10 Greatest Comic Book Characters Introduced Since The 2000s Not from Marvel or DC

Comic books have introduced countless memorable figures over the decades, with Marvel and DC often dominating conversations about the medium. However, some of the better characters have emerged from independent publishers and creator-owned series. Their distinctive personalities, ambitious stories, and imaginative worlds often stand apart from the industry’s best-known universes.

Some have become faces of long-running franchises, while others are remembered for bold ideas and unforgettable conflicts. Across the past two decades, these characters have sparked passionate debates and helped smaller publishers compete for readers’ attention. This piece highlights the most notable figures introduced during this period outside the Big Two, demonstrating the creative range of modern comics.

10

Hazel

Hazel is the central figure in Saga, the science fantasy comic series created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples. Her parents, Alana of Landfall and Marko of Wreath, belong to societies locked in a seemingly endless war. Hazel inherits her mother’s wings and her father’s horns, marking her as the child of two hostile peoples.

The series follows her parents’ attempt to raise her while they live as fugitives from opposing military powers. Since she narrates the events from an older perspective, her account shapes the way readers engage with the conflict. Its mix of bizarre alien customs, absurd humour, and deeply personal drama gives the space opera a special emotional range.

9

Number Five

Number Five is a key member of The Umbrella Academy, the offbeat superhero comic created by writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá. Adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves alongside several other extraordinary children, he was trained to fight threats despite his youth. His ability to travel through time, however, led him into a future he could not readily escape.

After spending decades in a devastated time, Five eventually worked out a way back, although his body returned to its younger state. He retains the experience of a seasoned killer and the temperament of someone who has endured profound isolation. His clash between childlike appearance and adult competence makes him one of the series’ most fascinating characters.

8

Nolan Grayson

Nolan Grayson is a major presence in Invincible, the superhero comic created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Cory Walker. Known publicly as Omni-Man, he is Earth’s most powerful superhero and the father of Mark Grayson, whose own abilities come from his Viltrumite heritage. His immense strength, flight, speed, and durability place him among the most formidable beings on Earth.

Although Nolan presents himself as a devoted protector, his arrival on Earth serves a far darker purpose connected to the Viltrumite Empire. His massacre of the Guardians of the Globe forces Mark to question his beliefs about his father, while the comic challenges the familiar image of an invincible father figure.

7

Negan

Negan is one of the defining antagonists in The Walking Dead, the post-apocalyptic comic written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Charlie Adlard. First appearing in issue #100, he leads the Saviors, a heavily armed group that forces nearby communities to surrender supplies and submit to his authority through intimidation and violence.

His barbed-wire baseball bat, which he names Lucille, becomes a grim emblem of the theatrical brutality and dominance behind his rule. When he kills Glenn during his first confrontation with Rick Grimes’s group, the conflict shifts toward questions of fear, coercion, and how much cruelty survivors will tolerate across their communities.

6

Michonne

Marcel Green

Michonne also hails from The Walking Dead and survives through discipline, tactical awareness, and deadly skill with a blade. Her first appearance in issue #19 introduces her with a katana and two chained walkers, their arms and jaws removed. Rick’s group benefits from her fighting ability, although her eerie entrance initially leaves her intentions unclear.

She worked as a lawyer before the outbreak, but now relies on her sword and instincts after losing contact with her family. Her confrontation with the Governor reveals the depths of her trauma and her fierce refusal to let him escape accountability. The resulting arc examines survival’s psychological cost while allowing Michonne to remain an agent in her own story.

5

Billy Butcher

In The Boys, Billy Butcher leads the small, clandestine group that investigates corporate superheroes and exposes the damage hidden beneath their polished public image. Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson frame him as a former serviceman whose streetwise instincts, careful planning, and calculated brutality help him challenge superhumans despite their overwhelming advantages.

His personal vendetta begins after the rape and death of his wife, Becky, which he blames on Homelander. That grief hardens into a conviction that every superhuman poses a threat, even those who have done no harm. His campaign ultimately becomes indiscriminate, revealing how revenge can consume the cause it claims to serve.

4

Rick Grimes

Rick Grimes is the long-running protagonist of The Walking Dead, having begun as a small-town sheriff’s deputy before civilization collapsed. After waking from a coma during the outbreak, he searches for his wife and son while learning to survive a world without laws. His journey forces him to confront danger from both the undead and survivors willing to harm others.

Rick’s leadership faces repeated tests from enemies such as the Governor and Negan, whose rule threatens the communities he protects. He commits brutal acts himself, yet keeps pushing toward a society where laws can restrain violence and protect ordinary people. That struggle keeps his story focused on rebuilding trust, surviving the undead, and resisting leaders who rule through fear.

3

Homelander

Homelander occupies the top of Vought’s superhero hierarchy in The Boys, serving as the public face of its celebrated team, the Seven. He was raised under Vought’s control, with the company shaping his public identity around an engineered image of American heroism. The comic presents him as a celebrity whose immense powers make him exceptionally difficult to oppose.

His carefully cultivated patriotic persona earns widespread admiration, yet his private conduct exposes the danger of granting unchecked power to someone who craves worship. He abuses his status and regards civilians as expendable, while Vought protects its profitable brand at every available opportunity, exposing the corrupt commercial machinery behind the superhero ideal.

2

Scott Pilgrim

Scott Pilgrim is the title character of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comedy-action comic series, which follows a young Toronto musician navigating romance, friendship, and frequent fights. At twenty-three, he plays bass for the struggling band Sex Bob-Omb and begins dating Ramona Flowers, whose seven former partners challenge his new relationship through increasingly bizarre duels.

Scott’s fights borrow the logic of video games and martial-arts adventures, yet his biggest obstacles often come from immaturity, jealousy, and self-deception. As he confronts Ramona’s past and his own mistakes, the comic gradually pushes him toward accountability, asking him to question his flattering version of events and acknowledge other people’s hurt.

1

Mark Grayson

Custom Image by Ana Nieves

Mark Grayson is the main protagonist of Invincible, a teenager blessed with superhuman abilities thanks to his alien heritage. He aspires to emulate his father, Omni-Man, who publicly served as one of the most famous heroes in the series. His admiration fades, however, when Mark discovers his father serves a ruthless empire, forcing him to oppose someone he once admired.

Repeated battles test his convictions and reveal the cost of protecting vulnerable people. His powers do not prevent painful failures or impossible choices, and he is forced to learn what responsible heroism requires when trust repeatedly fails him. He refuses to surrender Earth to Viltrumite rule and aims to guide the empire towards peace.