A good plot twist can substantially improve a work for the better, often serving as a crux of the work itself. Alternatively, a bad plot twist can completely ruin a work, raising only questions and disdain, not unlike ending a scene with a close-up of a dog with shifty eyes. The best plot twists demand subsequent revisits to the work, prompting the audience to comb through the narrative to see how the twist was properly integrated, like in Fight Club, The Sixth Sense or The Prestige. A truly bad plot twist will just make you regret wasting time that you'll never get back, like that VR ending to Repo Men – a movie you forgot existed until just now. Given the six-color drama of the medium, comic books are honestly soap operas but with more pouches. So, we managed to find 10 plot twists that enhanced comics but also 10 plot twists that ruined them.
Mind you, when we say that a good twist "saved" a work, we aren't necessarily saying that the work necessarily was terrible without the plot twist, but rather that the twist enhances a work, more often than not serving as the best part of the thing in question. Considering that this is a listicle centered on plot twists, which more often than not are twist endings, be aware that a spoiler-warning is now in effect. Well, that is to say that the good twists have spoiler warnings. We'll just point out the bad twists with reckless abandon, if only to save your time.
20 WORSE: BIG DADDY'S ORIGIN STORY
Surrounded by mafioso, Big Daddy reveals the contents of his mysterious metal case in Kick-Ass: classic comic books. Big Daddy isn't a former cop who targeted the mob to avenge his wife. No, Big Daddy is a nerd who took his daughter in order to live out his legitimately crazy fantasies, financed by comics: "I hated my friends and I hated my life so I ran away with my baby girl and built myself a new one. I'm a fanboy Dave."
The film adaptation of Kick-Ass wisely establishes Big Daddy's "fake" origin story as his true origin story. Ultimately, it's messed up that BD trained his daughter to be an assassin just because he "didn't want her growing up watching American Idol."
19 BETTER: WADE WILSON'S WAR
Deadpool: Wade Wilson's War tells a story of two conflicting narratives. During a Senate hearing, Deadpool retells his action-packed exploits in "X," a black-ops team composed of superheroes. Alternatively, there's the debriefing on "Weapon X," a failed attempt to create super-soldiers, instead producing psychopathic, medically-altered mercenaries. Both narratives overlap, however. So which story is true?
Just as Deadpool wears a Deadpool mask under a Michael Jackson mask under a Deadpool mask, multiple layers hide the terrible truth laid out in the final page: In a mental hospital, a battered Wade Wilson is wheeled away from a crudely drawn Deadpool comic. Our unreliable narrator explains: "All I can tell you... And this is the honest truth... Life's what you make of it."
18 WORSE: DOCTOR DOOM IS A DOOMBOT
Dr. Doom appears in a funky suit of armor to reveal that he is a time lord in Walter Simonson's Fantastic Four #350. This new Doom claims that while cavorting throughout the fabric of space-time, he would periodically drop off Doombots – sophisticated robot Doom duplicates – to act in his place.
Therefore, potentially every single Dr. Doom appearance was possibly a Doombot, even that time Doom gained the God-tier powers of The Beyonder in Secret Wars. Loki: Agent of Asgard #6 improves upon of this twist, wherein Dr. Doom suggests that there perhaps is no Dr. Doom, just Doombots: "Think, boy. If I am ever defeated, or dishonored... If I ever die... the word goes out: 'It must have been a Doombot.'"
17 BETTER: THE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN
A terminally ill Doctor Octopus requests a final audience from his prison cell with Spider-Man, claiming to know his identity in Amazing Spider-Man #698. Doc Ock knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man, because Peter Parker is Doctor Octopus! Doc Ock switched bodies with Spider-Man using a special brain-spike, leaving Peter in Ock's decrepit body. Armed with Ock's memories, Octo-Peter organizes a jail break, clinging to life as he tries to gain his body back in a final showdown.
Double-twist! Octo-Peter fails to switch minds with Spider-Ock, who had wisely armored the part of his mask covering the brain stem. Having failed, Peter Parker passes away, leaving Doctor Octopus behind as The Superior Spider-Man.
16 WORSE: THE NON-SYMBIOTIC SYMBIOTE
The Venom symbiote represents addiction: it grants the user additional strength, web-fluid and working legs, at the cost of turning the host into an adrenaline-addicted, brain-eating monster. That is how it was, anyway, until Venom: Space Knight #3, where the symbiote pulls a dramatic chair turn to reveal that it can act autonomously.
Granted, the symbiote always had some autonomy, typically talking to its host like the devil on their shoulder. Here, however, the Venom symbiote looks as muscular at it does when being worn. The problem with this twist is that it's essentially the exact opposite of Venom's character. The symbiotic nature of the symbiote is right in its name: the symbiote grants its host powers, as the symbiote needs to feed to survive.
15 BETTER: TERRA IS A PLANT
After serving on the Teen Titans for a year, the geomancer Terra – whose name is actually Tara – reveals that she is actually a sleeper agent for the Titans' nemesis Slade Wilson in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. Slade's ex-wife gives Dick Grayson the low-down on her former beau, after Slade had used Tara's intel to forcibly capture the Titans.
Perhaps the even grosser twist is that the sixteen-year old Terra/Tara is also dating Slade, who was sixteen-years-old when he enlisted to fight in Vietnam. She is even so despicable that she smokes cigarettes! Terra adds insult to injury by telling her fake-boyfriend Beast Boy – the boy with all the fursonas – that kissing him was the toughest part of her infiltration.
14 WORSE: AXIS
Armed with the powers of Onslaught and Professor X, The Red Skull has trapped Marvel's greatest heroes with Tony Stark's Adamantium Sentinels in Axis. Since the Adamantium Sentinels were designed to combat Tony's greatest allies, Magneto recruits a crack team of villains (and Deadpool) to fight Red Onslaught. Initially, Axis managed to be Marvel's mash-up of Forever Evil and JLA: Tower of Babel.
Then the inversion happened, causing every character's moral alignment to be flipped. This plot twist is a literal alignment twist, as lawful good becomes chaotic evil. Hulk becomes Kluh, an inexplicable hooligan Hulk. Deadpool becomes the pacifist Zenpool. For a series that had such well-written villains, it's disappointing how hammy these edge-lord heroes are.
13 BETTER: CYCLOPS' SIXTH SENSE
Facing dwindling numbers, The Inhumans release the Terrigan Mists, awakening one's latent Inhuman powers, but also turning into the lethal M-Pox when exposed to mutants. Cyclops sacrifices himself facing Black Bolt, inspiring mutant-kind in Death of X. Except... that never happened. Cyclops fell victim to M-Pox in the first 10 pages. From that point on, Cyclops was a psychic projection created by Emma Frost.
Death of X is The Sixth Sense of X-Men comics, frequently hinting at its twist ending: Cyclops is never seen without Emma, with their facial expressions mirroring one another. Magneto refuses to help Emma only after donning his psionic-proof helmet. Cyclops even coughs during the first issue! A fictional character coughing is a death sentence.
12 WORSE: THE LAST STAND OF DARK WOLVERINE
Going against his nature, Daken leads the frontline during the Siege of Asgard in Dark Wolverine #84. With his men sobbing, soiled and scared, Daken fails to roust hope: "You're tired, I know. You're hurting. You're scared. You think you're done. You're not. Nothing's been decided. You've gone up against Gods, Monsters -- and survived. And now you can do better than that. You can win." Unfortunately, none of this actually happened.
See, this was just a vision of what could be, as The Triplets of Fate show Daken that despite his sudden heroic nature, he would forevermore be seen as a villain. Now back at the start of combat, Daken saves himself. That's right: Dark Wolverine just pulled a Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2.
11 BETTER: MAGNETO IS XORN
Found in a metal prison built around him, Xorn was a kind, eight-foot tall Buddhist mutant bearing a star for a face and healing/destructive powers, all wrapped up in the dopest robot-skull helmet. Obviously, Xorn quickly became our favorite new X-Man from Grant Morrison's New X-Men. So we were totally floored when Xorn removed his helmet, revealing that he was actually the megalomanic Magneto on the last page of New X-Men #146.
Magneto thought of everything for this infiltration: Xorn's healing abilities? Nano-sentinels manipulated with magnetism. Xorn's psionic-proof helmet used to contain his face? Just a cooler Magneto helmet. How did Magneto manage to turn his head into a black hole? Funny you should ask...
10 WORSE: MAGNETO IS NOT XORN
Mind you, Magneto being Xorn was such a good twist because Xorn was such a beloved character. Unfortunately, Marvel wanted Magneto to be considered in a more anti-heroic light. So, The X-Men discover Xorn's long-lost identical twin brother, Shen Xorn, bearing Xorn's power set and sweet robot-skull helmet in 2004's X-Men #157.
Shen explains in X-Men #162 that while under the influence of Sublime, the OG Xorn – Kuan-Yin Xorn – was actually posing as Magneto posing as Xorn. This twist not only undid a great Magneto scheme, but also removed all culpability from Xorn. This plot twist was so hackneyed that Shen Xorn would seldom be used in comics, ultimately being depowered on M-Day.
9 BETTER: ORIGINAL SIN
The secrets of the Marvel universe are weaponized when the Orb detonates The Watcher's eye in Original Sin. Orb's ocular onslaught is a cluster bomb of plot twists, like Tony Stark being partially responsible for The Hulk's creation. However, the biggest revelation is that Nick Fury is actually a highly sophisticated life model decoy.
Fury-Prime is actually The Man on The Wall, covertly saving humanity countless times with no one being the wiser: "For every subterranean monster who tried to invade Manhattan, there were ten more you never heard of. 'Cause they never made it outta their cave." Considering the egregious amount of super-spy nonsense that Nick Fury had been entrenched in, Original Sin's revelation cuts through some of Fury's more ridiculous moments.
8 WORSE: NEMESIS
After defeating the world's first super-criminal, Police Chief Blake Morrow takes a vacation with his family at the end of Mark Millar's Nemesis. Blakes receives a bottle of 1907 Heidsieck – "the most expensive wine in the world" – along with a card. This letter congratulates Blake for not only defeating Nemesis, but also for finally putting his family over his career. Blake asks his waiter who left this gift, only to learn: "...he delivered these ten years ago."
Full stop. Do you realize how much foresight is necessary for this card? Defeating Nemesis is impressive, but how did he know that Blake's daughter would have triplets, let alone what resort he would stay at? The more you think about it, the less sense it makes.
7 BETTER: THE INVISIBLES
Grant Morrison's The Invisibles appears to be about a team of revolutionaries, freedom fighters and shamans known as The Invisibles fighting the order of The Outer Church. The Invisibles gets increasingly psychedelic, ramping up to Armageddon on December 22nd, 2012.
Of course, The Invisibles never actually happened. The Apocalypse reveals that The Invisibles itself is a magic spell in the form of a comic, designed to prepare the audience for ascension to a higher plane of existence. Subsequent re-reads only strengthen the reader, until the following sentence makes sense: "In Katmandu, much to my shock and surprise, I experienced [...] a full-on, Tibetan, Sci-Fi vision of all SpaceTimeMind as a single complexifying iteration which is the larval form of a 5th dimensional adult entity."
6 WORSE: HAIL HYDRA
Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 provides a commentary of how one can fall into an extremist group through one's pure desperation, loneliness and/or low socioeconomic status via the indoctrination of a Hydra soldier. Even though the soldier enacts Hydra's terrible plot, we still feel a pang of sympathy. Then Captain America throws Jack Flag, the personification of the American flag, out of a jet before dropping a three-syllable sized bomb: "Hail Hydra."
Haha... what? So Steve Rogers, the guy who fought for the Allies in the world's second great war, was secretly a Hydra sleeper agent? This came in an issue that literally references the time Cap was a werewolf, yet this is somehow more ridiculous.
5 BETTER: THE THUNDERBOLTS
The bulk of Marvel's heroes have sacrificed themselves fighting Onslaught, leaving behind a world plagued with villains. Fortunately, The Thunderbolts emerge as Marvel's newest super-team in 1997's Thunderbolts #1. At first glance, The Thunderbolts are the most obligatory 1990s super-team. Take Citizen V, a Golden Age hero reimagined as a bootleg V for Vendetta; or even Techno, the goateed hot-head who has the power of having all the guns.
The Thunderbolts are forgettable up until the last page: Citizen V dons the mask of Baron Zemo, revealing that The Thunderbolts are actually The Masters of Evil! The Thunderbolts are cliché angsty anti-heroes because they're supervillains pretending to be superheroes. Suddenly, you have Marvel's best villain team book.
4 WORSE: ARMAGEDDON 2001
Who is The Monarch? Not the butterfly themed Venture Bros. villain, but the former hero turned insurmountable ruler of 2001 in 1991's Armageddon 2001. With touch alone, Waverider can see any hero's future, so he travels back to 1991 to investigate Monarch's identity. Monarch was supposed to be Captain Atom, foreshadowed in Justice League Europe Annual, where Captain Atom is the only hero whom Waverider doesn't check. Additionally, a 1-900 phone number leaked Monarch's identity.
With its ending spoiled, DC changed Monarch to be Hawk. The problem was that Waverider had proven that Monarch couldn't be Hawk by checking Hawk's future in Hawk and Dove Annual #2. Fans – many of whom hadn't even called the number – felt cheated by this illogical twist.
3 BETTER: SWAMP THING'S SECRET IDENTITY
Swamp Thing's lifelong quest to transform himself back into Alec Holland reaches a tragic end in Alan Moore's Saga of The Swamp Thing #2. The original theory was that the experimental bio-restorative formula turned Alec Holland into Swamp Thing when a lab explosion jettisoned Holland into a swamp. Thing is, the bio-restorative formula has no affect on human flesh, only plants. Furthermore, that explosion was fatal for Holland. The plants and micro-organisms affected by the formula consumed Holland, gaining his consciousness.
Ergo, Swamp Thing will never be Alec Holland, because Swamp Thing never was Alec Holland: "[Swamp Thing] was a plant that thought it was Alec Holland!" This tragic twist is easily the most significant Swamp Thing event, ever.
2 WORST: THE MOST CONVOLUTED SCHEME IN COMIC HISTORY
Revealing that she knew her nephew was Spider-Man for years, Aunt May passes away in Amazing Spider-Man #400. Unfortunately, Norman Osborn reveals that Aunt May is alive in The Spectacular Spider-Man #263. After confirming that May isn't a doppelgänger, clone, symbiote or Mysterio, Spider-Man confronts Norman to learn of the most convoluted scheme in comic history.
Ready? Norman Osborn utilized cloning technology to infuse Aunt May's genetic matrix into an extremely dedicated elderly actress who spent two months learning May's idiosyncrasies in order to suggest to Peter that she knew of his secret identity before passing away because Norman wanted Peter to grieve over his Aunt without actually harming her. Don't try to make sense of it, because it is impossible.
1 BEST: I DID IT THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES AGO
Cornered at the climax of Watchmen, Adrian Veidt walks our the heroes through his diabolical plan, monologuing like any good comic villain. Unlike every other comic villain, however, Adrian has common sense: "Do it? Dan, I'm not a Republic Serial villain. Do you seriously think I'd explain my master-stroke if there remained the slightest chance of you affecting its outcome? I did it thirty-five minutes ago."
What's Adrian's master-stroke? He teleported a gigantic fake squid monster into the middle of New York City in order to simulate an alien attack. Upon first reading Watchmen, this squid monster comes totally out of nowhere. With Adrian's revelation however, subsequent re-reads reveal that the Squid had been hinted at the entire time.