A character's weaknesses are just as important as their strengths. After all, it's not that interesting to read or watch a story about some perfect person who can never be hurt or defeated, and who just prances through life getting everything they want. That's why Superman has kryptonite, why Green Lantern Rings can't affect anything yellow, and so forth. In some cases, there isn't a whole lot a character can do to overcome their weaknesses except try to avoid them. But once in a while, if they work hard enough, the hero is able to overcome their impairment and emerge stronger and more confident than ever before. That's the stuff truly great superhero stories are made of, and we will be looking at a few examples of those today.

But it's important to remember that not all weaknesses are created equal. Sometimes, a character's shortcomings have some shortcomings of their own. Over the years, there have been more than a few Achilles' heels that were so silly or contributed so little to a character's story that fans decided to ignore them, regardless of any in-universe explanation the creators cooked up. We're going to look at a few of those too, if only to provide some helpful hints on how not to design a hero or villain. Unless, of course, your goal is for absolutely no one to take your character seriously. In that case, feel free to view this list as a challenge and try to come up with weaknesses even weaker than the ones below!

20 THE MARVELS - EACH OTHER

In The Power of Shazam!, the Marvel family -- Billy Batson, Mary Batson and Freddy Freeman -- disprove the old adage about there being strength in numbers. They receive their powers from the wizard Shazam, who has a limited amount of power to give, and so the Marvels' power is limited as well.

If only Mary transforms, she gets all of Shazam's power for herself. If Freddy or Billy transforms with her, then each of them can only operate at half strength. And if all three transform, well, you don't have to be a mathematician to realize they each would have even less power individually. But then Mary lost 100 percent of her powers in 52, and none of that math mattered anymore.

19 ANT-MAN/GOLIATH - HIS OWN POWERS

Hank Pym's relationship with his superpowers has been troubled. At first he could only shrink, then he could shrink and grow, and then the problems started. All that size changing was so tough on Hank's health that he had to limit himself: he could no longer shrink, he could only grow to be 25 feet tall, and once at 25 feet, he couldn't shrink to normal for at least 15 minutes.

In Avengers #28, Hank pushed himself too hard and got stuck at ten feet tall, seemingly permanently. If he ever tried to change sizes again, that would be the end of him. Fortunately for him, he found a cure for his incurable condition seven issues later, although he has continued to have power problems off and on.

18 SCARLET WITCH - BLINDFOLDS

The Scarlet Witch is one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Universe, but she didn't start out that way. During her early days as an Avenger, she could only cast one spell at a time before she had to rest. In addition, she could not cast spells if she couldn't see what she was affecting.

But the Scarlet Witch's days of being the Avengers' weakest link did not last. Agatha Harkness trained her so that she was able to reach her full potential as a sorceress. Given the amount of damage the Scarlet Witch has done, both inadvertently and purposefully, some people may be nostalgic for the days when throwing a bag over her head was enough to defeat her.

17 NIGHTCRAWLER - PASSENGERS

In addition to making him blue and fuzzy, Nightcrawler's mutation manifests itself in the ability to teleport to any place he can see or has been before. But what if someone else wants to come along for the ride? Nightcrawler could always do that, technically, but the experience was very unpleasant for all involved, and he would inevitably be down for the count for the rest of the issue.

But practice makes perfect, and Nightcrawler was ultimately able to strengthen his abilities enough that teleporting with another person no longer left him on the point of passing out. He didn't necessarily like it, but at least he wouldn't end up on the floor.

16 WONDER WOMAN - MEN

Right from the beginning, Wonder Woman was all about female empowerment. She hails from an island of immortal warrior women and has enhanced strength, speed, stamina and wisdom. As if that wasn't enough, she also wields numerous magical artifacts -- her tiara, her bracelets, her invisible airplane --  that augment her powers. What could possibly defeat such a... well, such a wonder woman?

The answer: a man. Specifically, any man who can tie her up. The minute Wonder Woman's bracelets are chained or otherwise bound together, she loses all her powers. Gee, wonder why that little tidbit didn't make it into the movie?

15 AQUALAD - DRY LAND

As natives of the ocean depths, both Namor and Aquaman depend on the water for strength and survival. Take either of them too far from water, or keep them out of the water for too long, and they slowly get weaker. But there is one undersea hero who has managed to overcome that limitation.

Garth, known first as Aqualad and then as Tempest, used to need hourly showers in order to remain on land. This was even a running gag in Teen Titans: Year One, but ever since embracing his magical heritage, Garth has been able to override this weakness and stay out of the water for much longer periods of time.

14 POWER GIRL - NATURE

Power Girl's history is complicated. In the least confusing version of her origins, she is Superman's cousin from an alternate universe where she, too, was placed in a rocket and sent to the safety of Earth as Krypton exploded. One might assume that Power Girl would therefore be vulnerable to kryptonite, just like her cousin. One would be right... but only sometimes.

Despite her many great powers, Power Girl is defenseless against any natural, unprocessed material. So a bullet can't hurt her, but a small tree branch can, and has, taken her out. Her weaknesses have changed and fluctuated quite a bit since her 1976 debut, but this susceptibility to the Earth in general is probably the most ridiculous.

13 TONY STARK - BATTERY LIFE

Iron Man's origin story is very well known by now. Weapons manufacturer Tony Stark is taken and severely wounded by enemy soldiers in a foreign country. To survive and escape, Tony builds a suit of armor that will both destroy his enemies and keep his injured heart from going kablooey.

But freedom comes at a price. Thanks to his weak heart, Tony has to wear the armor's chest plate 24/7, and he has to charge it regularly. Many of Iron Man's early adventures feature him crawling to the nearest power outlet, desperate for a recharge. Eventually, Tony gets a heart transplant and is able to take the chest plate off once in a while.

12 JAMES RHODES - SUBCONSCIOUS GUILT

In the early '80s, Tony Stark fell off the wagon, hard. Realizing he wasn't fit for crime-fighting, Tony gave his armor to his best friend, James Rhodes. Though reluctant at first, Rhodey came to enjoy being Iron Man. He enjoyed it so much that he began to feel bad about the circumstances under which he had become a hero.

But heroes don't have time for guilt. Rhodey shoved those feelings deep down and ignored them until they gave him headaches so fierce that he would occasionally black out. After a little counseling, Rhodey recognized and accepted his feelings. He's been a much more effective friend and hero since then.

11 THOR - PUTTING HIS HAMMER DOWN

To teach his arrogant son some manners, Odin erased Thor's memory, banished him to Earth, and transformed him into frail mortal doctor Don Blake. One day, Don goes on vacation to Norway and stumbles across a walking stick that, when stamped on the ground, gives him the powers and appearance of Thor.

But Odin wasn't done messing around with his son yet. Even after finding his old hammer, Thor still couldn't remember his true identity. Worse, if he let go of his mystic hammer, Mjolnir, for more than a minute, he would instantly transform back into Don Blake. Needless to say, Thor always seemed to lose Mjolnir at the worst possible times, like while stuck under a boulder.

10 CLAYFACE - TIME

Fortune seeker Matt Hagen became Clayface after falling into a pool filled with a mysterious substance. By the time he got out again, Matt realized his body was now like putty. He could shapeshift into anyone or anything he could think of. And of course, he immediately put this skill to no good use.

Hagen went on a crime spree, but his plans were hampered by the fact that, after staying out of the pool too long, his shapeshifting abilities would start to fade. This required a quick dip in the magic pool to refresh them. Subsequent Clayfaces have not had this limitation.

9 VENOM - FIRE

The Venom symbiote has caused Spider-Man endless trouble since it first turned up in 1984. Fortunately, the symbiote has some major weaknesses that the good guys can easily exploit, with one of these weaknesses being fire. Now granted, most of us probably wouldn't fare well if we were set ablaze, but Venom's vulnerability to fire was a bit more extreme -- and laughable.

In one infamous fight, Venom was defeated not by Spider-Man, but by a guy waving a lighter at him. Since then, Venom has built up something of a resistance to fire, so we don't recommend approaching him with a book of matches.

8 CAPTAIN MARVEL - EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE

In his first appearance, Captain Mar-Vell, a Kree soldier, is sent to Earth to destroy the planet. The only problem? The Kree cannot tolerate Earth's atmosphere. Whenever he is on Earth, Mar-Vell can only breathe if he keeps his spacesuit on or takes a special pill every hour.

But then Mar-Vell decides not to destroy Earth after all, betraying his superiors. He returns to space alone and is eventually given a pair of Nega-bands. These are multipurpose bracelets that grant the wearer enhanced strength and eliminate the need for air. The next time Mar-Vell visits Earth, he doesn't need his spacesuit and can let his long blond hair flow free.

7 LOKI - WATER

When Loki shows up for the first time in Journey into Mystery #85, he immediately lives up -- or down -- to his reputation as the god of mischief by tricking Thor out of his hammer. But Thor isn't quite as dumb as Loki was hoping, and Loki leads him on a merry chase through New York City.

So how does Thor defeat Loki? Thor says that "according to legend" -- as if he hasn't personally been fighting Loki for centuries -- Loki is powerless in water and can't even swim. After dunking Loki in the ocean, Thor effortlessly tucks him under his arm and whisks him away to Asgard for punishment.

6 ECLIPSO - PHOTOGRAPHY

Before the Spectre became the embodiment of vengeance, it was Eclipso's duty to punish humanity for their many sins. But Eclipso was a little too angry for the job and was imprisoned in a magic crystal. He escapes thanks to hapless bystander Bruce Gordon, who Eclipso possesses.

With Bruce's body, Eclipso is able to get up to all kinds of evil mischief... as long as it's dark. Any bright light will banish Eclipso for a while and allow the Bruce Gordon persona to re-emerge. It is therefore entirely possible to defeat Eclipso with a camera flash -- and that is, in fact, how he is defeated in one of his early adventures.

5 WONDER MAN - IONIC RAYS

In Avengers #9, Baron Zemo recruits disgraced inventor Simon Williams for some unethical experiments. These experiments grant Simon incredible strength and durability. But unknown to him, there is a fatal catch: the ionic rays that made Simon superhuman will kill him unless Zemo gives him regular injections of the antidote.

Calling himself Wonder Man, Simon finagles his way onto the Avengers. But when he realizes that Baron Zemo plans to destroy the Avengers, Wonder Man betrays him, even though that means Zemo will deny him the life-giving injection. Once Wonder Man was resurrected some years later, none of this was an issue anymore.

4 VALKYRIE - BODY SWAP

"Valkyrie" is the name of both a group of elite Asgardian warrior women and of one Valkyrie in particular: Brunnhilde, who has also served with the Defenders. But the Valkyrie who joined the Defenders wasn't quite the same Valkyrie that had spent centuries guiding Earth's bravest warriors to the afterlife in Valhalla.

Prior to joining the Defenders, Valkyrie was kidnapped by Amora the Enchantress, who placed her prisoner's powers and consciousness into the body of a mortal woman, Barbara Norriss. In this form, Valkyrie was still a tough opponent, but not quite so tough as her original self. Sometimes, Barbara's original personality would slip through, incapacitating Valkyrie.

3 MENTO -  THAT SPIFFY HELMET

Steve Dayton, aka Mento, is the leader of the Doom Patrol. He possesses some natural psychic powers, but since he is a ridiculously wealthy scientific genius, he is able to enhance those powers through a special helmet. His helmet also gave him a big case of mental instability, triggered by the end of his wife, Elasti-Girl.

Mento becomes increasingly abusive towards his adopted son, Beast Boy, and even founds the Hybrid, a group of supervillains almost entirely under Mento's mental control. Fortunately, Beast Boy is friends with the empath Raven, who is able to heal Steve's mind. Hopefully he made a few tweaks to that helmet afterward.

2 QUICKSILVER AND SCARLET WITCH -  RANDOM POWER FLUXES

After an unwilling stint with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, aka Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, found a new calling as Avengers. They joined the team in Avengers #16 and, after some initial rockiness and in-fighting, became two of the team's toughest and most loyal members.

But in Avengers #30, the twins' powers mysteriously begin to fade. In the hopes of figuring out what's wrong, they quit the Avengers and go back to Europe. There, they find a scientist who performs some experiments on them. The experiments successfully restore their powers, and no one ever mentions it again.

1 ADAM STRANGE - UNSTABLE ZETA BEAMS

Sardath, the greatest scientist on the planet Rann, invented zeta beams, a means of instant travel between faraway places. The zeta beams accidentally drag human archaeologist Adam Strange from Earth to Rann. Adam adjusts quickly, even becoming a great hero to the people of Rann.

Unfortunately for Adam's burgeoning romance with the Rannian Alanna, the zeta beam's effect didn't last very long. If he started to do something on Rann, he had to finish it quick or risk getting yanked back home before he was done. He also couldn't control where on Earth the zeta beams would appear, although he could predict their movement.