Not every superhero can look like Clark Kent or Steve Rogers. Some don’t have the rock hard abs or the chiseled jawline that make fans swoon. Sometimes they’re just plain ugly. No other way to say it, they’re just not appealing to the eye. These heroes don’t use a mask to keep a secret, but to hide horrible disfigurements, or just the fact that they are just uglier than the east-end of a horse headed west!

RELATED: 16 Superheroes Better Known For Being Hot Than Heroic

Of course, being good looking is far from a deal-breaker when it comes to heroics -- in fact, the more homely sorts are often the more heroic! Still, some of the heroes look like weird animal/human hybrids, some look like actual demons... hell, one of them is named after a part whose business end you wouldn't want to be in front of. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be celebrated! So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the 15 ugliest heroes in comics!

15 DEADPOOL

Deadpool

Deadpool is a no-brainer for this list. Sure, he’s really funny and one of the biggest badasses in all of the Marvel Universe, but let’s be honest, he’s one of the plug-ugliest as well. His costume and mask hide an incredibly scarred body that is constantly the butt of many jokes throughout comics, many of them made self-deprecatingly by Deadpool himself. One of the best things about Deadpool is that his looks and general unattractiveness are part what make him so great. If he was a good looking guy, and not “Ryan Reynolds crossed with a Shar Pei” as he says in “Cable & Deadpool” #2, then he wouldn’t be the Deadpool we all known and love.

His ugliness is played up to a point where it just makes him almost adorable. The same is true with his often gruesome powers of regeneration. One of the best scenes from the “Deadpool” film is when he loses his hand and he grows a new baby hand in its place. The fact that a grown man has a baby hand is pretty gross, but it adds to one of the funniest moments of the film. Deadpool would be proud of the fact he was on this list!

14 MAGGOTT

Maggott Morlocks

Maggott might go down as the single worst “X-Men” character of all time. Debuting 20 years ago in “Uncanny X-Men” #345, Maggott is just not an appealing character for a variety of reasons. The biggest among these is the fact that he is missing his digestive system; in it’s place, there are two slugs called Eany and Meany. These slugs literally chew themselves out of his torso, eat anything in their path and eat their way back into his body where they give him nourishment, and powers!

There are multiple times in the comics where they show his body without the slugs inside of him, and he has a completely empty torso! On top of the grossness relating to his digestive system, he also had a ridiculously weird haircut. He was basically bald, minus a single patch of hair on top of his head that he grew into a weird ponytail. But hey, we're not here to judge weird hair -- just look at Strong Guy! Maggot is also blue when powered up, but there are plenty of blue characters that are physically appealing. Maggott is on this list because he’s just gross. Could you imagine eating dinner next to him?

13 UGLY JOHN

Ugly John

Not much is known about Ugly John, a young mutant saved (almost) from Sentinels by the X-Men. One thing that is known is that his name is actually Steve, but his friends call him Ugly John. Readers are left forever wondering why he’s not just “Ugly Steve,” but such are the mysteries of life. Ugly John is one of the ugliest heroes in comics because he actually had three faces. Yep, three faces, side-by-side. Some mutants are given amazing abilities like flight or telepathy. Steve was given three faces, and they’re not particularly good looking faces, either.

Ugly John’s life was ended abruptly when he was injured during a battle with some Sentinels while with the X-Men. He was critically injured and Cyclops decided to end his suffering by shooting an optic blast at Steve’s three faces. We’ll never know what could have happened if Ugly John lived. Maybe he would have gone on to become one of the most heroic members of the X-Men. Okay, probably not, but one thing is for sure, he would have always stayed ugly, and for that, we salute him!

12 TOXIC AVENGER

Toxic Avenger Comic

The Toxic Avenger is a gross looking hero, no doubt about it. However, you almost feel bad picking on the guy because of the circumstances surrounding his transformation. Before becoming the loveable Toxie, his name was Melvin. A skinny, nerdy weakling that was constantly bullied, Melvin was doused in toxic waste, and gained superhuman strength. The unfortunate side effect was that, now, he looks like he’s melting, with one of his eyeballs almost falling out of his face.

Multiple times throughout his short-lived Marvel Comics series, Toxie is referred to as a “hideously deformed creature.” Much like Deadpool, the Toxic Avenger’s looks are used for comedic effect. He’s a superhero, but he looks like one of the ugliest villains. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget that he wears a tutu, which he was forced to wear by bullies just before his accident. So, not only is he hideously deformed, he also is forced to forever wear something he never, ever wanted to wear. If it was his choice, that's one thing -- tutus are tres fetching -- but this is one hero who just has zero luck!

11 SPAWN

Spawn

The story of Spawn’s bad looks is a fairly simple morality tale about making a deal with the Devil. Before he was Spawn, he was Al Simmons, an amazing solider who was betrayed by his own friend and brutally murdered. Since Al was a soldier and knowingly killed civilians, he was sent to Hell, where he bargained with the Devil to bring him back to life. Of course, when you make a deal with the Devil, it’s pretty much never as good as it might seem.

When he came back to the mortal world, he was a demon with a badly burned body. Unable to assimilate back into the normal world, he decides to live within a homeless community. Al Simmons goes from being an attractive man with a good-looking wife, to a burnt version of himself living with the destitute. It’s a sad tale which unfortunately lands him on this list. He doesn’t even have the sense of humor to counter the ugly visage, like his seeming twin, Deadpool. He’s just an angry, burnt demon. But at least he has a cool mask and costume to cover his horrifically ugly body!

10 THE THING

The Thing

Poor Ben Grimm. All he wanted to do is help his friend by flying his spaceship. Next thing you know, cosmic rays radiate his body and he turns into a massive, orange rock man. Sure, Reed Richards, Johnny Storm and Sue Storm all transformed after that fateful flight, but there’s no doubt that Ben got the short end of the stick. Now, he’s stuck in his monstrous form where people are scared of him, and he’s unable to live a normal life.

The Thing is a good person, deep down. He’s a true hero that does everything he can to help the common people. Too bad they all are afraid of him. All Ben Grimm wants is to live a normal, happy life, which his best friend, Reed Richards, consistently promises (and fails) to help restore. Unfortunately, he is never able to and The Thing is just doomed to walk the Earth as a true monster, but also, one of Marvel's greatest and most loveable heroes!

9 SKIN

Skin using his powers as a member of Marvel's Generation X

The power to stretch your skin is a classic in comic books. Mr. Fantastic, Elongated Man, even Ms. Marvel, all show that you can have this power but still look great. Unfortunately for Angelo Espinosa, he wasn’t so lucky with his version of the power. Espinosa was a mutant who had the ability to control his skin to stretch, expand, and contract at will. However, he’s only able to do this because he has six feet of extra skin that just hangs off him at any time.

Unlike the other heroes mentioned above, Skin’s skeletal structure doesn’t change with his stretching. It’s just his skin that stretches. This extra skin makes him look like a melted candle when he’s not actively trying to contract it. When he does contract it to make him look what he calls "normal" (as subjective a phrase as ever has been uttered), it is so exhausting that it’s not even worth it for him. So, Skin just lives his life with six feet of extra saggy skin and a gray pigment, unable to look blend in like his other, more attractive partners in Generation-X.

8 HELLBOY

Hellboy

Not many people would look at a demon from Hell and think they’re attractive. Hellboy has to deal with this all the time. No matter how badly Hellboy tries to fit in, he’s still a big, red-skinned demon who more often than not frightens the people he means to save. He has a tail, horns (which he files down to look less demonic), and cloven hooves for feet. To top it all off, he has a huge right hand made of stone. So, "Hellboy" is not just a clever name is what we're saying.

Of course,  his looks notwithstanding, Hellboy has redeeming qualities. In the film, he’s shown to have a lot of cats, which makes him pretty darn adorable! He also is funny and a good team player. He could have turned into a demon that worked for the Nazis and become the ultimate villain, but he rejected this fate, instead choosing the path of a hero and badass. He’s nice and even sweet at times, but when you look at his exterior, he’s still a big demon with stumps on his forehead and an oversized right arm. It’s a good thing he has a sense of humor!

7 SWAMP THING

Swamp Thing

Flowers can be beautiful. When you want to do something nice for a loved one, you buy them a nice bouquet, right? However, if your whole body was composed of plants and flowers, with a heaping helping of swamp muck thrown in there, suddenly you’re not so romantic. Therein lies the problem with Swamp Thing. Formerly a scientist named Alec Holland, his appearance was made ghastly after his work in a Louisiana was sabotaged, resulting in him being transformed into the swamp monster we all now know and love.

No one is going to look at a big, hulking swamp monster and think he’s attractive, right? Well, don't be so sure, while Swamp Thing is an ugly creature, but his good heart and inner heroism makes him more than appealing to the love of his life, Abigail Arcane. Sure, no amount of flowers he produces on his body is going to cover up that gross swampy-ness, but as they say, beauty is only skin deep while the swampy waters of his noble spirit run deep!

6 JONAH HEX

Jonah Hex

Jonah Hex isn’t the ugliest guy on the list, for sure. Unlike Spawn who has a badly burned body, or Toxic Avenger, who looks like he’s melting, Jonah Hex only has half of his face mangled. However, he’s on this list because that side of his face that is badly burned and scarred is unnerving to say the least ugly. On top of that -- and even more importantly -- his personality leaves a lot to be desired. He’s definitely not making self-deprecating jokes and endearing himself to the hearts of readers like Deadpool does, that's for sure.

Sadly, Jonah Hex was transformed into an ugly hero by no fault of his own. During a battle, Hex’s tomahawk is sabotaged and eventually broke. Defending himself, Hex pulls a knife and kills his attacker. Unfortunately for Hex, that is completely against the rules, which resulted in him being cursed with “The Mark of the Demon.” He was tied up and a red-hot tomahawk was used to burn half his face, leaving him an ugly, scarred mess. Not even the incredibly handsome Josh Brolin can make Jonah Hex an attractive character... or a good movie!

5 BETA RAY BILL

Beta Ray Bill without helmet

Thor is one of the most attractive male superheroes in the Marvel Universe. That makes Beta Ray Bill look even worse by comparison, since they have appeared in comics together for decades. Beta Ray Bill is an alien from the Korbinite species. At first glance, Bill looks like a skeletal space horse -- part of that is just his natural appearance, but some of his gnarlier bits come thanks to his people doing experiments on him to make him their ultimate protector, good looks be damned!

As such, Beta Ray Bill is definitely a hero. In fact, he’s one of the few that are worthy enough to wield Mjolnir. Unfortunately, he looks like Death... literally. Topping it all off is the fact that without his helmet and costume, which genuinely gives him an air of majesty, Beta Ray Bill looks a lot more hideous (at least to human eyes). His more horse-like features are lost, and all you see is one of the worst looking aliens in the whole Marvel Universe. He’s not just ugly, like Deadpool, Beta Ray Bill is actually scary looking. This, of course, serves him well in his nonstop battle for justice.

4 ARSEFACE

Arseface

The most tragic person on this list has to be Eugene Root, better known as Arseface. As an uber fan of Kurt Cobain, Eugene was devastated when the singer committed suicide. Wanting to emulate his idol and leave this world of pain, Eugene decided to shoot himself with a shotgun and commit suicide. Unfortunately for him, the attempted suicide didn’t work and he was left completely disfigured, leading to his unfortunate nickname.

Interestingly, though, this tragedy is how, after the attempted suicide, Arseface became an optimistic kid who loves his dad, even when his pops wanted nothing to do with him. When his dad first saw his deformed son, he said, “Shoulda put it in your mouth, you dumb little f--k.” No matter how optimistic and sweet Arseface is, there’s no denying he’s probably the physically ugliest person on this entire list. Adding to the fact that his face looks like an actual sphincter, he can no longer move his mouth properly and is constantly drooling, needing to drink his meals. Poor Eugene, despite his looks and because of his tragedy we can't help but love the guy!

3 GHOST RIDER

Ghost Rider

We know, it’s almost cheating putting Ghost Rider on this list. Of all the other heroes listed here, Ghost Rider looks the most non-human. Everyone knows what Ghost Rider looks like. No matter which incarnation of the character you’re thinking of, Ghost Rider is still a flaming skull -- cool, sure, but super-duper ugly, too. Even though Ghost Rider always looks badass, that doesn’t always equal attractive. And believe us, Ghost Rider is one ugly dude.

Even a scarred person like Deadpool, or even a monster like Swamp Thing, would be a more desirable romantic partner than Ghost Rider, and not just because he's an avenging demon lieterally hell-bent on nothing more than vengeance and death. Luckily, Ghost Rider has a sweet ride -- usually in the form of a fiery car or motorbike of some kind -- plus, he's also got mad power to spare, and has saved the universe in more ways than one. If only someone could just blow out his head like a candle and maybe throw a little mercurochrome on there, he'd probably be good to go!

2 ETRIGAN THE DEMON

Etrigan The Demon

Etrigan the Demon has the same issue as Hellboy. He’s a demon, and looks like something from your nightmares. He has horns, fangs, odd ears, claws and glowing red eyes, all designed to make you terrified. This is not someone you would have on a poster on your walls like Justin Bieber. Even though we just related the two together, Etrigan is worse than Hellboy in almost every way, mostly because he chooses to embrace his hellishness and actively leans into it.

Not only is Etrigan the Demon an ugly hero on the outside, he’s also pretty foul on the inside. One of the various powers he has is the ability to breathe hellfire, which, like Ghost Rider’s flaming skull, isn’t helping things in terms of his ability to secure a loving life partner. The most unsettling aspect of his character, however, is the fact that he’s a masochist. Etrigan the Demon isn’t afraid of getting himself into a battle because the pain is something he enjoys, both inflicting and receiving! No judgment for those who enjoy that sort of thing, of course, but the way he does it is next level horror, not just a fun little dalliance with whips and chains.

1 BEAK

Beak runs through the snow, panicking and possibly chased and threatened - Marvel Comics X-Men

One of the original X-Men is Warren Worthington III, aka Angel. Angel had the mutant ability of flight, due to the large angel wings that grew out of his back. At the time he was introduced, he was attractive, rich and a valuable member of the X-Men. Beak is almost the exact opposite of Angel. When Barnell Bohusk entered puberty, and his mutant powers manifested, he transformed into a human/bird hybrid. The problem is that Barnell, aka Beak, developed all the worst bird qualities without the awesome ones.

Beak couldn’t fly very well at all when he gained his powers. He also had a face that was basically the ugliest bird you could imagine. The rest of his body was now partially bird-like, with talons on his hand and feet. Beak also started to grow feathers, but not all over. Basically, he looked like a half-plucked, starved chicken. However, even with his really ugly looks, Barnell is a good person and a hero. Just like Skin and Ugly John, Beak played the mutant lottery and lost, but that didn't stop him from trying to be great!

Who do you think is the homeliest of heroes? Let us know in the comments!