In the fictional world of Marvel heroes, there are many powerful weapons that its many heroes have used to combat all sorts of villainous foes. From claws to hammers, and even web-shooters, there is no shortage of creative yet powerful weapon designs in the Marvel Universe.
From time to time, these various weapons get a bit of an upgrade. Whether it be because one of the heroes has a tougher than usual enemy to face, or simply because the writers felt a change was needed, this seems to happen on a quite often basis. Sometimes, these upgrades greatly enhance the original weapon. Sometimes they just plain suck. Here are the top five Marvel superhero weapon upgrades that were better than the original and the top five that simply sucked.
10 Jarnbjorn (Sucked)
When Thor lost his ability to wield Mjolnir, he started going by the name Odinson. Jane Foster became worthy to wield the ancient hammer and became a new, female Thor. Now without a weapon to wield in combat, Odinson went out in search of a replacement.
The weapon he came up with, the axe known as Jarnbjorn, wasn't exactly an improvement upon the original. Sure, it was a capable weapon, but nothing beats the mighty power of Mjolnir.
9 Nega-Bands (Better)
The chosen weapons of Kree soldier Captain Mar-Vell, the Nega-Bands were able to harness energy from the Negative Zone. They served for a long time as powerful tools for cosmic combat.
Sometime after Mar-Vell's death, Shi'ar scientists got ahold of these powerful weapons. Instead of using them as is, the Shi'ar broke down the bands and refashioned them into an even more powerful weapon: the Nega-Bomb.
8 Cap's Energy Shield (Sucked)
Captain America has had a wide variety of different shields over the years. There have been various designs as well as various differing applications for each of these new shields.
One thing has always remained the case: nothing beats the original shield. While it was nice to use a shield made entirely out of photon energy, this new iteration simply wasn't as powerful as the classic shield's adamantium/vibranium blend.
7 Web-Shooters (Better)
Peter Parker is more of a scientific genius than most of his superhero peers give him credit for. He invented both his web-shooters and the web fluid that they utilized.
Over the years, these web-shooters have been upgraded a multitude of times. Nowadays, they are one of the most capable pair of non-lethal weapons in the entire Marvel world. All thanks to Peter's many upgrades due to his genius ingenuity.
6 Iron Man's Hydro Suit (Sucked)
Iron Man has created a countless number of power suits in his fight against villainy over the past several decades. Each suit has been designed for a specific purpose, and every suit is extremely important in Iron Man's crusade against crime. Or at least almost every suit is.
One suit that seems a little ridiculous is the Hydro Suit. Designed so that Tony can travel underwater, this suit has since been made utterly irrelevant considering most Iron Man suits have the capability of underwater travel.
5 Iron Man's Extremis Armor (Better)
Iron Man's upgrade to the Extremis Armor is absolutely OP. His first foray into nanotechnology, the Extremis Armor was the bleeding-edge tech that brought biotech to the forefront of weapons technology. Tony Stark has yet to make a more powerful set of armor.
The Extremis Armor vastly increased Iron Man's strength, and also gave him a wide variety of weapons to choose from. Due to the nanotechnology behind it, it was also one of his most invulnerable suits to date. Plainly stated, the Extremis Armor made Iron Man nearly unbeatable.
4 Suction Cup Arrows (Sucked)
Hawkeye has many trick arrows that help make him an Avengers-level hero. His aim matched with these many incredible weapons in his quiver make for quite a formidable opponent. Each trick arrow serves as an upgrade over his traditional, regular arrows.
Not all of these upgrades are winners, however. One of Clint Barton's worst arrow upgrades were his suction cup arrows. They looked like something out of a Looney Toons episode. Hawkeye has so many more interesting and more powerful arrows, making these ones look like an absolute joke.
3 Billy Clubs (Better)
Daredevil originally patrolled the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen with a pair of batons. Matt Murdoch would don his disguise at night and use these simply made, blunt sticks to absolutely beat down the criminals prowling New York's streets at night. These weapons were slowly upgraded over the years until they became his signature weapons, the billy clubs.
Daredevil uses these weapons for a variety of applications. They can turn into a pair of deadly batons, combine to create a staff, separate into a pair of nunchucks, or even be used as grappling hooks to traverse the city in a Spider-Man like fashion. Whatever the case may be, they billy clubs are no doubt one of the most iconic Marvel weapon upgrades in comics history.
2 Neural Sword (Sucked)
Dane Whitman's Black Knight is one of the more respected heroes in the hero community. While he is quite skilled in physical combat, what really sets him apart is the Black Knight's classic weapon, the Ebony Blade.
Surprisingly, Dane Whitman at one point decided to give up using the Ebony Blade. He opted instead to wield a more technological weapon called the Neural Sword. Made of a laser beam, this Neural Sword cuts through all sorts of non-living matter. When it comes to living beings, however, the Neural Sword simply tases them. Obviously it wasn't quite as powerful as the Knight's former weapon.
1 Wolverine's Claws (Better)
Wolverine's claws are one of the most indestructible weapons wielded by any Marvel superhero. They can withstand all sorts of physical damage and cut through almost anything.
After coming back from death, it was surprising to see that Wolverine's claws had actually been given a huge upgrade. Not only were they still made of the near-indestructible adamantium, but Logan's claws could now also heat up to incredibly hot temperatures.