Here's a look at all the major comic book characters created by legendary artist Steve Ditko. Captain Atom Ditko's first major superhero creation was the original Captain Atom. Co-created with writer Joe Gill at Charlton Comics, this version of the hero debuted in 1960's Space Adventures #33.
Ditko wouldn't truly leave his mark on the character, however, until after he left Marvel Comics and returned to Charlton several years later. Spider-Man This is undoubtedly Ditko's most popular and enduring contribution to the comic book industry. While Spider-Man began life as another collaboration between Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Lee turned to Ditko instead, hoping for a character more down-to-earth and ordinary than Kirby's fantastical creations.
Ditko more than delivered, conceiving Spider-Man as a timid, nerdy teenager given both great power and great responsibility. The Spider-Man Supporting Cast Ditko is also responsible for co-creating many of the most iconic supporting characters in the Spider-Man franchise, several of whom debuted right alongside Peter Parker in 1962's Amazing Fantasy #15. That includes Aunt May and Uncle Ben, cranky newspaper man J.
Jonah Jameson, Peter's nemesis Flash Thompson and early love interests like Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy. Spider-Man's Villains Short of batman, no superhero boasts as large and varied a rogues gallery as Spider-Man. And Ditko created many of Spidey's most iconic enemies during his 40-issue run on Amazing Spider-Man.
That lineup includes the likes of Doctor Octopus, Electro, Mysterio, Sandman, Kraven the Hunter, Vulture, Chameleon and the Enforcers. The Green Goblin None of Ditko's supervillain creations loom quite as large as Green Goblin, however. According to Marvel creators like Stan Lee and John Romita, Jr.
, Lee and Ditko frequently butted heads over the direction of the character, with Lee wanting to reveal the villain's secret identity as someone close to Peter Parker and Ditko preferring he turn out to be a random nobody. Ditko himself has disputed this account, however, claiming that he was the one who suggested Norman Osborn be revealed as Green Goblin. Whatever the case, Ditko left the series with issue #38, after Osborn debuted but before he was outed as the Green Goblin.
Doctor Strange Ditko's next major Marvel project was Doctor Strange, a series that combined traditional superhero storytelling with surreal imagery and mysticism. Doctor Strange wasn't an immediate breakout hit, but it did develop a strong following among college-age readers in the mid-'60s due to its psychedelic trappings. It's safe to say that the famously straitlaced Ditko had mixed feelings about Strange's counterculture appeal.
Doctor Strange's Supporting Cast As with Spider-Man, Ditko is also responsible for establishing many of the most iconic villains and supporting players of the Doctor Strange franchise. He co-created villains like Dormammu, Baron Mordo and the Mindless Ones, as well as Stephen Strange's faithful assistant Wong and the sorceress Clea. Blue Beetle Ditko left Marvel in 1966 (for reasons never made entirely clear) and returned to Charlton Comics.
In addition to reviving Captain Atom, Ditko also introduced a new version of Golden Age hero Blue Beetle. In place of original Blue Beetle Dan Garrett was Ted Kord, a gifted inventor and athlete. This character would go on to become an integral part of the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths DC Universe in 1986.
The Question Perhaps the most beloved of Ditko's Charlton Comics creations, The Question also reflected the artist's shifting storytelling sensibilities and philosophical leanings. The Question was inspired by Ditko's fascination with Objectivism. By day, Vic Sage is a crusading investigative reporter.
By night, he dons a faceless mask and follows a rigid code of right and wrong as he punishes criminals. This hero also made the jump to DC Comics in the '80s, where he was re-imagined as a Zen Buddhist in Denny O'Neil and Denys Cowan's influential The Question series. Mr.
A Ditko introduced a second Objectivist superhero character in the form of Mr. A (a reference to Aristotle's Law of Identity). Mr.
A is similar to The Question in many respects, albeit marked by a stark white costume and an even more rigid moral philosophy. Mr. A was intended to be a less mainstream-friendly superhero and also became Ditko's first major creator-owned property.
Ditko continued to write and draw new stories featuring Mr. A into the 21st Century. The Creeper Jack Kirby wasn't the only high-profile Marvel creator to make the jump to DC in the late '60s.
Ditko made his DC debut in 1968, where he debuted The Creeper in Showcase #73. Darker than many heroes of the time, The Creeper was depicted as a former talk show host who gains incredible powers after a near-death experience and dons a garish costume to fight crime. The Creeper was spun out into a short-lived solo series, and has played a recurring role in the Batman franchise ever since.
Hawk and Dove Two issues after debuting The Creeper in Showcase #73, Ditko's next major DC heroes appeared in Showcase #75. Ditko and writer Steve Skeates were inspired by the increasingly tumultuous political climate of the late '60s when they conceived peaceful, pacifistic Don Hall and his angry, violent brother Hank. Future creators would greatly expand on the mythology of these two heroes, revealing them to be avatars of the Lords of Chaos and Order and establishing that the Hall brothers were two among many to carry these mantles.
Shade, the Changing Man After a lengthy hiatus, Ditko returned to DC in the late '70s and created Shade. This alien fugitive wears a powerful "M-vest" that grants a protective force field and projects a much larger version of himself. While Ditko himself only worked with the character until 1978, Shade has taken on new life thanks to DC's mature readers imprints.
Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo re-imagined the character as part of the Vertigo line in 1990. In 2016, the character was rebooted again by writer Cecil Castellucci and artist Marley Zarcone for Shade, the Changing Girl, part of DC's Young Animal imprint. Watchmen While Ditko himself had no involvement with DC's landmark maxi-series Watchmen, the series owes a clear debt to his work.
The cast in this series is inspired by the heroes of Charlton Comics, including Ditko-created characters like Captain Atom (Doctor Manhattan), Blue Beetle Ted Kord (Nite Owl) and The Question/Mr. A (Rorschach). According to Alan Moore, Ditko is aware of these homages and once described Rorschach as "Mr.
A but insane." Squirrel Girl Ditko's contributions to the comic book industry became increasingly sporadic in the '80s and '90s, with the artist focusing mainly on short work-for-hire projects and his own independent projects. However, he did make one final, major contribution to the Marvel Universe in 1991's Marvel Super-Heroes Vol.
2 #8. There he and writer Will Murray introduced readers to Squirrel Girl, a heroine with the powers of and ability to communicate with squirrels. That issue's infamous ending, with Squirrel Girl overpowering Doctor Doom himself, cemented her reputation as one of the most unlikely but effective heroes in the Marvel Universe.
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