20 best superhero comics to read after Infinity War

12. Angela

Now, for all that we’re dealing with evil god-like beings and a fancy glove full of shiny stones that could ruin all of existence, the Marvel galactic stage isn’t too grim. There are goofy Star-Lords and cranky sentient raccoons, for one. Even when Captain America is delivering a super serious speech about saving Earth or something, there’s a certain kind of lightness to it all, a sense that everything will turn out fine and no one will really die.

The Spawn universe, however, is very different. There’s not much time here to get into it, but it involves a man who goes to hell, makes a deal with a demon, and becomes an anti-hero while struggling to save his own soul. Not exactly puppies and rainbows.

Angela is a bounty hunter from heaven who is sent to hunt down Spawn. She later befriends him and then is gruesomely dispatched by a demon. Since Marvel technically owns the rights to her character, she was “resurrected” in the Marvel universe as a disaffected daughter of Odin. Close enough, right?

Angela moves

Thankfully, Angela escapes the grimdark Spawn universe for a somewhat friendlier one containing the Guardians of the Galaxy. In fact, in Guardians of the Galaxy #4-10, she joins up with the space-faring superhero team. It’s not so strange for a vicious, quasi-supernatural bounty hunter to join up with a team of vagabonds, at the very least. Plus, she gets a very cool dramatic entrance into the Earth-616 universe, complete with cool fight and chase scenes.

Angela often seems a bit like she’s just jumped off of the front cover of a particularly dramatic 1980s metal band album cover. You wonder if she’s followed around by a Led Zeppelin soundtrack at all times. To that end, she also dresses like a metal babe, with as little clothing as possible. Thankfully, however, her growing backstory and characterization are helping to make up for that trope.

Oh, and there are plenty of good moments where the Guardians of the Galaxy, in between making heart-eyes at Angela, make fun of Tony Stark. Yes, Tony Stark briefly joins the team and receives a heaping portion of humility. The smartest man on the Avengers is often talked down to by Rocket, the wise-cracking, hyper-intelligent raccoon. And if you thought that he could redeem himself via a little romance, think again. Gamora has him outclassed in that department, too.