DC Comics practically invented the concept of superheroes and created some of the most influential heroes in fiction, including Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. For over 85 years, DC Comics has produced countless incredible characters who exemplify what it means to be a hero. However, not every superhero under the company’s banner is a winner. DC also has plenty of superheroes who readers would rather pretend never existed. Whether they are incredibly dated or have lame superpowers, these characters are notorious for being among the worst superheroes ever produced in comic book history.
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Sometimes, a terrible superhero can result from a failed attempt to create a genuinely interesting character to attract new readers. Other times, they were purposefully designed to be laughed at for how pathetic they are. Either way, these are the characters who should have been left on the cutting room floor.
10) Red Bee
During the Golden Age, superheroes were a relatively new concept, so writers tried many different ideas to see what would work. Richard Raleigh, aka Red Bee, didn’t work. Although initially published under Quality Comics, Red Bee was bought by DC Comics, where he would have several more adventures. Red Bee was a lawyer who became a costumed vigilante to fight crime. Red Bee’s greatest weapons were his trained bees. Unlike Ant-Man, who can telepathically control legions of ants, Red Bee only had a few bees in his belt at his disposal. These bees would help their master battle evildoers by stinging them. To give you an idea of how lame Red Bee was as a hero, he was knocked unconscious in over half of his comic appearances.
9) Madam Fatal
If there’s one thing the superhero genre is known for, it’s the colorful costumes the characters wear to disguise themselves when they fight crime. However, instead of masks and spandex, Golden Age hero Richard Stanton was an actor who, after his daughter was kidnapped, dressed up in a wig, glasses, and a dress as an old lady named Madam Fatal. Using this grandma persona, Stanton caught his adversaries off guard and used his cane as a weapon. Although Madam Fatal was a unique character for his time — a man who disguised himself as a woman, as one might imagine, eventually Madam Fatal’s one-note “old lady” gimmick literally grew “old,” ran out of steam, and the character fell into obscurity.
8) Gunfire
The 90s were notorious for creating countless overly edgy and violent anti-heroes who were obsessed with guns, and Andrew Van Horn, aka Gunfire, was easily the most ridiculous. After surviving an encounter with deadly aliens, Andrew developed the power to turn anything he touched into a gun. Whether it’s a pipe, a wrench, or a hammer, he can channel energy through it to fire lasers. Along with a superpower that sounds like a parody of 90s anti-heroes, Gunfire was a very arrogant and unlikeable character who constantly boasted about how cool he was. Despite his high opinion of himself, readers didn’t share Gunfire’s perspective, which led to this dated anti-hero’s comic line being cancelled.
7) Color Kid
The 30th century is home to some of the strangest and weakest superheroes in DC Comics history. The alien Ulu Vakk, aka Color Kid, was caught in a lab accident that gave him the power to change the color of anything. That’s it. Color Kid tried to apply to the Legion of Superheroes, but his weak abilities resulted in a quick rejection. He would then go on to join the Legion of Substitute Heroes, who are a team of heroes with useless superpowers. At best, Color Kid can camouflage himself and others to do sneak attacks, but his lack of creativity in the application of his own powers means that he’ll always be stuck as a Substitute Hero.
6) Blimp
In 1966, DC Comics debuted the Inferior Five, who were a comical parody of the superhero genre. The team consisted of Merryman, Dumb Bunny, the Blimp, Awkwardman, and White Feather, who were all very unqualified to fight crime. But while other members possessed at least some power or skill that proved helpful, Herman Cramer, aka the Blimp, was easily the most useless. As his name suggests, the Blimp is an overweight man with the power to fly. However, he can only fly at very slow speeds, and a single gust of wind can blow him off course. In a team full of idiots and klutzes, the Blimp is arguably the biggest loser of them all.
5) New 52 Lobo
The alien bounty hunter Lobo is a huge fan favorite for his comical, violent personality that parodies overly edgy anti-heroes. Then came the New 52, where writers completely missed the point of his character. This reboot introduced the “original” Lobo, who claimed that the one readers had followed for decades was just an imposter, and that he was the real deal. The New 52 Lobo was an honorable Czarnian royal guard who swore vengeance against the imposter who destroyed his homeworld. A bland, serious, and tortured soul, the new “original” Lobo was a bad boy who exemplified every trope the real Lobo parodied. New 52 Lobo was so universally hated that he was shrunken down and literally shelved. Now, the real Lobo is back, and readers couldn’t be happier.
4) Brother Power the Geek
One of the strangest heroes DC Comics has ever produced, Brother Power the Geek, was created in a misguided attempt to draw in the Hippie crowd during the late 1960s. When a mannequin is dressed in groovy Hippie clothes, a lightning bolt strikes it, bringing it to life. As a puppet elemental, Brother Power has enhanced strength and can control other puppets. To fight the system, the living mannequin ran for Congress while preaching flower power and battling Ronald Reagan. As one might imagine, this incredibly dated comic lasted only two issues due to its unfocused plot and unclear audience. And although Brother Power has made a few sparse appearances since his cancellation, most people are okay with forgetting this awkward attempt at pandering.
3) Friendly Fire
If his superhero name didn’t give it away, Friendly Fire was more of a threat to his fellow heroes than he was to criminals. Friendly Fire was a member of Section Eight, a team of “superheroes” who are just a bunch of pathetic drunks and miscreants. And despite being the only member with a useful power, he was by far one of their worst teammates simply because of how he applied his superpowers. He could shoot powerful energy beams, but his aim was so terrible that he kept accidentally shooting bystanders and other heroes. Thankfully, the world was spared having to deal with Friendly Fire anymore when he accidentally shot his own head off. A fitting end for such a stupid character.
2) Arm-Fall-Off-Boy
Another Legion of Superheroes reject, Floyd Belkin, aka Arm-Fall-Off-Boy, possesses one of the weirdest and most useless superpowers in comic book history. As his name implies, Arm-Fall-Off-Boy can detach his limbs from his body and use them as melee weapons. Given that he could use a baseball bat and achieve the same effect when fighting crime, this power makes him pretty pathetic. Despite not earning a spot in the Legion of Superheroes, Arm-Fall-Off-Boy still fought crime as both an independent hero and member of the Heroes of Lallor. Arm-Fall-Off-Boy is such a laughable concept that the 2021 movie The Suicide Squad created the character, The Detachable Kid, as a parody of the dismembering hero.
1) Dogwelder
Easily the most disgusting and depraved “superhero” ever created, Dogwelder is a deranged member of Section Eight. A vicious and mute vigilante, Dogwelder literally uses a welding torch to weld dead dogs to the faces of criminals. He spends most of his free time replenishing his supply of dead dogs by catching and killing strays. Thankfully, Dogwelder was vaporized by the Lovecraftian monsters, the Many Angled Ones. Dogwelder was then sent to Hell, where he belongs. It’s hard to tell what’s most baffling with this bad joke of a character: that he ever made it past editorial, or the fact that he actually inspired someone else to take up the Dogwelder mantle after he died.
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