<P> Pop culture characters such as Dracula and Frankenstein actually exist in the Marvel Universe . This is usually justified as a second hand account of events as told to credited authors Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley although the general public continues to believe them as fictional . Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian, Red Sonja, Kull the Conqueror, and Solomon Kane also have real life existences in the Marvel Universe . The Hyborian Era of Conan and Kull is considered part of Earth - 616 pre-recorded history . However, they rarely encounter modern Marvel superhero characters . This is most likely possible due to the uncertain legal status of Howard's works prior to 2006 when they became public domain . Other licensed works that have been incorporated into the Marvel Universe include Godzilla, 2001: A Space Odyssey (in the character of Machine Man), ROM: Spaceknight, the Micronauts, and the Shogun Warriors . In most cases, such material is either restricted from use after the license expires or the characters redesigned or renamed to avoid infringement . </P> <P> Within the fictional history of the Marvel Universe, the tradition of using costumed secret identities to fight or commit evil had long existed, but it came into prominence during the days of the American "Wild West" with heroes such as the Phantom Rider . During the 20th century the tradition was reinvigorated by Captain America and his fellow Invaders in the 1940s, who fought for the Allies of World War II . </P> <P> Most of Marvel's major heroes are those created during Marvel's Silver Age: Spider - Man, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Thor, the Hulk, Ant - Man and the Wasp, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, The Vision, Peggy Carter and Sharon Carter, Groot, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Inhumans, S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Falcon, and the Silver Surfer . Marvel's other notable heroes from the Bronze and Modern Ages include Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, Ghost Rider, Blade, Drax the Destroyer, Star - Lord, Gamora, the Punisher, Moon Knight, Nova, Rocket Raccoon, Psylocke, Scott Lang, Black Cat, Silver Sable, Kitty Pryde, Emma Frost, She - Hulk, Elektra, Cloak and Dagger, Rogue, The New Mutants, Jubilee, and New Warriors . Some of Marvel's most recent creations such as Deadpool, Gambit, Cable, Domino, War Machine, Jessica Jones, The Runaways, X-23, Daisy Johnson, Winter Soldier, Maria Hill, the modern Guardians of the Galaxy and Defenders, and Ms. Marvel have become popular characters in their own right . Unlike the DC Universe, few of Marvel's 1940s characters have become major characters in modern publications; Captain America is one exception, and to a lesser extent his contemporary, Namor the Sub-Mariner, primarily because both of these characters were reintroduced to readers and to the Marvel Universe during the 1960s . </P> <P> Prominent groups of superheroes include the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Defenders, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Inhumans . All these groups have varying lineups; the Avengers in particular, have included many of Marvel's major heroes as members at one time or another . The X-Men are a team of mutants led by Professor X and include some of Marvel's most popular characters, such as Wolverine . The Fantastic Four are "Marvel's First Family" of superheroes consisting of husband and wife Reed Richards (aka Mister Fantastic), Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), brother Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch), and best friend Ben Grimm (aka the Thing). The Defenders were an ad - hoc team usually brought together by Doctor Strange, which has included the Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner and the Silver Surfer, with the most recent incarnation of the team though consists of street - level heroes Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist . The Guardians of the Galaxy include Marvel's cosmic characters such as Star - Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, but the team has also other heroes into roster such as Iron Man and Kitty Pryde . The Inhumans are a species of genetically - engineered beings which include the Royal Family (consisting of Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, Lockjaw, Crystal, Auran, and Triton) and the NuHumans (Inhumans who have recently gone through the process of Terregenesis). Teams of supervillains exist as well though these far and few in between but notable villain teams include the Masters of Evil, The Brotherhood of Mutants, the Frightful Four, Annihilation Wave and The Cabal . </P>

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