Marvel Comics have a lot of private detectives working in the books, but there are also some actual superheroes who are great detectives, even if they don’t call themselves that title. Marvel Comics has presented plenty of heroes who just show up and fight bad guys when they show up, but some of the more interesting stories show how a superhero investigates cases and finds the villains thanks to their detecting skills. This is a trait that was not only used by superheroes who consider themselves detectives like Jessica Jones, but also some who might never consider themselves a great detective even though they are.
Here are seven of the best superhero detectives in Marvel Comics, ranked.
7) Spider-Man Noir
Spider-Man Noir is one of those superheroes who is a detective by trait, but he is also a superhero in his own right. This is the Spider-Man from an alternate Earth (Earth-90214), a Peter Parker who lives in a world that is set in a black and white film noir setting, and this is mainly like seeing a detective Spider-Man mixed with someone like Sam Spade or Philip Marlow.
In this world, Peter Parker is an experienced private investigator, as well as a master hand-to-hand combat and is a perfect aim with guns, making him a hugely different character than the one in Marvel 616. He also has Spider-Man’s powers, but these stories are more about his investigation skills than his superhero fighting abilities.
6) Daredevil
Daredevil has an advantage to being a detective on top of being a superhero thanks to his time spent as a lawyer, as well as his powers being perfect for the role of a detective. As an attorney, Matt Murdock knows a lot about working under the legal system and this helps him when he is using his super powers to solve crimes as a detective.
His powers are heightened senses, so when he is investigating a crime or looking for a criminal, he has his heightened hearing and smelling, which allows him to find clues that no other detective or hero could ever hope to pick out, and that clearly gives him an advantage in any case he sets his sights on. This was shown in an episode of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 when he found the captured vigilantes using just his senses and clues.
5) Carol Danvers
Captain Marvel is in a brand-new running Marvel Comics series where she has found herself in the middle of a giant mystery. This has to do with her past, her father, and a mysterious company that she might have ties to, but has no memories of. When she showed frustration, her best friend, Jessica Drew, said this was perfect for her since she was always a great detective.
This is something no one thinks about anymore. Carol Danvers has built her reputation as a military leader thanks to her Kree training, and her recent tenure as the chairman of the Avengers shows that she is more about big-time superhero battles, Jessica Drew was right when she looked back at Carol’s past as an investigator, and the new series looks like it will remind viewers of how great of a detective Captain Marvel has always been.
4) Colleen Wing
Colleen Wing is one of the best detectives that doesn’t get enough attention in Marvel Comics. However, she has been around since the 1970s, starting off as a supporting character in Iron Fist comics and then becoming a popular character with Misty Knight as the Daughters of the Dragon. There is hope she will also return to the MCU as she gained the Iron Fist powers on Netflix.
However, more than any power, Colleen Wing was a great detective and someone who helped Heroes for Hire when they needed someone to investigate a crime or a person for them. Misty Knight deserves to be mentioned here too, as Colleen’s partner, but it is Wing who stands as a brilliant Marvel Comics superhero detective.
3) Jessica Drew
Jessica Drew is a brilliant Marvel Comics detective, and while she is a great hero as Spider-Woman, she is an even better detective. This is something that she was trained to be since she was a part of SHIELD and became one of their top secret agents and spies, which pushed her into action as an investigator more often than not.
However, she also worked as a private detective later in life, joining the profession along with her close friends Carol Danvers and Jessica Jones. Ironically, it was supposed to be Jessica Drew in the Alias Investigations storyline, but when Brian Michael Bendis wasn’t allowed to use her, he had to create Jessica Jones instead. Despite this, Drew is also a detective, and one of the smartest in Marvel Comics.
2) Jamie Madrox
Jamie Madrox has something no other superhero detective in Marvel Comics has. He has unlimited knowledge thanks to his powers. Jamie is the Multiple Man, and when he creates new clones of himself with his mutant powers, Jamie Prime retains all knowledge that they learn for himself. At one time in Marvel history, he created multiple versions of himself and sent them around the world to learn different things, gaining all the knowledge himself.
This means that he is a master of pretty much everything since he ensured that all his clones studied and learned different things, so he has an outlook on things that is arguably even better than Batman in DC Comics. Jamie even turned X-Factor into a private detective agency thanks to his skills in investigation.
1) Jessica Jones
While Jessica Jones was never supposed to exist in Marvel Comics and is only around because Marvel wouldn’t let Brian Michael Bendis use Jessica Drew, this hasn’t stopped her from becoming a brilliant character and one of the best detectives in comic book history. She debuted in Alias and then went on to become a part of the Avengers and eventually married Luke Cage.
Since she started her career in Marvel as a detective, that is what she remains best known for to this day. She is a superhero, with superhuman strength and durability, but she is also an extremely smart investigator and she exceeds Daredevil on so many levels that he trusts her to do the detective work for him in many cases, knowing if there is something out there, she is the one who will find it.
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