For over 80 years, Marvel Comics has told stories featuring some of the most iconic heroes and villains of pop culture. From the Fantastic Four to Spider-Man, the X-Men to the Incredible Hulk, these characters have endured for decades for good reason.
Naturally, after so many years of new stories, sometimes the creative teams at Marvel want to shake things up a bit and reveal something to readers that had previously been unknown. Sometimes these changes add great new depth to a famous character and are accepted into the status quo, and other times the new concept goes down like a lead balloon.
10 Ruined: Iron Man Was Revealed To Be An Evil Spy
So, one of Marvel's headlining heroes and frontrunner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man, was actually working for Kang the Conquerer since the beginning and ended up murdering a few people. As it turns out, fans didn't appreciate this new development.
To defeat the original Iron Man, The Avengers travel back in time and recruit a teenage Tony Stark who had yet to be brainwashed by Kang, and they bring him to the present to battle his older self. The evil Stark ultimately dies and the teenaged version lives on in the present to become the new Iron Man. Unsurprisingly, this storyline has been long since forgotten.
9 Saved: Wolverine's Claws Were A Part Of His Mutation
Everyone now knows that Wolverine's claws originally showed up when his mutation kicked in, along with his animalistic abilities and healing. For quite a while, however, it was believed that the claws were either a part of his gloves or were implanted when the adamantium was bonded to his skeleton.
When the indestructible metal was ripped from his body by Magneto, readers and Wolverine's fellow X-Men were stunned to discover that the claws remained, now in their original bone form. This change made perfect sense and added a new layer to his mutation and possible backstory, which was further explored in the excellent "Origin" storyline.
8 Ruined: The Maximoff Twins Are No Longer Magneto's Children
For years, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver have been known as the mutant children of Magneto. They were even members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants before turning to the heroic side and working with the X-Men and Avengers. For some reason, Marvel decided to shake things up.
It was eventually revealed that both characters were not the descendants of the master of magnetism after all, and in fact, weren't even mutants themselves. They were experimented on by a cosmic being named the High Evolutionary as children, an origin that lines up more with the Marvel Cinematic Universe versions of the two.
7 Saved: The Punisher's Origins Update As Time Goes On
When he was originally introduced in 1974, Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher, was a veteran of the Vietnam war, which made perfect sense given the era he debuted in. However, tieing characters into real-world events can quickly cause issues as time moves on.
So as not to date the character and have fans questioning how Frank is always the same age despite serving in Vietnam, Marvel just updates which conflict he fought in as time goes on. The modern version of Frank has served in the Gulf war and this could also change in the future to keep him relevant. In the world of comics, it's a small suspension of disbelief and fans are happy to run with it.
6 Ruined: Peter Parker Was Revealed To Be A Clone
Things got weird in the 90s. For Peter Parker, however, it got a lot worse than weird. The hugely controversial Clone Saga kicked off in 1994 and brought in numerous clones of Parker to muddy the waters and throw doubt around as to who was the real deal.
Fans weren't too happy when it was revealed that the Peter Parker they had been reading about for so long was, in fact, a clone this whole time and that Ben Reilly, AKA the Scarlet Spider, was the original. This led to a massive status quo shift where Reilly became the new web-slinger until another retcon of course switched things back and Peter was reinstated.
5 Saved: Bucky Barnes Returned From The Dead
Bucky Barnes was originally the young sidekick to Captain America during World War 2. He didn't last long, though, and was killed off in a heroic sacrifice. For many years, that was the end of Bucky's story. At least until 2005 when the mysterious Winter Soldier arrived on the scene.
Bucky was revealed to still be alive and operating as the deadly brainwashed assassin until his memories and personality were restored. He now operates as an anti-hero, although for a brief time he actually took on the mantle of Captain America and has more than proven himself as a good man, and a huge fan-favorite character.
4 Ruined: Gwen Stacy's Affair With Norman Osborn Was Plain Wrong
Gwen Stacy, an iconic love interest of Peter Parker's, was showcased as a very genuine and down-to-earth girl. She loved Peter with all her heart and she was loved just as much in return. Their story became a tragic one when she was murdered by the Green Goblin, but a retcon many years later ruined her legacy for scores of fans.
Before her violent end, Gwen engaged in an affair with Norman Osborn, who is of course the Green Goblin himself. This relationship resulted in her having twins who Osborn had raised overseas in secret, while his goblin formula caused them to age rapidly. The entire storyline and its outcome are hated by fans and it has been totally forgotten about since.
3 Saved: The Symbiote Species Got A Much Stronger Origin
During the 90s, it was difficult to pick up a Marvel book without a symbiote being involved somewhere in the story. Venom and Carnage were hugely popular and naturally many knock-offs appeared over time, even an entire symbiote planet which was believed to be the species' homeworld. Despite their over-exposure, there wasn't a lot known about their origins.
In recent years, fans have been treated to not one, but two takes on the early days of the symbiote race that actually work well together, despite the second attempt being a clear retcon. At first, fans were told that the symbiotes were actually a peaceful race named the Klyntar, until recent events such as Absolute Carnage and King In Black revealed the dark and epic creation of the Klyntars by the god Knull. This revelation revealed that their claims of peace were a lie and that something far more sinister was lurking behind them.
2 Ruined: "Hail Hydra"... Or Not
Captain America, a symbol of truth, justice, and the American way. A selfless hero who will always stand up for the underdog. An Avenger, and a Hydra agent. This particular reveal became a hit online for the wrong reasons.
The series Secret Empire told fans that Steve Rogers had in fact, always been a Hydra sleeper agent, and now he was making himself known. Marvel themselves doubled down on the notion and claimed that this really was the case. Of course, it wasn't, and the Hydra Cap was an alternate version of the true Rogers and quickly got beaten to a pulp by the real deal. Despite not being a true retcon, it really annoyed fans and still gets made fun of today.
1 Saved: Weapon X Meant A Lot More Than Fans Realized
The Weapon X program was the very thing that gifted (or cursed?) Wolverine with his adamantium skeleton before he broke loose and went on a rampage within. Most fans just assumed the "X" was an unimaginative letter assigned due to the hero's connection to the X-Men, and that was probably the reason at first.
Eventually, it was revealed that the "X" was actually the Roman numeral for 10, and therefore Wolverine was in fact Weapon 10 and one of several other experiments. An awesome addition to this twist was the reveal of who was Weapon 1; a certain star-spangled man with a plan.