Marvel Comics nearly went out of business in the 1990s, largely due to a combination of factors, including some awful moments that fans will never forget. The reason for its struggles stemmed from several poor decisions, including the release of non-stop variant covers and some lackluster crossover events. The awful storyline decisions Marvel presented during that decade also turned several fans against the company and caused sales of the comics to fall drastically. The decade was a tough one, and after the company filed for bankruptcy, it pulled itself out, diversified its properties, and began to see an uprise thanks to movies being made by companies like Fox and Sony.
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From poor character decisions to bad storylines and a poorly received reboot, here is a look at some awful Marvel moments from the ’90s that fans want to forget about, but can’t.
7) Joseph Replaced Magneto
Joseph was easily one of the worst decisions Marvel Comics made in the ’90s. This was a character who appeared as an amnesiac named Joseph, later revealed to be a clone created by Astra to kill Magneto. When he showed up, asking the X-Men for help, they believed he was an amnesiac Magneto, but they still accepted him into their ranks. Joseph officially replaced Magneto in the Marvel Comics universe.
This was a terrible decision, and fans didn’t buy into it, and most knew it couldn’t be the real Magneto. Even if it was, he had none of the gravitas of the Master of Magnetism and was a pale comparison to the iconic X-Men villain. This was also the moment when Magneto (Joseph) and Rogue began to develop a relationship, which tied into a twist from Age of Apocalypse. However, readers didn’t want to see that at the time either. Joseph died trying to stop an evil Magneto when he returned, but fans seemed more excited to see Magneto back than to see Joseph’s sacrifice.
6) The Clone Saga
The Clone Saga was the one storyline that cost Spider-Man much of his popularity in the ’90s. The original storyline began in the ’70s when Jackal (Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy’s biology professor) created a clone of Spider-Man, causing problems for the Wall-Crawler. However, that wasn’t where the story went bad. Instead, it was when it started up again in 1994 with the fan-hated Clone Saga. There were two Peter Parkers, and one was a clone. They fought, and the one who believed he was a clone left.
That lasted for two years before Marvel retconned it and revealed that he was the real Peter Parker. Spider-Man, for two years, had been a clone, meaning fans had been following a fake Spider-Man the entire time. While some good came out of it (including Ben Reilly), the Clone Saga lasted for two long years and was too confusing for its own good. By the end, many fans stopped reading Spider-Man comics.
5) Wolverine Loses His Adamantium & Goes Feral
There were so many bad things about the X-Men storyline, Fatal Attraction. Magneto was living in space on Asteroid M, and no one would allow him to live in peace, even off Earth. The X-Men finally went up to deal with him, and that is when Magneto finally lost it and used his powers to rip out Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton. Jean Grey used her powers to keep Wolverine in one piece, but his healing factor stopped, causing him to go feral.
The artists even began to portray him in a more animalistic form, transforming one of Marvel’s most beloved mutants into something no one could like. It was the worst thing that ever happened to Wolverine in Marvel Comics, and it was something fans vocally hated. This storyline also led to the creation of the deadly X-Men villain Onslaught, which caused further problems later in the ’90s, but Wolverine’s transformation was unforgivable.
4) Punisher Became An Angel of Vengeance
Marvel Comics has never been kind to Frank Castle. The only respectable Punisher comics came when Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon reimagined his story on an alternate Earth in Punisher: War Zone. However, this came after Marvel ruined everything about the character when it had Frank die by suicide and then end up resurrected by his family’s guardian angel, Gabriel.
The Punisher then became an Angel of Vengeance, with guns forged from Heavenly material, meaning he was now killing villains in the name of God. This was meant to be a Purgatory for the Punisher, with Marvel deciding to do a full-on horror series with the character. This was the worst moment in Punisher history, at least until the next decade when he was turned into Frankenscastle, a Frankenstein-style monster.
3) Iron Man’s The Crossing Heel Turn
Iron Man is one of the most-hated heroes in the Marvel Comics universe. The Marvel Cinematic Universe helped rehabilitate him for people who aren’t as big fans of comic books. However, for those who read comics, there are numerous instances where Iron Man has done such bad things that it’s a surprise he is still considered a hero. While the Civil War storyline turned most fans against him, they really started to turn on him after The Crossing.
This ’90s Marvel storyline revealed that Iron Man had been a double agent working for Kang the Conqueror the entire time. He showed this after murdering three people and helping lead Kang to Earth. The Avengers had to travel through time to get a younger teenage Tony Stark to beat the older version of the hero. Readers hated teenage Tony Stark in the comics, and even when the adult Tony returned as a retconned hero, many stopped trusting him completely.
2) Spider-Man Slaps A Pregnant Mary Jane
One of the most shocking and despicable moments in Marvel Comics in the ’90s occurred in Spider-Man comics at the end of the Clone Saga storyline. However, this moment stands apart from the overall disappointing event series because of something Peter Parker did that was entirely against his nature. Peter still wasn’t sure if he was the clone or if Ben Reilly was. When a pregnant Mary Jane tried to talk sense into him, he hit her.
When Hank Pym hit his wife Janet Van Dyne in the pages of the Avengers comics, fans turned against him forever. In this case, it appears that many fans have already forgiven Peter for this lapse in judgment, possibly because he panicked and showed great remorse after hitting her. However, Mary Jane miscarried, and this was a moment that Marvel should always regret having happen for its most beloved superhero.
1) Heroes Reborn
The worst moment of the ’90s in Marvel Comics is one that fans will never forget. When Professor X inadvertently created Onslaught, a villain who pretty much beat every superhero on Earth and destroyed the world as we know it, Marvel changed everything. The heroes of Earth were split into two realities. The X-Men, Spider-Man, and others were still on the main Earth. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four were relocated into the Heroes Reborn universe.
Rob Leifeld and Jim Lee were part of the creative team, and fans rejected it from the start. This was Marvel trying to create something from the Image Comics creators, and it never worked. Marvel succeeded at it years later with the Ultimate Comics universe, but this first attempt at recreating things for a new generation was a colossal failure.
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