Sometimes, all it takes for a famous and iconic superhero to fall is one bad issue. This is a reality DC Comics and Marvel Comics faced more times than they could count, with their constantly rebooting universes being prone to some unintentionally hilarious moments and genuinely grave errors.
With just one poorly thought-out issue, long-time heroes like the original Ant-Man can be forever smeared with negativity – both in their respective fictional worlds and the real one as well. No amount of crisis reboots and remakes can make readers forget these questionable and sometimes offensive moments of character assassination.
10 Hank Pym Becomes A Wife Beater
After a bit of miscommunication in the creative team, Hank Pym was forever known as an abusive husband. In The Avengers #213, Hank and his wife Janet get into a heated argument, which ends with Hank slapping Janet across the room. This got even worse in The Ultimates, where Hank flat out tried to kill Janet by using his ant-controlling technology on her.
Marvel’s solution was to flesh out Hank more (see: Secret Empire). Problem was, this inadvertently implied that the writers were more sympathetic towards the abuser than his victim, with Janet reduced to an oft-mentioned plot device. Janet sticking by Hank no matter what worsened things, leading to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) decision to ignore the Pyms’ marital problems altogether.
9 Speedy Becomes A Drug Addict
For the longest time, Speedy was Green Arrow’s fun sidekick, but that changed after the Green Arrow/Lantern two-issue crossover Snowbirds Don’t Fly. Long story short, Speedy was revealed to be a heroin addict. The problem wasn’t the storyline itself, but that it had no build-up and was hurriedly concluded.
For many, this was a preachy anti-drug PSA awkwardly shoehorned in between regular Teen Titans missions. Arguably, this did more damage to Green Arrow as his self-righteousness was exposed, but it tainted Speedy’s legacy and reputation forever. Ever since Snowbirds Don’t Fly, Speedy lost his once-signature adventurous charm to become a full-time edgy archer.
8 Iron Man Becomes “Iron Hitler”
Civil War was so bad for Iron Man that he had a plethora of worst issues. Here, Tony was the biggest supporter of the obviously evil Superhuman Registration Act. To this end, Tony hunts down his super-powered friends, hires deadly villains to help him, creates the Negative Zone prison, clones Thor, and indirectly kills Goliath and Capt. America.
Worse, Civil War painted Tony in the right while Capt. America (the embodiment of American idealism) was depicted as outdated. This backfired, with disgusted readers renaming Tony “Iron Hitler.” Tony’s authoritarian slant was eventually reversed, with succeeding comics taking great pleasure in knocking him down in increasingly humiliating ways (see: World War Hulk).
7 Batman Becomes An Unhinged Psychopath
An enduring criticism of Batman is that he teeters between violent but well-intentioned vigilantism and classist fascism, and Frank Miller hilariously crossed the line in All Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder. In brief, no one took the Dark Knight seriously after he yelled “I’m the god**** Batman” at a traumatized 12-year-old Dick Grayson during the story’s second issue.
This was just the start, as All Star Batman & Robin is jam-packed with Batman’s laughably hostile antics and rants that Miller insisted on glorifying. Batman’s reputation never recovered afterwards, with succeeding comics and other adaptations seemingly trying to top his insanity instead of undoing it.
6 Captain America Becomes A Hydra Sleeper Agent
Marvel found itself in hot water at the very end of Captain America: Steve Rogers #1. Here, Capt. America uttered the words “Hail Hydra,” revealing himself to be a Hydra mole this whole time. The idea itself isn’t inherently bad since it can work in a What If?-styled alternate universe, but what enraged audiences were the implications.
Capt. America was created by two Jewish artists (Jack Kirby and Joe Simon), and him joining Marvel’s Nazi analogues was deemed tasteless. Secret Empire later revealed that Hydra Cap was an impostor, but the damage was done. At best, Hydra Cap spawned memes and at worst, Marvel was accused of tarnishing its most patriotic hero for a cheap gimmick.
5 Captain Atom & Hawk Get Burdened By Monarch
Armageddon 2001 is a special case since it ruined three characters in one go. The selling point was that the central villain, Monarch (above; center), was actually a mysterious DC hero that fans were already familiar with. Unfortunately, the villain’s identity was leaked early: Monarch was Captain Atom. In a panic, DC edited the twist at the last minute, replacing Captain Atom with Hawk as Monarch’s real identity in the Armageddon 2001 finale issue.
This backfired, as Hawk was both a poor choice for Monarch’s real self plus the fact that Hawk fought Monarch in a prior battle. As a result, both Captain Atom and Hawk were forever tied to Monarch. Through mental gymnastics and absurd plot devices, Hawk was eventually written out so Captain Atom could assume the Monarch mantle. Many agree that DC should’ve just stuck to giving the two interesting stories instead of forcing a gimmick character who just didn’t work.
4 Spider-Man Sold His Marriage To The Devil
Spider-Man: One More Day gained unending notoriety when Mephisto offered Spider-Man the chance to save Aunt May’s life in exchange for his marriage to Mary Jane Watson… whatever that means. Aside from the deal providing Mephisto nothing tangible or useful, this storyline hampered Spider-Man for years to come.
After this devilish transaction, Peter and MJ’s fairy tale romance was abruptly put on hiatus and returned to its will-they-won’t-they state, much to invested readers’ frustration. More controversy arose from the thinly-veiled fact that this only happened because Marvel wanted Spider-Man to regress to his boyhood adventures instead of maturing into a grown, married man.
3 Superboy Becomes A Spoiled Brat
Crisis on Infinite Earths ended when Earth-Three’s Alexander Luthor sent himself, Earth-Two’s Superman and Lois, and Earth-Prime’s Superboy to a pocket paradise. The lead-up to Infinite Crisis (i.e. Infinite Crisis Secret Files & Origins) undoes these noble sacrifices by having Superboy get so nostalgic for Earth-Prime that he punches reality itself in a fit of jealousy, causing irreversible retcons like Jason Todd’s resurrection.
After this, “Superboy” became synonymous with spoiled brats. This led to the greater emphasis on “Superboy-Prime” to differentiate him from his more composed counterparts. Superboy-Prime has since become a recurring villainous manchild and a psychotic punchline among DC readers.
2 The Avengers Become Callous Jerks
Avengers #200 has gone down in history as being one of the worst comics ever made, especially since it writes the Avengers as insensitive at best and uncaring at worst. The issue centers on Capt. Marvel’s unwanted pregnancy thanks to Marcus Immortus’ schemes. Instead of consoling or helping her, the Avengers basically guilt Capt. Marvel into birthing her son and falling in love with him (it's complicated).
Marvel immediately regretted the issue, with the creative team disowning it and apologizing years later. As a form of penance, the succeeding Avengers Annual #10 (above) had Capt. Marvel verbally cutting down the Avengers to size, rightfully calling them out for their callousness and hypocrisy. Afterwards, Marvel buried the story and never brought it up again.
1 The Justice League Violates All Known Ethics
As far as some are concerned, Identity Crisis ruined DC. Many blame the arc for galvanizing the superhero genre’s shift towards edgy material in the 2000’s, best summarized in Identity Crisis being about the brutal assault of Elongated Man’s wife, Sue Dibny, at the hands of Dr. Light.
To prevent future assaults, the Justice League alters his mind into that of the goofball readers are familiar with, which Batman opposes. In response, the League also erased Batman’s memory. Worst of all, this was a red herring in the mystery of Sue’s murder. In a desperate attempt to be “mature,” Identity Crisis instead made the League guilty of ethical crimes while leaving tons of disturbing implications about the DC Universe.