), and was also one of the few mutants who retained their powers after M-Day, briefly residing at the Xavier Institute as part of the 198 refugee group. He met a tragic end when he was injected with a weaponized strain of the Legacy Virus by the anti-mutant Sapien League, causing him to explosively detonate during a public rally, though he was later resurrected during the Krakoan era.

And here is the video with both characters coming to life...

Marvel Comics Figure #519: Forgotten Characters #12/20 Huntara

Huntara (Tara Richards) is a unique, often overlooked character from Marvel Comics who is deeply tied to the extended lore of the Fantastic Four.

She made her debut in Fantastic Four #377 (published in June 1993) thanks to the veteran comic book writer Tom De Falco and the incredible artist Paul Ryan.

Huntara is actually the half-sister of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic). Her father is Nathaniel Richards, a brilliant time-traveling scientist who ended up stranded in the alternate, futuristic reality of Earth-6311. There, he had a daughter named Tara.

Tara was taken to a dimension called Elsewhen, where she was extensively trained in martial arts and weaponry by Warlord Kargul. She eventually earned the title of "Guardian of the Sacred Timestreams".

Due to manipulation by her mentor, she was led to believe that her father was a timeline traitor and that the Fantastic Four were corrupting her young nephew, Franklin Richards (who had also been taken to the future and aged up into the hero Psi-Lord). Huntara time-traveled to Earth-616 to attack the Fantastic Four. 

However, after realizing she was being manipulated by villains like Klaw, she switched sides. She later became a founding member of Fantastic Force, a short-lived spin-off team financed by Black Panther.

Curiosity: during her time in New York with the Fantastic Force, a photographer named Paul Alvarez confronted her, claiming that Huntara wasn't an alien-world warrior at all, but rather his long-lost human sister, Mary-Elizabeth, who had been kidnapped by a man in armor years prior. This sudden mystery regarding her true heritage was left largely unresolved and ambiguous when the comic line ended.

and her video:

Marvel Comics Figure #518: Forgotten Characters #11/20 Wrangler

Laralie (her likely real name) was once a successful American rodeo queen. 

For unknown reasons, she left the arena to become a high-profile mercenary and assassin. 

Instead of superpower energy blasts, her signature tools are a lariat (lasso) and expert marksman skills with six-shooter pistols.

Throughout her villainous career, she was hired by the crimelord Damon Dran to capture the Black Widow in Hong Kong. Later on, she became a prominent member of Superia's Femizons, an army of superhuman women aiming to conquer the world and establish a female-dominated society.

She was created by the legendary writer Ralph Macchio and the iconic artist George Pérez and her first time she debuted in November 1983 in Marvel Fanfare #11.

The Name Change: When she debuted in 1983, she didn't actually go by "Wrangler"—she was just known by her civilian name, Laralie. She officially adopted the supervillain codename Wrangler eight years later when she re-emerged in Captain America #389 (August 1991).

During her fight alongside the Femizons against Captain America, Wrangler met a rather embarrassing end. Cap threw her directly into the path of her own ally, Mysteria. Wrangler was instantly knocked out by the electrical current of Mysteria's misplaced "Mist-Sticks".

and her video....

Marvel Comics Figure #517: Forgotten Characters #10/20 The Gardener

 

The Gardener (Ord Zyonz) is one of the unique cosmic entities in Marvel Comics, best known as a peaceful yet incredibly powerful member of the Elders of the Universe. 

Unlike his fellow Elders—such as The Collector or The Grandmaster, who are obsessed with hoarding or gaming—the Gardener’s sole purpose in life is to find barren or devastated worlds and transform them into breathtaking, peaceful gardens.

The Gardener made his debut in March 1977 in the pages of Marvel Team-Up #55.

He was created by renowned writer Bill Mantlo and co-created/designed by legendary artist John Byrne, with inks by Dave Hunt.

His first story takes place on the Blue Area of the Moon. Spider-Man and Adam Warlock encounter him peacefully tending to a lush, miraculous garden in the vacuum of space. The peace is disrupted when the cosmic entity known as The Stranger attacks to steal Adam Warlock's Soul Gem.

Long before Marvel officially established the concept of the "Infinity Stones" or the Infinity Gauntlet, the Gardener was already using them. In his first appearance, he wielded a mysterious gemstone purely to accelerate plant growth and keep his flora in eternal bloom. This stone was later revealed to be the Soul Gem. He eventually lost it, but later acquired the Time Gem, using it to freeze plants at the absolute apex of their beauty.

One of the most famous and dark anecdotes involving the Gardener occurred during the legendary Thanos Quest storyline (1.1.14). Thanos tracks down the Gardener to steal his Time Gem. Even though the Gardener is a pacifist and wants no part in cosmic wars, he refuses to hand it over. Thanos uses the Power Gem to amplify the Gardener's own manipulation over his plants. The power becomes so overwhelmed that the plants grow out of control, bursting out of the Gardener's body and seemingly tearing him apart from the inside out.

In later Marvel lore, the Gardener’s botanical experiments tied directly into the Guardians of the Galaxy mythos. He is recognized as the creator of the Flora colossi, the hyper-intelligent, tree-like alien species to which Groot belongs. At one point, the Gardener was poisoned and driven insane by Loki, causing him to use his cosmic powers to grow a vicious, weaponized army of Flora colossi, until Groot managed to restore his sanity.

Marvel Comics Figure #516: Forgotten Characters #9/20 Wicked

Wicked is a mutant superheroine, mostly known for being a survivor of the Genoshan genocide.

She was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Aaron Lopresti, making her first appearance in May 2004 in the comic book Excalibur (Vol. 3) #1.

Wicked was a rebellious teenager living on the island nation of Genosha. During a devastating attack by giant Sentinels that wiped out most of the island's population, her parents were killed, but her mutant powers awakened just in time to save her. She later joined a small group led by Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto to help find other survivors and rebuild the ruined nation.

She is a necromancer with the unique ability to summon ghost-like, necroplasmic apparitions from the spirits of recently deceased beings. These spirits can interact with the physical world or phase through objects.

Her real name has never been revealed in the comics. She uses the codename "Wicked" because right before the Sentinel attack, she was having a heated argument with her mother about her dark, gothic style of clothing, and her mother scolded her by calling her "wicked".

Whenever Wicked summons a spirit, she shares an empathic pain link with them. If her ghostly manifestations are attacked or injured in battle, she painfully feels their damage as if it were happening to her own body.

Here we go wickedly with my 1/21 Marvel Comics figure number 516: