No matter how dark or serious superhero stories might seem, the Marvel and the DC Universes are still built on foundations of mad science, mystical artifacts and other fantastic, impossible ideas. That fundamental weirdness is especially evident in stories that lean into the most absurd aspects of superheroes. In one of the superhero genre's stranger tropes, two or more characters will swap bodies through some kind of scientific or magical means. While these Freaky Friday-style body swaps aren't unique to superhero comics or shows, superhero body swaps can get especially complicated when characters have to deal with unfamiliar power sets. Even the most competent characters can be reduced to a confused mess when they find themselves in control of someone else's body. While they almost always have a few embarrassing moments, these stories can give other characters, and readers, a better understanding of themselves and each other.
Now, CBR is taking a look at some of the most memorable body swaps from superhero comics and TV. In this list, we'll be looking at the swaps that ended up working out for the best for at least one of the characters involved and at swaps that didn't really work out for anyone in particular. While most of these stories were played for laughs, some of these stories strayed into unnerving territory or made lasting changes to characters that can still be felt today. Whether they're silly or serious, these body swaps all give characters a chance to walk in someone else's shoes, literally.
20 WORKED: PSYLOCKE
The X-Men's Psylocke went through the most infamous body swap in Marvel history. When Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe created the telepath in 1976, Betsy Braddock was the white, telepathic daughter of British aristocrats. After getting her signature purple hair and joining the X-Men, Psylocke's mind was placed in the body of Kwannon, a Hand-affiliated ninja, in 1989's Uncanny X-Men #256, by Claremont and Jim Lee.
With her new East Asian features and modified powers, including a psychic knife, Psylocke became one of the X-Men's most popular and enduring members. While Psylocke's body swap was initially well-received, the story's complex politics have faced increasing criticism over the years. Thanks to recent developments in ongoing stories, it seems like Psylocke's changing appearance isn't done evolving yet.
19 DIDN'T WORK: DOCTOR DOOM/DAREDEVIL
Since Doctor Doom is one of Marvel's smartest villains, he's dabbled in body-swapping a few different times. While he used the tactic fairly effectively against the Fantastic Four, the Latverian leader had less luck swapping places with Daredevil in 1968's Daredevil #37, by Stan Lee and Gene Colan. After capturing the Man without Fear, Doom used the Body-Transferal Ray to switch places with Daredevil as part of his never-ending efforts to defeat the Fantastic Four.
Although he successfully made the swap, Doom forgot to tell his agents about the plan. While in Doom's body, Daredevil convinced Doom's guards to let him go and began ordering Latverian forces around the world. Ultimately, an embarrassed Doom undid the swap, and Daredevil destroyed the machine with an ax.
18 WORKED: BATMAN/BATWOMAN
While this Batwoman won't be getting her own show soon, Katrina Moldoff was an original version of the hero created for Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In the 2010 episode, "The Criss Cross Conspiracy," Moldoff's Batwoman had been publicly unmasked several years earlier by the Riddler. While this forced her into retirement, she grew bitter against Batman and planned her revenge against the Riddler.
With help from the wizard Felix Faust, she swapped bodies with Batman. Even with the Dark Knight's body, she wasn't able to defeat the Riddler on her own. With some help from Nightwing and Batgirl, Batman convinced Faust to undo the switch. Despite everything that happened, the light-hearted episode ended with Batman telling Batwoman that they could be friends again.
17 DIDN'T WORK: RA'S AL GHUL/TALIA
For centuries, the Batman villain Ra's al Ghul prolonged his life with the rejuvenating power of the Lazarus Pits. In the future of Batman Beyond, his daughter, Talia, seemingly did the same thing. In the 2000 episode, "Out of the Past," a still-young Talia emerged and convinced an elderly Bruce Wayne to restore his youth through the same process.
After his first Lazarus pit treatment, Bruce and his protégé, Terry McGinnis, learned that Ra's was in control of Talia's body in a chilling sequence. After being seriously wounded years earlier, Ra's body-swapped with Talia, and he planned to do the same thing with a rejuvenated Bruce Wayne. While Ra's plan ultimately failed, this haunting episode is generally considered one of the show's high points.
16 WORKED: X-23/SPIDER-GWEN
In 2016, two of Marvel's teenage heroes. X-23 and Spider-Gwen, body-swapped before they even met. In Tom Taylor and Marcio Takara's All-New Wolverine Annual #1, X-23, who was Wolverine at the time, swapped bodies across dimensions with another world's super-powered Gwen Stacy. This light-hearted story offered a distinctly modern take on the traditional Spider-Man/Wolverine team-up.
After figuring out what happened, X-23 traveled back to the Marvel Universe in Gwen's body. During their obligatory team up, the two heroes struggled to use each other's powers, and Gwen passed out after accidentally popping her body's claws into her own head. After her speedy recovery and a quick fight with the Red Hornet, the Hornet undid the accidental swap, and everyone parted on friendly terms.
15 DIDN'T WORK: EMMA FROST/STORM
During her more villainous days, Emma Frost swapped bodies with two of the X-Men's most famous members. As part of the Hellfire Club's plans to destroy the X-Men, Frost put her mind in Storm's body in 1981's Uncanny X-Men #151, by Chris Claremont and Jim Sherman. After Frost telepathically made the switch, she reveled in her newfound elemental powers while Storm struggled to control Frost's telepathy.
Thanks to her lock-picking skills, Storm freed herself and convinced Kitty Pryde that she was trapped in Emma's body. After the heroes defeated the Hellfire Club in the X-Mansion, Frost fought Storm inside of a raging monsoon that she accidentally summoned. By the time the clouds parted, Storm and Emma were in control of their own bodies once again.
14 WORKED: EMMA FROST/ICEMAN
After an especially savage attack by the time-traveling villain Trevor Fitzroy, Emma Frost fell into a coma for several years. While she was being treated in the X-Mansion, a burst of energy shocked Frost and Iceman at the same time in 1994's Uncanny X-Men #311, by Scott Lobdell and John Romita Jr. After a few issues, Frost woke up in Iceman's body.
Under the belief that she was the X-Men's prisoner, Emma attacked the X-Men and pushed Bobby Drake's ice powers to new heights. Once she discovered that her students had perished in Fitzroy's attack, a devastated Frost agreed to return to her body. This kicked off Emma's long affiliation with the X-Men, and she helped a bummed-out Bobby develop better control over his powers.
13 DIDN'T WORK: CLARK KENT/LIONEL LUTHOR
For 10 seasons, body swaps and other forms of possession were a disturbingly regular occurrence on Smallville. In one of the Superman prequel's more well-liked episodes, Tom Welling's Clark Kent and John Glover's Lionel Luthor swapped bodies during the 2004 episode, "Transference." When Clark and an incarcerated Lionel touched the Crystal of Water simultaneously, the Kryptonian stone made their spirits switch places.
While Clark sat in Lionel's body in prison, Lionel discovered the full extent of Clark's powers and generally made a mess of his personal life. Eventually, Clark tricked Lionel into touching the Crystal again, and their spirits switched back to their original bodies. However, that didn't undo the damage Lionel did to Clark's angst-filled relationships.
12 WORKED: GREEN ARROW
After perishing in a 1995 plane explosion, Green Arrow spent the second half of the 1990s in limbo. Thanks to some cosmic-level shenanigans from his old friend Hal Jordan, Oliver was resurrected in 2001's Green Arrow #1. While that immensely popular issue kicked off Kevin Smith and Phil Hester's seminal run on the series, the hero still felt incomplete, since part of his spirit was still missing.
The wealthy wizard Stanley Dover also realized this and made plans to transfer his essence into Green Arrow's "hollow" body. In preparation for the switch, Stanley even transferred his estate over to Oliver's name. However, Dover's body-swapping ritual failed, and Oliver's spirit was restored. After Stanley was defeated, Oliver enjoyed his newly-acquired fortune and Dover's remarkably poor planning.
11 DIDN'T WORK: SPIDER-MAN/WOLVERINE
While they're two of Marvel's biggest heroes, Spider-Man and Wolverine usually make an odd pairing. In the Ultimate Universe, two younger versions of those characters have an even more contentious relationship. After annoying Jean Grey, she swapped Logan and Peter Parker's minds in 2004's Ultimate Spider-Man #66, by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley.
In Logan's body, Peter got arrested, and Logan barely made it through a day of high school as Peter. Together, both were barely able to stop the Shocker before Jean switched them back. In 2012, this story was adapted in the Ultimate Spider-Man episode, "Freaky," where the telepathic villain Mesmero caused the switch. In the light-hearted cartoon, Spider-Man and Wolverine mainly just injured themselves while they were in each other's bodies.
10 WORKED: JUSTICE LEAGUE
While most of the swaps on this list only involved two characters, the 1999 graphic novel JLA: Foreign Bodies saw most of the Justice League's members swap bodies. In Len Kaminski and Val Semeiks' fun story, the villain Kobra telepathically shuffled the brains of a distracted Justice League. While Batman quickly acclimated to the power of Superman's body, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Steel, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman all had considerable trouble adjusting to their new bodies and powers.
While Superman sat in Kobra's body, the villain took over Batman's body in an attempt to destroy the world. Once everyone learned how to use their new powers, the League defeated Kobra and returned to their original bodies with a new appreciation for their teammates.
9 DIDN'T WORK: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
On a good day, the Guardians of the Galaxy usually just manage to scrape by with a partially formed plan and a lot of luck. But in 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy: Mother Entropy #2, by Jim Starlin and Alan Davis, a mysterious cosmic being named Mother Entropy really put the Guardians to the test. While searching for a new host, Entropy swapped the bodies of Star-Lord with Groot, Gamora with Rocket Raccoon and Drax with the Guardians' ally Pip the Troll.
After being teleported into an intergalactic brawl, most of the team pummeled their attackers while the Groot-controlled Star-Lord stood motionless and the Pip-controlled Drax hid under a table. Entropy eventually possessed Pip and would've conquered the universe if Groot hadn't saved the day.
8 WORKED: CASSANDRA NOVA/PROFESSOR X
In 2001's New X-Men #114, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely introduced Cassandra Nova, an evil psychic monster that took the form of Charles Xavier's twin sister. After successfully wiping out the population of the mutant nation Genosha, Nova telepathically put her mind into Xavier's body while she attacked the X-Men.
While in Xavier's body, Cassandra successfully upended his life by revealing that he was a mutant and that the Xavier Institute was a school for mutants. As protesters descended on the school, Nova took over the intergalactic fleet of the alien Shi'ar Empire and attacked the X-Men again. Eventually, Xavier used the mutant-finding machine Cerebra to force his way back into his body, but Nova's plan had already been largely successful.
7 DIDN'T WORK: FLASH/LEX LUTHOR
In a 2006 episode of Justice League Unlimited, the Flash and Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor swapped bodies when two psychic experiments simultaneously went haywire. In the aptly-titled "The Great Brain Robbery," Doctor Fate was using the Flash to track the telepathic Gorilla Grodd while Luthor was trying to steal Grodd's intelligence elsewhere.
After the body swap, Luthor quickly figured out how to use the Flash's powers against the League, but he had couldn't identify the Flash's secret identity when he unmasked in a mirror. Meanwhile, the Flash spent his time in Luthor's body trying to keep his identity secret from the Legion of Doom. By the time Doctor Fate switched the minds back, neither character had really learned anything about the other.
6 WORKED: PROFESSOR X/FANTOMEX
At the end of the 2012 crossover Avengers vs. X-Men, Professor X seemingly perished in battle with a Dark Phoenix-possessed Cyclops. However, Charles Soule and Jim Cheung revealed that Xavier had suffered a much crueler fate in 2017's Astonishing X-Men #1. After he perished, part of Xavier's consciousness was trapped in the Astral Plane by the Shadow King.
Once the X-Men defeated the Shadow King and freed Xavier, he still needed a body to return to. Fortunately, the X-Men's super-powered thief Fantomex offered to take Xavier's place in the Astral Plane and let him have his old body. While the thief transformed the realm into a paradise, Xavier took the name X and helped his X-Men before staying off the grid, until more recently, when he confronted his old students with a much darker global outlook.
5 DIDN'T WORK: JUSTICE LEAGUE/INJUSTICE LEAGUE
While body swaps are still fairly common, they're the kind of plot devices that were especially prevalent during the Silver Age of DC Comics in the 1960s. In 2000, writer Mark Waid spearheaded DC's "Silver Age," a loving tribute to that light-hearted era. In the 12-part event, the alien villain Agamemno swapped the bodies of Lex Luthor, the Penguin and the rest of the Injustice League with the bodies of Superman, Batman and the rest of the Justice League.
With the Justice League's bodies, the villains caused all kinds of trouble and helped Agamemno in his quest for power. While the heroes struggled to adjust to the limitations of their new bodies, Earth's other heroes stepped up to help until Green Lantern restored everyone's bodies.
4 WORKED: SUPERMAN/JIMMY OLSEN
Over his 80 year history, Superman has probably gone through more body swaps than any other superhero. Since the Man of Steel has so many incredible abilities, giving someone new control of Superman's body has unlimited narrative potential. In 1999's Superman Adventures #28, Mark Millar and Mike Manley looked at what would happen if Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen was in Superman's body.
After getting zapped by an Apokolpitian Mind-Trader, Superman and Jimmy switched bodies. Since Jimmy's body was taken to Apokolips, Lois Lane gave Jimmy a crash course in acting like Superman and helped him get to Darkseid's world. Once Jimmy found Superman, they switched bodies again. On their way back home, Jimmy managed to snap a rare picture of Darkseid for The Daily Planet.
3 DIDN'T WORK: LOKI/SIF
In the Marvel Universe, Thor and the other Asgardians are stuck in Ragnarok, an endless cycle of destruction and rebirth. After being destroyed by the latest Ragnarok, Thor re-emerged and started freeing the Asgardians who'd been reborn in human bodies. However, something went wrong and Loki ended up in the body meant for Thor's ally Sif.
While Thor's search for Sif grew desperate, Loki revealed that she was trapped in the body of an elderly woman named Mrs. Chambers in 2008's Thor #8, by J. Michael Straczynski and Marko Djurdjevic. After Loki planned to exchange Sif's body for his male body, Thor found Sif and freed her spirit moments before Chambers perished. Once that happened, Sif and Loki's spirits were returned to their original bodies.
2 WORKED: DESPERO
Since Despero was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky in 1960's Justice League of America #1, the telepathic alien overlord has been on the League's most fearsome foes. After a fearsome battle with several teams during the 1991 story "Breakdowns," Despero's mind was switched with the mind of the League's ally L-Ron, a relatively harmless robot that was mostly destroyed.
While in control of Despero's body, L-Ron spent several years with the Justice League Task Force, an off-shoot League team with a revolving roster of heroes. As Despero's mind began to return, L-Ron struggled to keep his control over the villain's super-strong body. Eventually, L-Ron lost that battle and Despero returned to his usual role as one of the team's main threats.
1 DIDN'T WORK: SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN
Over the years, Doctor Octopus has tried to defeat Spider-Man with dozens of absurd plans. In 2012's Amazing Spider-Man #698, by Dan Slott and Richard Elson, one of Otto Octavius' wildest schemes actually worked. In the final days of his life, Ock put his mind in Peter Parker's body. After Peter shared his memories with Otto, the villain was overcome with emotion and dedicated himself to becoming the "superior" Spider-Man.
In Superior Spider-Man, Otto began operating as a ruthlessly efficient Spider-Man. While Otto made Peter's professional life flourish, he alienated Peter's friends and terrified his enemies. Once Otto realized that he could never be a better Spider-Man than Peter, he let Peter's subconscious take over so the hero could be the amazing Spider-Man once again.