The 1990s were a time of cover gimmicks, polybagged comics with trading cards, holographic printing, and rampant speculation. Marvel was also competing with a new, edgier rival in Image Comics, whose most successful creators seemed to rely on violent, leather-clad heroes covered in padding, pouches, and guns. Marvel's cover art embraced these trends with results that speak for themselves.

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Fortunately, the way Marvel leaned into these over-the-top trends produced some funny results. They made readers cringe and scratch their heads at the time but it's fun to look back at these covers and see the results of a huge variety of wild experiments.

10 Ravage 2099 #1 Is A Collector's Item! It Has Gold Foil And Everything!

Ravage 2099 with a sword, with an inset of the first issue's cover art.

In 1992, Marvel started to expand their line with a new family of titles, set over a century in the future. Spider-Man 2099 launched the line and was very well received so the Webhead was joined by other futuristic Marvel characters. The first original character was the hero of Ravage 2099, Created by Stan Lee and Paul Ryan, Ravage was so edgy that he made his weapons out of garbage.

The cover, like all Marvel 2099 first issues, had a foil cover border with a mechanical theme. This denoted the special, collectible nature of the first issue, featuring a new Stan Lee character. Unfortunately, there's not much special about Ravage, who looked like a cybernetic Mad Max. Like many new characters, he didn't capture readers' imaginations.

9 Punisher Meets Archie #1 Doesn't Lie.

The Punisher sticks an automatic rifle into Archie Andrews' nose in The Punisher Meets Archie

The cover blurb on Punisher Meets Archie #1 reads, "The Crossover You've Been Dreading!" From the time that Marvel and Archie Comics announced the crossover, fans were perplexed. If there was one Marvel character who didn't match Riverdale's tone, it was the Punisher.

Marvel, unlike Archie Comics, went full-on 90s with a die-cut cover that harkened back to the Punisher's first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129. Normally, these kinds of visual references make fans nostalgic. Unfortunately, this was comics' most unlikely crossover until Legion of Super-Heroes met Bugs Bunny, and the violent clash of worlds here was too much for any cover to support.

8 Fantastic Four #375 Hurts To Look At.

The Invisible Woman leads the Fantastic Four in her infamous skimpy 90s costume.

There never seemed to be a cover gimmick that Marvel wouldn't use. The cover of Fantastic Four #375 presented the team in their new, period-appropriate costumes. Unfortunately, the Invisible Woman was front and center with a big gun, leather jacket, and nearly-invisible costume

RELATED: The 10 Worst Things About Marvel Comics From The 1990sThe costume had debuted four months earlier on another gimmicky cover, but this one used a prism effect in the background. The results were sometimes literally painful and almost every scan of the cover online looks different, since every angle reflected light differently. Combining the costumes, guns, and prism enhancement, this cover could only have been printed in the 1990s.

7 Avengers #394 Debuted The Wasp's New Insectoid Look

The Wasp as a giant, disproportionately feminine insect in Marvel's Avengers comics.

With sales plummeting across Marvel Comics, the company worked to update its heroes for the 1990s. Marvel eventually gave control of many of its characters to Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. This led to the Avengers being engulfed in a multi-part story "the Crossing."

Many characters changed during this story, including the Wasp, who received an insectoid makeover in Avengers #394. Given that she reverted to her human form and powers after returning from Heroes Reborn, it wa an unnecessary change that Terry Kavanaugh and Mike Deodato, Jr. shouldn't have bothered with. Seemingly caught between woman, wasp, and butterfly, this version of the character was also disproportionately feminine, objectifying Janet van Dyne in new and disturbing ways.

6 Marvel Illustrated: The Swimsuit Issue Brought Cheesecake To The Party.

A split image of She-Hulk on Marvel's Swimsuit issue and Mike Mignola's Scarlet Witch

The 90s full of cheesecake, and Marvel embraced this trend. The worst example was 1991's Marvel Illustrated: The Swimsuit Issue. A variety of Marvel artists drew full or double-page illustrations of Marvel heroes in swimwear. To their credit, many artists took the opportunity to draw male heroes in an equally lurid manner, balancing out the cheesecake with beefcake, but none of them made it onto the cover.

Unfortunately, Marvel Illustrated added proof to the accusation that comics were aimed solely at attracting the male gaze. Even worse, it appealed to the more prurient interests of juvenile male readers, parodying Sports Illustrated's sexist swimsuit issues. For the rest of Marvel Illustrated's life it fought against this stereotype, especially as editor Chris Cooper worked to balance the scales.

5 Billy Ray Cyrus #1 Should've Helped Start A New Line Of Comics

Billy Ray Cyrus faces off against armored knights in Marvel Comics

In 1994, right as the comics market was starting to implode, Marvel tried to launch a new line of comics featuring popular musicians. There was a Bob Marley comic, an Alice Cooper comic, and a few more before the Billy Ray Cyrus comic hit stands in 1995. With a photo-realistic Billy Ray Cyrus standing in front of a stylized knight, it was intriguingly off-putting.

Marvel Music had some decent stories, but books like Billy Ray Cyrus combined with widespread industry collapse to sink the line. Cyrus's epic mullet clearly marks this comic's era. Combining this hair with a pose bound to remind readers of Rob Liefeld's Captain America marked it as one of 1990s Marvel's low points.

4 Wolverine #102 Forgot To Include His Nose.

A fierce-but-noseless Wolverine attacks, claws extended, in Marvel Comics

Wolverine went through a really rough patch in the 1990s. He had his adamantium ripped out of his body by Magneto, leaving him with bone claws and breakable bones. An effort to replace the metal just left him devolving into a feral state. Reflected on the cover of Wolverine #102 by Adam Kubert, one of the perplexing side effects included a disappearing nose

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On this cover, Wolverine is perched on the roof of a building. His feral nature is on full display, including not only his vanishing nasal cavity but a restructured face that eliminates even the idea of a nose. Highlighted spectacularly on this cover, Noseless Wolverine is still one of the most perplexing character redesigns in Marvel history.

3 Thor #502 Debuted A Costume To Go Out On.

Thor's wearing his dark, bare-midriff costume, wreathed in a flowing cape, in Marvel Comics

The Wasp wasn't the only Avenger to get a new look with the wind-down leading into Heroes Reborn. Thor got a new costume as well but it didn't make anyone happy.

Thor's new look incorporated 90s-inspired elements like a long, bulky chain attached to his hammer and long hair extending out to impossible lengths, and of course an unforgettable bare-biceps and bare-midriff combination. The story revolves around Thor's preparations to face Onslaught but doesn't explain the costume's redesign or its physics-defying, Spawn-inspired cape.

2 Captain America #2 Had Rob Liefeld Trying Hard.

Captain America in a ripped, sleeveless t-shirt, posing with bewildering Life Model Decoys.

Heroes Reborn cast a long shadow over Marvel Comics in the 1990s. Their stories all led toward the event, and with Heroes Reborn, Marvel gave Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld control of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers.

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Rob Liefeld, one of the era's most polarizing artists, designed a cover for Captain America #2 that featured many conflicting elements, including a detached human face and hand, with no context. The Red Skull's head seemed to float behind Cap, wearing an armored collar, and Steve's pose seemed carefully crafted to avoid drawing feet, a notoriously difficult task that many critics claim Liefeld simply couldn't execute.

1 Amazing Spider-Man #400 Was The Worst Planning Possible With A Cover Gimmick.

A split image of Amazing Spider-Man #400's infamous blank foil cover and Aunt May dying in Marvel Comics

Sometimes, cover gimmicks can seem like a good idea until it's too late. Embossed covers seemed like an enhancement that could improve a story, too. Unfortunately, early versions of embossed covers were monochromatic, forcing the embossed stamps to carry more weight than they could bear.

Amazing Spider-Man #400 featured the death of Peter Parker's beloved Aunt May. To mark this event, the cover was supposed to resemble a gravestone. Unfortunately, embossing a tombstone on almost entirely white paper left the comic with an almost blank cover. Even when they squinted, fans could barely see May Parker's memorial on what was meant to be a landmark cover.

NEXT: 10 Avengers Too Weird For The MCU