Marvel Comics has created some of the most interesting heroes in the history of comics. There are numerous reasons for that, but one of the most important has always been the powers of the characters. While not every hero and villain has superpowers, their abilities often played a big role in their lives. They had to learn how to deal with them and live new lives, which could be very difficult for many of them because of the transformative nature of their new abilities. Looking at the history of the Marvel Universe, there are numerous heroes whose powers changed their lives because of how much they literally transformed.
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Many heroes gained abilities that made them complete powerhouses, but also made them into something that wasn’t always human. They were changed in such a fundamental way that they had to learn to live completely new lives, and this has led to some amazing stories. These seven Marvel heroes’ powers altered them completely, leading to them becoming something not always human.
7) She-Hulk
She-Hulk is a groundbreaking hero. Jennifer Walters is the cousin of Bruce Banner, who gave her a blood transfusion that saved her life and made her into the She-Hulk. She is the most human of the Hulks, able to mostly keep her temper under control and transform back to human any time she wants. She’s since become a fan-favorite character, revolutionizing the fourth wall break before Deadpool was even thought of. Her changes may not seem as big as some others on this list, but she was definitely very different after her powers manifested.
6) Rockslide
Mutants have the market cornered when it comes to transformative powers. Many mutants have powers that change their bodies, but the most interesting are the ones who transform into something that isn’t made of flesh; sometimes, they aren’t even carbon-based. Rockslide is one of these. Santo Vaccarro’s powers made him into a massive rock monster, changing him forever. While his body was still demonstrably human – a head, a torso, two arms, and two legs – everything was changed. He became a literal mountain of a human being, and is one of the coolest looking mutants ever.
5) Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler is one of the X-Men’s greats, a swashbuckling hero who looks like a demon. Now, there’s an argument that he doesn’t fit on this list, since he was bore with his demonic looks. However, he was still supposed to be a human baby (or in his case, a mutant baby) and no one expected him to look the way he did. His body is covered in blue fur, he has three fingers and three toes, and a tail. He can also blend perfectly into the shadows, making even more different from most people. He’s even transformed into even more demonic forms, most notably in Legion of X, from the Krakoa Era. He was never able to have a normal life because of his looks, but eventually he gloried in that fact when he learned to accept himself.
4) Reed Richards
On the one hand, Reed Richards’s powers didn’t make him into something that didn’t look human. However, his stretching abilities completely transformed the way he lived his life. To begin with, his skin took up the plasticity of, well, plastic and similar materials, making him indestructible up to a certain level. He could stretch every part of him, allowing him to do things in ways he couldn’t before. He was even able to stretch his brain in ways that make him even more intelligent and has shown to be able to develop telepathic powers by stretching his brain in new ways. He’s learned to use his fingers and toes, which can both stretch independently of of the others, in ways he wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. It’s a bigger transformation than it gets credit for.
3) Deadpool
Deadpool is a complex character, and the entire reason for that is his powers. He was given an amped version of Wolverine’s healing factor by Weapon X and it immediately changed him. It cured the cancer he had, but basically made his body into a walking tumor. Under his clothes, he looks completely different than what he once did. On top of that, there was the mental changes from his new abilities. His vaunted insanity came from the way his healing factor worked. Wade Wilson walked into Weapon X one way, and when he walked out he was a completely different version.
2) The Hulk
The Hulk is the strongest one there is, and becoming the Jade Giant transformed Bruce Banner forever. The One Below All opened the Green Door while he was saving Rick Jones from the gamma bomb test, and he became the most powerful human to ever exist. He became the massive green-skinned Goliath we all know and love, gaining infinite power and becoming a roiling cauldron of gamma energy. One of the more interesting parts of his change was the way it used the mental trauma and DID that his abusive childhood left him with, creating entirely new personas that would take control of his body. Bruce was once one of the greatest scientists on the face of the Earth, but becoming the Hulk transformed him into something completely different.
1) The Thing
The Thing’s transformation iss one of the most important aspects of the character. Ben Grimm went up in the Marvel with his best friend Reed, Reed’s girlfriend Sue, and her brother Johnny as himself and he came down as the Thing. His flesh was transformed into rocks, making him some thing that wasn’t human in his own eyes. For years, he wanted to be a fully flesh and blood again, and this became one of the main parts of his stories. He was a tragic character for years, but eventually accepted the changes to himself and embraced his new life.
What’s your favorite transformed Marvel hero? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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