When it comes to gadgets in Marvel Comics, there is no shortage of inventors to check out. Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Peter Parker, Victor Von Doom, and many more have all created iconic weapons and gear that have changed the game in their respective wars.
But for every suit of armor, there's an inane item that hampers their larger efforts. Honestly, these heroes and villains are lucky their creations didn't kill them in the middle of combat. Some of these gadgets and gimmicks need to go back to the drawing board or get outright scrapped.
10 Gambit Throws Playing Cards At People
When it comes to popular mutants in Marvel Comics, Gambit is a strong contender for that top spot. The Cajun member of the X-Men is a charming thief and master of hand-to-hand combat. Plus, he has the ability to charge any object with kinetic energy and make it explosive.
The problem is what he does with that ability. Gambit charges playing cards and whips them at his enemies. This was actually kind of cool in the 1990s but the gimmick has not aged well. Given all the other options at his disposal, playing cards actually seem kind of silly.
9 The Hood's Hood Is A Little On The Nose
Parker Robbins grew up wanting to be a superhero. He got his wish when he was robbing a warehouse and came across a mystical cloak and magic boots. He then took on the name The Hood since his cloak had a hood on it.
The name was a little much and he looked quite silly with the actual hood up. His boots let him walk on air and the cloak gives him other mystical abilities. But it's really hard to take someone seriously as a criminal when they wear a red hood everywhere.
8 Iron Man's Submarine Armor
Batman and Iron Man have a lot more in common than being rich guys who fight crime. They both like to be prepared. In the same way that Batman has a large number of absurdly specific gadgets for seemingly any occasion, Iron Man has a huge variety of suits of armor.
Many of those suits are actually quite cool. Then, there's his submarine armor. It's as ridiculous as one would expect it to be. That specific suit looked like a torpedo, and not in a good way if that's even possible. Stark might want to rethink the design on that one.
7 Mister Fantastic's Child Tracking Nanites
There's a very real chance that Mister Fantastic is the most prolific inventor in the history of comic books. And it's not just a matter of volume. He has also created some of the most powerful and unique inventions that anyone has ever seen.
But Mister Fantastic's problem isn't so much that he can as it is whether he should or not. This was certainly the case when he injected his kids with nanites that allowed him to track them. Sue Storm wasn't particularly impressed with this nasty invention.
6 Spider-Armor Was A Bad Look
Peter Parker often gets overlooked when it comes to his own abilities as a scientist and inventor. He has created numerous useful and impressive gadgets, including his own web-shooters as well as the webbing itself.
They haven't all been wins, though. Parker once created a lightweight but durable suit of armor made of hardened webbing. The concept was perfectly fine but the execution left much to be desired. And it was really impractical, considering the way Spider-Man fights.
5 Hawkeye Has Some Silly Gimmick Arrows
Without question, Hawkeye has the best aim on the Avengers. He rarely misses his mark, regardless of the weapon he uses. But Hawkeye is also a proficient fighter. That means he's dangerous, even without a bow and arrow.
But Hawkeye's arsenal of arrows hasn't always been respectable. There was a time that his quiver was filled with acid arrows, bola arrows, rocket arrows, and boomerang arrows. They weren't as bad as having a boxing glove arrow on hand but they still weren't great.
4 The Spider-Mobile Was Pure Insanity
When it comes to keeping things on brand, Spider-Man comes in as a close second to Batman. The Caped Crusader seems to love bat-shaped anything and everything. Not surprisingly, Spider-Man has the same love for anything related to spiders.
That hasn't always worked out for the best, though. For some reason, Parker thought Spider-Man needed a sweet ride to roll around in. As such, the Spider-Mobile was created. It was silly, pointless, and completely unnecessary. Fortunately, he put it behind him quite quickly.
3 Doctor Doom Created A Symbiote Bomb
For every amazing invention that Reed Richards has created over the years, Doctor Doom has created something with a nefarious purpose. Doom is responsible for making some incredibly impressive devices, including his own armor.
While Doom would never, ever admit this, he has also been responsible for some pretty terrible inventions. A prime example of this was the symbiote bomb, which was exactly what it sounds like. No one needs a weapon like that going off, not even Doom.
2 Thanos Used To Have A Helicopter With His Name On It
For longer than anyone would like to remember, Thanos has been a thorn in the side of both Marvel's heroes and villains. His larger-than-life plans have consumed the entire universe, killing trillions of life forms at times.
But there have also been some stupid plans. One of them involved him traveling around New York City in a yellow helicopter with his name written on the side of it. Why he even had that thing is hard to determine. Even worse, the plot ended with him getting arrested by the NYPD.
1 Hank Pym Created Ultron
Reducing Ultron to being a gadget minimizes what he truly is. Ultron is one of the greatest threats in the entire Marvel Universe and ranks among the Avengers' most dangerous villains. But his early days were much simpler.
Hank Pym was responsible for creating Ultron in the comics. The intention was to develop a more helpful artificial intelligence, like Reed Richard's H.E.R.B.I.E. And in that regard, Ultron was simultaneously a complete failure and utterly useless.