Marvel Comics is home to some of the most incredible superheroes of all time, including Spider-Man, the Avengers, X-Men, and countless more. However, in over 85 years of publication history and thousands of characters, not every superhero is going to be a success. And many weren’t. In a universe with iconic gods, mutants, and monsters protecting the innocent from the forces of evil, there are plenty of other heroes who can’t measure up because of their lackluster powers, personalities, designs, and stories. Instead of standing as beacons of hope, these heroes inspire nothing but aggravation among the fanbase. These less-than-marvelous superheroes rank among the worst characters ever produced in comic book history.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Since Marvel Comics has created thousands of characters with unique abilities and personalities, sometimes it becomes clear that some writers had run out of ideas.
10) Butterball
Ermery Schaub, aka Butterball, is similar to the rotund mutant supervillain the Blob, but without the perk of possessing superhuman strength. A recruit into the superhero Initiative program, Butterball is completely impervious to harm and can’t be killed. Unfortunately, his ability also means that he can’t gain or lose muscle mass, leaving him stuck as an unhealthy and overweight man. This weakness means Butterball is reduced to a punching bag for supervillains, as he lacks the strength and endurance to fight back. While being invincible is a nice power, it doesn’t make up for him being a weak, slow, and uncoordinated crimefighter who’s only useful in very specific situations.
9) Starfox
There are few superheroes in Marvel Comics with more problematic superpowers than Eros, aka Starfox. The hedonistic younger brother of Thanos, Starfox, decided to become a hero unlike his genocidal sibling. Starfox’s main abilities are that he can telepathically manipulate people through his speech and psychically stimulate the pleasure centers of their brains. These abilities, along with Starfox’s promiscuous lifestyle, led to many unsettling ethical concerns regarding consent. Starfox was even taken to court over sexual assault allegations. Although it was later proven that Starfox didn’t commit the crimes he was accused of, his gross powers still made him a liability. While it wasn’t the original writer’s intention, Starfox became an extremely creepy character, leaving many readers understandably uncomfortable.
8) Razorback
Just by looking at Buford Hollis, aka Razorback, you would probably assume he has some boar-like ability, given the massive and impractical boar helmet he wears. However, Razorback’s mutant ability is that he just instinctively knows how to drive any vehicle. While this ability is perfect for doing well on a driver’s exam, it’s a pretty lackluster skill to have when fighting supervillains. Even though the mane of his suit can release bursts of electricity, the costume’s overall design is too goofy to be taken seriously. Razorback was part of a weird time in Marvel Comics history when they tried to appeal to a trucker audience, which obviously hit some bumps in the road and crashed out.
7) Gin Genie
A member of the fame-obsessed mutant superhero team X-Statix, Beckah Parker, aka Gin Genie, can create powerful seismic waves that can destroy walls and even generate earthquakes. While this sounds like an incredibly useful and potent ability, there’s one big flaw in this power that makes Gin Genie a greater danger than the villains she fights. Gin Genie can only make shockwaves equal to the amount of alcohol in her system. The more plastered she is, the more destructive her powers become, which is anything but a good combination. Gin Genie, along with most of X-Statix, dies horribly from a helicopter attack. Since she’ll likely never make a comeback, it’s only fair to pour one out for this alcoholic time bomb of a hero.
6) El Guapo
Robbie Rodriguez, aka El Guapo, was a mutant stuntman who was recruited into the team X-Statix because he was saved from a villain. However, his only power is a telepathic link with his sentient skateboard, which he shares a symbiotic bond with. Even worse, El Guapo gets weaker the longer he’s away from his skateboard. And yet, even with this handicap that literally forces him to always remain with his skateboard, the board will sometimes go rogue and start striking him. El Guapo was also an incredibly selfish showboat who constantly got into trouble because of his own arrogance. El Guapo proved to be so pathetic that he rode off this mortal coil when he was killed by his own skateboard, which impaled his heart.
5) NFL SuperPro
No superhero in comic book history screams “sellout” more than Phil Grayfield, aka NFL SuperPro. If his name doesn’t make it incredibly obvious, this hero only existed to act as a marketing campaign for the NFL. After inhaling the fumes of a bunch of burning sports memorabilia, sports reporter Phil gained superhuman strength and durability. Phil then put on an indestructible football uniform and became the NFL SuperPro, dedicated to protecting civilians and football from evildoers. As one might imagine, NFL SuperPro was a walking cliché with a one-dimensional personality who primarily spit lazy football-related quips. It also didn’t help that some of his enemies were racist Native American caricatures. After only twelve issues, NFL SuperPro was thankfully made a permanent benchwarmer and never seen again.
4) Almighty Dollar
Almighty Dollar is a superhero who’s as worthless as the pennies he shoots from his hands. When a mad scientist made a machine capable of giving people superpowers, one of his first test subjects at a self-esteem camp was an accountant named J. Pennington Pennypacker. With such a painfully obvious name and profession, the machine granted him the ability to manifest and fire a limitless supply of pennies from his hands. Instead of using this ability to amass wealth, Almighty Dollar thought that his skills would be more useful if he just threw coins at bad guys. As one can imagine, Almighty Dollar proved to be such a bankrupt concept that he only appeared in one issue.
3) US Archer
Bizarrely, Marvel has not one, but two superhero truck drivers, with the second being Ulysses Archer, aka US Archer. After getting into a terrible accident, the top of US Archer’s skull is replaced with a cybernetic implant. This implant gives US Archer the ability to listen to CB radio transmissions and change the channels by touching his tooth fillings with his tongue. On top of having a completely useless superpower that could be replicated with a regular radio, US Archer’s adventures all revolve around how cool being a trucker is. While truckers provide vital services and he had crazy adventures, US Archer’s personality was very bland. It probably comes as no surprise that he was created to sell a failed toy truck line for kids.
2) Fluff
Founded by the hero Zeitgeist, X-Cellent was a short-lived superhero team of inexperienced mutants. Easily the group’s most disgusting and useless member was Fluff. Mutants are well-known for possessing incredible abilities, but Fluff’s X-Gene gave him the gross power to generate an infinite amount of sticky belly button lint. Unsurprisingly, there aren’t many situations where belly button lint is useful in crimefighting, so writers killed him off after only two appearances. Tired of Fluff undermining his leadership, Zeitgeist ordered his fellow teammate Woosh to drop the weak mutant to his death. A one-note joke of a character, Fluff is a superhero who will most likely never be resurrected.
1) Hindsight Lad
Carlton LaFroyge, aka Hindsight Lad, is one of the most obnoxious and useless “superheroes” in comics. When Carlton discovered that his classmate was the superhero Speedball, he blackmailed him into allowing him to join the New Warriors. With no actual superpowers, Hindsight Lad’s only “ability” is to come up with tactical strategies after the battle is over. This means that Hindsight Lad’s only talent is to endlessly complain about his teammates’ performances like an entitled man-child. After the New Warriors went on a mission that accidentally killed hundreds of people, Hindsight Lad sought to ruin the lives of the surviving members. Hindsight Lad leaked their secret identities online, exposing them to attack. Hindsight Lad only makes things worse whenever he appears.
What do you think? Leave a Comment below and join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Prime Video -
Image Courtesy of MAPPA -
Image Courtesy of Netflix
