One of the most exciting parts of any superhero story is the origin tale. How does a once average person end up becoming a hero with great power and even greater responsibility? Some heroes were born with their abilities, such as mutants, aliens, and Inhumans, but the ones who went from normal to abnormal are the exciting stories.
While some origin stories have been retold over and over, they almost become forgettable. However, it is often easy to forget how extraordinary these origins were at the time they happened. With so many superheroes out there saving the world day after day, these fascinating origin stories make the heroes unforgettable.
10 Spider-Man
As with many Marvel origin stories in the early years, Spider-Man's was based in science fiction. Peter Parker was a mild-mannered high school student who was continuously bullied at school but was smart and had a bright future. However, one day at a science field trip, a radioactive spider bit him, and Peter gained the powers of a spider.
However, his origin was more profound than that as he had a loving aunt and uncle who raised him, and when Peter refused to use his powers to stop a burglar, he doomed his uncle to die in a robbery. As a result, Spider-Man faced a lifetime of taking responsibility of always doing the right thing.
9 Doctor Strange
Stephen Strange was a brilliant and arrogant neurosurgeon, considered one of the best in the world before turning 30. However, his arrogance was pushed to the limit when he was driving and was involved in a terrible accident. The accident cost Stephen the use of his hands, and even though his life was saved, his career ended.
Strange learned of a way to heal through the mystical Ancient One. However, what he instead learned was the mystic arts, and while his hands are still in constant pain, Doctor Strange puts the pain out of his mind and saves the world regularly.
8 Iron Man
Tony Stark was a spoiled and brilliant industrialist. He inherited his company from his father and continued to develop weapons. However, after a trip to a foreign country to talk about creating new weapons for the military, Stark tripped a booby trap and left him with shrapnel in his chest.
He ended up taken to a terrorist leader, who held him captive, demanding him to create a powerful weapon for him. Instead, Stark made the Iron Man armor and escaped. Stark then rededicated his life to saving the world with his technology.
7 Batman
Batman was originally a young child whose parents did a lot of financial work to help Gotham City. However, as a wealthy couple in a corrupt town, they ended up dying in Crime Alley at the hands of a burglar. Bruce was left as an orphan, albeit a rich child.
Instead of growing up as a rich kid who blew off responsibility after the death of his parents, Wayne instead used his money to travel the world and train under the brightest minds. Whether it was science, tech, fighting skills, or detecting, Batman learned everything he could to become the greatest detective in the world.
6 Daredevil
Matt Murdock was the son of a single father named Jack Murdock. His dad was a boxer who wanted the best for his son and made Matt study hard in school to have the life Jack never had. However, one day Matt was involved in a tragic accident where a truck accident caused a vat of chemicals to spill and splash into Matt's eye.
While blind, Matt developed superhuman senses outside of sight. He further developed his desire to defend the law as an attorney after a mobster murdered Jack for refusing to thrown a fight.
5 Luke Cage
Luke Cage was born into a harsh life in Harlem. His dad was a retired NYPD detective, but Luke ran with a bad crowd and chose to cause trouble rather than follow the straight and narrow. However, because he cared about his family, he decided to go straight as an adult but ended up framed for a crime he didn't commit and sentenced to prison.
While there, Cage agreed to undergo experimental treatment and ended up with superhuman durability and strength, breaking out of prison, clearing his name, and becoming a hero on the streets of Harlem.
4 Punisher
Punisher is the clearest example of an antihero in Marvel Comics. His first appearance in comics came in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man, where he was setting out to kill Spidey, thinking he was a villain. However, when he learned Spider-Man was a hero, Punisher stopped because he only kills bad guys.
Frank Castle was in the U.S. military, a hero who returned home to be with his family. The mafia murdered his wife and children, and the killers walked because the police were in their pockets. From this point on, Frank swore no one would walk away from a crime again.
3 Flash
Barry Allen had a traumatic experience when he was a child, similar to Bruce Wayne. His parents were attacked, his mother Nora was dead, and his father Henry was arrested for her murder. Barry had to grow up with everyone believing his dad was a murderer, and he became a police forensic scientist. While working, he was struck by lightning and ended up with superhuman speed, as The Flash. He later learned Reverse-Flash killed his mom.
2 Captain America
Steve Rogers was an undersized patriotic American who wanted to serve his country in World War II, but due to his size and sickness, the U.S. Army rejected him. However, a general overheard Rogers' plea to get a chance to fight and gave him the opportunity to help his country by taking part in an experiment called Operation Rebirth.
The experiment was a success, and the Super Soldier Serum turned Steve into the superhuman Captain America. When Hydra killed the scientist who created it, Rogers ended up as the sole Super Solider created from that original serum.
1 Green Arrow
Oliver Queen was a womanizing and thrill-seeking playboy, the son of wealthy parents who had almost no responsibilities outside of causing problems. However, he ended up in an accident while boating, and Oliver Queen ended up stranded on a remote island, with no food or shelter and only an arrow that he used to keep afloat.
Queen had to fight to stay alive and ended up becoming a man on this island, finding drug traffickers and bringing them down before returning home and using his newfound skills to protect Star City as Green Arrow.