While attending State University, Reed Richards' began designing a starship capable of traveling in hyperspace. Reed shared his plans with his roommate, Ben Grimm, who jokingly volunteered to pilot the craft.

Artist Dave Cockrum designed early versions of X-Men characters Nightcrawler and Storm for use in a DC Comics Legion of Super-Heroes spinoff series. When Cockrum started work on the new X-Men in 1975, he brought both characters over to Marvel.

The evil robot Ultron creates the Vision as a weapon to destroy Ultron's own creator, Dr. Hank Pym (Ant-Man/Giant Man/Yellowjacket). But when Ultron sends his new servant to lead the Avengers into a trap, the Vision is convinced to turn against his maker.

Dazzler, a mutant with the ability to convert sound vibrations into light and energy beams, was originally created to serve as a multi-media cross-promotion between Casablanca Records and Marvel Comics. The original plan called for a real life equivalent with a record and a movie, but both ideas were dropped when the popularity of disco began to wane.

Bruce Banner's cousin is Jennifer Walters (a.k.a. She-Hulk). She first appeared in Savage She-Hulk #1 (February 1980) in which she was seriously wounded. Dr. Banner gave her an emergency blood transfusion which saved her life but gave her a milder version of his Hulk condition.

Fisk Towers is a skyscraper owned by Kingpin Wilson Fisk. Despite its inherently illegal activities and being damaged or destroyed numerous times in superhuman battles, Fisk Towers puts up a convincing facade for Fisk to appear a legitimate businessman within Manhattan's Financial District while secretly using it for his crimes as the Kingpin.

Agatha Harkness was first introduced as Franklin Richards' governess. She easily fended off the Frightful Four when they came to abduct Franklin, and admitted to the Fantastic Four that she was a witch.

Alpha Flight is a team of Canadian superheroes that premiered in X-Men #120 (April 1979). Most team members have distinctly Canadian attributes, such as Inuit or First Nations heritage. Throughout most of its history, the team has worked for Department H, a fictional branch of Canada's Department of National Defense that deals with super-powered villains.

Batman's famous utility belt was first introduced in Detective Comics #29 (July 1939). The utility belt houses ten pouches or cylindrical cartridges that are attached to the outside of the belt. Each of the ten pouches contains various tools integral to Batman's war on crime. Similar belts are used by other members of the Bat-family.

The Joker's earliest on-screen appearance was in the 1960s Batman television series, in which he was played as a cackling prankster by Cesar Romero. He has since been portrayed in memorable performances by Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill, and Heath Ledger (among others).