Some heroes get their powers from the sun, by luck of birth or they work their whole lives to develop their skills. At the end of the day, they were able to take off their costumes and walk among the average people with the smile of the righteous on their face.
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However, there are some heroes with no costumes to take off and no capes to hang up. This is their life. Cursed by magic or marred by science, they must walk through every day dealing with the consequences of their lives and yet they still choose to walk the path of the hero. Here are 10 weird DC characters who see their powers as a curse.
10 Andrew Bennett/I, Vampire
Lord Andrew Bennett was a noble man in the court of Queen Victoria who was turned into a vampire. He also turned his lover Mary Seward who was corrupted by the power, becoming Mary, Queen of Blood and created a cult of vampires called the Blood Red Moon. Bennett has spent centuries trying to correct his mistake.
Bennett tried to end his existence several times but has been resurrected by higher powers like the Lords of Order or heroes like Dr. Fate and Madame Xanadu. He has also fought with John Constantine, aided the Justice League Dark and stood with Batman against a vampire invasion of Gotham.
9 Blue Devil
Daniel Cassidy was a special effects wizard and stuntman who created the exosuit and trident to star in Blue Devil: the Movie. His co-stars released the demon Neibros but Dan saved his friends and drove Neibros back. Neibros fired a bolt of mystical energy that fused the suit to Daniel. Horrified at first, Daniel reluctantly became a superhero and“weirdness magnet.”
Daniel made a deal with the demon Neron, who turned Daniel into a true blue demon from Hell. This was an even worse deal for the devoutly Catholic Daniel, who tried to thwart Neron’s plans wherever possible. This started a cycle of deaths and resurrections. Daniel also acquired Lucifer’s trident which he used to send demons on Earth back to Hell.
8 Metamorpho
Rex Mason was an adventurer who was hired to find the mythical Orb of Ra by ruthless industrialist Simon Stagg. After locating the Orb, Stagg double-crossed Mason and trapped him in a cave with the Orb which was made from a meteorite. The radiation altered Mason’s form so that he could transform into any element that exists within the human body.
Mason has long considered himself a freak and has searched the world for a cure. He has heroically died on three occasions but came back through various means. Despite his insistence that he wanted to stay away from superheroes, Mason has been part of several teams, including the Outsiders, Justice League and The Terrifics.
7 Enchantress
June Moone was a freelance artist who stumbled on a cave where a magical force empowered her to fight an evil presence. By saying the word "Enchantress," the blond-haired June was replaced by the raven haired sorceress of incredible power. Enchantress’ subsequent appearances were far less heroic, pitting her against Supergirl and placing her with a group of villains during the first Crisis.
Many attempts have been made to remove June from the Enchantress. Often, June ends up insane and committed to mental institutions. Eventually, June and the Enchantress are always drawn back together again.
6 Jason Blood
During the Fall of Camelot when King Arthur’s forces were near defeat, Merlin summoned his half-brother Etrigan, a rhyming demon from Hell. Even with the Demon’s power, Camelot fell. And rather than let the demon loose on the world, he bound the Demon to Jason Blood, a knight in Arthur’s court. This made him immortal but Blood saw it as a curse.
Blood emerged in modern times as a demonologist in Gotham City. Over time, Blood has made various attempts to rid himself of Etrigan with disastrous results. One attempt saw both aging rapidly. Another saw Blood’s friend Harry Matthew’s devoured by Etrigan’s demon father Belail, and turned into a talking cigar chomping pillow. Blood and Etrigan have battled and aided numerous heroes.
5 Cliff Steele/Robotman
Cliff Steele was a daredevil and a race car driver who had a horrible crash during the Indianapolis 500 that destroyed his body. Eccentric scientist Niles Caulder took Steele’s surviving brain and put it into an advanced robot body. Once Steele learned to control his new form, he joined Caulder’s “freaks” to become the Doom Patrol.
Steele still goes through numerous bouts of anger and depression due to the fact that his body feels nothing at all. The problem is that he remembers what being human felt like. Steele lived his life to its fullest and remembers everything that came with that kind of life. And now that is forever denied to him. Only by focusing on someone who has it worse, like Crazy Jane, keeps Cliff Steele from going mad.
4 Killer Frost
Dr. Caitlin Snow is a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist that was sent to an Arctic outpost to take over a thermodynamic engine project whose creator committed suicide. H.I.V.E. Agents had taken over the outpost and locked her in the engine to kill her but it transformed her into a heat vampire. Caitlin killed the H.I.V.E. Agents and others to get back to civilization.
Snow wanted to recreate the Firestorm Matrix to cure herself. When she found out that Firestorm and the Justice League were dead, she lost all hope of saving herself. She was conscripted into the Suicide Squad against the (not dead) Justice League but helped the League against Maxwell Lord. Batman forced Amanda Waller to release Snow to his custody and put her on his personal team.
3 Deadman
Boston Brand is a daredevil trapeze artist who performed under the name Deadman. He was murdered by an unknown assailant with a hook. Brand’s spirit was stopped in the afterlife by the Hindu God Rama Kushna and given the opportunity to “balance the scales”. Brand returned as a ghost with the ability to possess people and take control of their body.
Brand came to resent his existence, being close to life but never able to truly experience it. Only a few very powerful beings could see and converse with Brand when he isn’t in possession of a human. Despite this, Brand has helped Earthly heroes like Batman, Shadowpact and the Justice League against mystical threats.
2 Cyborg
Victor Stone was a football star who hid his genius intellect. His father cared little for his numerous athletic achievements which created a number of fights between them. A visit to his parents’ lab turns disastrous when an other-dimensional gelatinous creature broke through a portal. It kuVictor’s mother and severely injured Victor. His father used the opportunity to graft state of the art metallic prosthesis to Victor’s arms, legs, and face to save his life.
Victor was horrified at what his father had done. Victor said it would have been better if he had died. Months of painful rehabilitation and relearning followed as Victor tried to return to his life but was shunned. Victor found the hero within and stopped a gang from attacking the UN, embracing his life as Cyborg. Victor continued to be self-deprecating despite gaining great success as a hero. Only helping kids who had lost their own limbs, wore prostheses and saw Cyborg as their hero made the angry young man rethink his self image.
1 Phantom Stranger
The origins of the Phantom Stranger have been cloaked in mystery. Some say that he is a fallen angel that refused to take sides in the Great War between Heaven and Hell. There are others that say he is Judas Iscariot or the Roman soldier that tortured Jesus at the Crucifixion. What is know is that the nigh omnipotent, nigh-invulnerable Stranger appears to people in times of great need.
The Phantom Stranger goes about his business with a quiet, stoic resolve, having no contemporaries or friends to confide in. He introduces himself, even to people he has met, as “a stranger.” The only time the Stranger is ever seen expressing emotion is when his mission is challenged.