Marvel’s catalog spans several decades. They have created some of the most inventive, intertwining stories. They've also introduced some of the most popular characters to date. Many have gone forward to appear in other mediums besides comic books, appearing in TV and films along with merchandise for many fans to consume.
However, not every hero is everyone’s hero. Despite the fact that they represent good for the folk, they have also rubbed fans the wrong way in many instances. Either from bad behavior in their stories or just overall poor writing, when certain characters appear it comes as no surprise that they receive eye rolls, yawns, or insults in response.
10 Human Torch
The young hero from the Fantastic Four, Johnny Storm, was the literal hot head of the group. While he has done a lot in keeping the world safe, he’s also one of the worst characters to grace the pages of Marvel comics.
Having a short temper, he would often rush into battle without really assessing the situation. This would often mean his other teammates would need to rush in to his rescue. In addition, despite being extremely powerful, his flame has often been snuffed out by his human limitations. Being knocked out or doused in water (assuming he’s not too hot) have been ways that he’s been taken out much easier than expected.
9 The Punisher
The hero with a large chip on his shoulder is also one that is hated -- by fellow heroes and fans alike -- for a number of reasons. Frank Castle does represent a lot of the rage and vengeance that would be expected of many heroes, his violent tendencies have made him less likable in a lot of instances.
While his stories have often drawn philosophical discussions on the morality of revenge, the reality outside the comics is that his symbol has been appropriated without understanding his true intentions. Garth Ennis has spoken countless times about this impact and has reminded readers of what The Punisher truly represents.
8 Professor X
As the founder of the X-Men, Charles Xavier has done a large service to the world by founding the Xavier Institute For Gifted Youngsters. Providing a safe haven for mutants globally, he has also used his telepathic abilities to help locate and teach many of the X-Men how to control their abilities.
His use of his mutant powers has done much good, but almost equally as much bad. Doing what he believes to be right, he has often blocked or erased portions of people’s memories in order to restrain their powers. Some of his actions have actually led to the creation of some of the worst villains the X-Men have ever faced.
7 Namor
The famous submariner is a character who has walked a fairly thin line as a hero or a villain. He has worked for the cause of good with many of Marvel’s big teams. However, doing so was mostly for the advancement of his power or for the sake of Atlantis becoming more prominent in the world.
Namor has done a few terrible things during his tenure as a hero. One that people often forget is his constant pursuit of Sue Reeds, despite her union with Richard. He has also threatened Wakanda (twice!) and has even teamed up with the likes of Doctor Doom. It's hard to side with someone whose habits walk on such a thin line.
6 Antman
Hank Pym, the original Antman, was one of the founding members of the Avengers. His contributions to the team have been plentiful but he also has a long list of things that have made him less likable as a character.
One of his big blunders was creating Ultron, someone who ended up being one of the worst villains to face the team. He was also extremely abusive to his wife, Janet Van Dyne. To top it off, in order to save face he created an evil robot to attack the Avengers. His original plan was to use a weakness he had designed to stop it, but his plan fell apart when the Wasp stepped in and saved them instead.
5 Howard the Duck
A popular but strange character to come out of Marvel’s library was an anthropomorphic duck named Howard Duckson. Meant mostly as a satirical character, Howard was from another dimension and often faced existential questions in each of his publications.
While the character, as he was originally portrayed, did a lot in terms of functioning as a vehicle for Steve Gerber’s self-exploration, he has a strange backstory that saw him being tossed around in a year's long conflict that involved his creator, Disney Studios, and Marvel comics. Many of the works that were made without Gerber’s input left a lot to be desired. This of course is without needing to mention the terror that was the Howard the Duck movie.
4 Iron Man
Being amongst the most popular characters today, Tony Stark is extremely inventive with the technology he has shared with the Avengers. Of course, all of this tech has also made him extremely wealthy, something that he has often put on display both in the comics and the films.
Among a list of his flaws, including being quite a bit of a jerk, his biggest one is his habits towards alcohol. In his early comics, Stark was often found with a bottle by his side. He even piloted his suit while drunk on a few occasions. He has since done away with these habits, but it has something that left much of a stain on his character.
3 Cyclops
Every team needs a strong and decisive leader. While striving for these traits, Cyclops has also been decidedly terrible as a leader for the X-Men. Often portrayed as heartless, he has picked fights with people for giving him so much as the wrong look.
Apparently, his morals are in alignment with everything that is good. This, however, doesn’t change the fact that most of his decision-making has been done purely to assert dominance or just to be terrible as a person.
2 Jean Grey
The mighty Jean Grey is as excellent a character as she is annoying. As the X-Men’s strongest telepath and telekinetic teammate, she has definitely pulled her weight when it came to getting missions accomplished.
However, her character is one that continues to haunt the team many years after her death. Of course, taking on the Phoenix Force was not her own fault, but she has resurrected on several occasions doing good, and then almost immediately throwing the team into chaos.
1 Reed Richards
One of the smartest men to ever grace the pages of Marvel’s comics, he is someone who is also filled with his own flaws. One of his gifts is being able to work countless hours, often while multitasking on several assignments. However, while doing this he has often left his wife Sue feeling neglected.
He has also made a ton of really poor choices. Some of them included being pro-registration during the Civil War conflict, sending Hulk out into space, and founding the Interdimensional Council of Reeds.