Who Designed the Marvel Logo?

The X-Men. Spider-Man. The Avengers. Black Panther. The Hulk. Captain America. Iron Man. Doctor Strange. They are all united under one banner…

Marvel.

For more than 60 years, that name has stood for the gold standard in the worlds of comic book superheroes. (Or is that the adamantium standard in this case?) And when you hear that name, you can instantly call to mind the company’s famous logo: Bright white block letters on a bright red background. Marvel.

But where did that logo come from? How has it evolved over time? Who designed those famous letters? The answers to those questions aren’t nearly as well-known as the logo itself.

Every recognizable logo like Marvel’s is the result of countless hours of work and refinement by graphic designer; in the case of Marvel, while that bold white-on-red logo has remained the same for decades, it only arrived at its iconic look after even more decades of gradual development. Below, you can see how the Marvel logo has changed over time, from its understated appearance on the cover of Fantastic Four #1 right on through how it looks today.

READ MORE: The Weirdest Marvel Comics Ever Published

After the various print logos came the myriad versions of the animated Marvel Studios logo, which first debuted with Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2002. (Anyone who saw that movie in the theater can tell you: That logo alone was a big deal [for nerds] at the time.) This YouTube video takes you through the evolution of the opening animated studios logo through the years; the latest version of the bombastic opening theme music is by composer Michael Giacchino.

So there you have it; the history of Marvel’s many logos. But what’s next? Uh, how about … a different color? (Can you imagine how fans would react? Not marvelously, that’s for sure.)