There are plenty of options to consider if you’re looking at controversial comic releases over the years. While most saw the reactions limited largely to comics fans, some grew to a point where they became much more widespread discussions. Fans could start with Neal Adams’ work with Green Arrow and Green Lantern, which explored topics that were typically avoided in comics, like drug abuse and racism. Spider-Man has plenty of controversial decisions that fans haven’t forgiven Marvel for to this day. And then Batman and his fans raised eyebrows by spelling doom for Robin back in the ’80s during “A Death in the Family” through a call-in hotline. These are merely the surface scratches that fans could get lost exploring, but there are plenty more.
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There have been several single issues of comics that caused enough outrage for their removal from the shelves. Sometimes it can be chalked up to printing mistakes, but many times it is due to a decision by the writer or artist that shocked readers or stirred controversy. The worst would go on to create new trends, thoughts, and theories on top of being sent to the shredder.
1) New Teen Titans #34 – Deathstroke and Terra’s Relationship Revealed
“The Judas Contract” is easily one of the top DC Comics trades to buy for most comic fans, pitting the popular superhero team against Deathstroke the Terminator after adding a new member to the team. The name is Terra, and she’s carrying a big old secret. A secret that’s poised to break the heart of Beast Boy after he develops a crush on the newbie.
The reason for the turmoil is that Terra and Slade Wilson are working together. They’re also sleeping together, which is where the controversy comes. The villain and the 16-year-old were intimate, and Terra was portrayed as mentally unwell, and a way to show the character was evil to the core. Technically, Terra is even younger at the beginning of the tale, celebrating her birthday with the Teen Titans during the storyline. DC Comics would retcon and address the relationship years later, but it has remained a sticky point in the iconic story.
2) X-Statix #13 – Princess Di Joins the Team?
Marvel had some fun with X-Force in July 2001, welcoming writer Peter Milligan and indie artist darling Mike Allred to the title for a complete reboot. Renaming the team X-Statix and replacing the original X-Force title, the team would go on for 26 issues until Allred and Milligan decided to kill off the whole team for the second time in their run.
They are also the main reason the title was at the center of controversy with the UK Royal Family due to a reference to Princess Diana on the cover of X-Statix #13. It didn’t stop at the cover, though, as Diana was meant to return from the dead and join the team as a mutant superhero. She was later removed from the story by Marvel and replaced by a fictional pop singer named Henrietta Hunter.
3) Amazing Spider-Man #512 – Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn Affair
Yes, yes, “One More Day” is generally considered the worst of the Spider-Man decisions published in recent memory. But that doesn’t mean it is alone or the most egregious, at least until they bring back Uncle Ben as the new Venom.
J. Michael Straczynski penned the story, which came a few years before “One More Day” upended most of the Spider-Man lore. Where the trouble comes in is the big reveal in this issue, having Mary Jane inform Peter about Gwen Stacy’s twins and the apparent truth that Norman Osborn fathered them, not Parker. Not only does this act as a prelude for the meddling to come in Spider-Man’s life, but it also commits the great crime of once again fooling around with the death of Gwen Stacy, claiming Osborn targeted her due to the pregnancy and her decision to have a life with Parker. To put some icing on the cake, the big reveal comes with some very creepy art where it seems like Osborn is preying on Stacy.
4) Avengers #200 – Ms. Marvel’s Unexpected Pregnancy
As we mentioned in our look at the worst Avengers stories, the implication in this issue is that Carol Danvers is almost forced to give birth to the very man, Marcus, who assaults her and impregnates her. Worse yet, Marvel decides to have the Avengers go along with the situation and support Danvers keeping the baby. She agrees, even deciding to stand by the villain, who is revealed to be the son of Immortus — better known as one of Kang the Conqueror’s alter egos. The team then has Thor send the pair to Limbo, keeping Ms. Marvel away from the team for over a year before losing her powers to Rogue and remaining with the X-Men to recover.
The whole story is just horrid in hindsight, something late former Marvel editor and writer Jim Shooter agreed with in a blog from 2011.
“I agree with the consensus, it’s heinous…I guess I signed off on this book. I regret it,” Shooter wrote. “I take full responsibility. I screwed up. My judgment failed, or maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention. Sorry. Avengers #200 is a travesty.”
5) Elseworlds 80-Page Giant – Letitia Lerner, Superman’s Babysitter
The weird and odd tale of Letitia Lerner, the babysitter charged with caring for a baby Clark Kent, and her difficult night trying to wrangle the future hero. The story, written by Kyle Baker and Liz Glass, caused controversy for its final moments that saw Baby Clark Kent crawl into a microwave.
The story first appeared as part of the Elseworlds 80-Page Giant from June 1999 and ran into trouble after DC Vice-President Paul Levitz read the story and ordered the comic removed from shelves, effectively banning it at the time. It was similar to the Streisand Effect in a way, which is probably why the story ended up reprinted in the 2003 Bizarro Comics anthology without any edits.
6) Green Lantern #54 – Alexandra DeWitt’s Women in Refrigerators Moment
Gail Simone singled out the “Women in Refrigerators” in 1999, calling out creatives using female characters and torturing them to advance the stories for the male protagonists. It’s far more than that, but the origin can be traced back to this Green Lantern issue, where Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend Alexandra DeWitt was killed by Major Force and stuffed into a fridge. Writer Ron Marz has noted that DeWitt was created to have her murdered, hoping to have the death mean something to readers.
“I took a lot of care in building her as a character, because I wanted her to be liked and her death to mean something to the readers,” Marz said. “Her death was meant to bring brutal realization to Kyle that being GL [Green Lantern] wasn’t fun and games. It was also meant to sever his links with his old life, paving the way for his move to New York. And ultimately I wanted her death to be memorable and illustrate just how truly heinous Major Force was. Thus the fridge.”
7) Spidey: A Universe X Special – Called out former Marvel EIC Bob Harras
The Earth X line of books was Marvel’s version of Kingdom Come, created by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross and eventually spawning a pair of sequel series titled Universe X and Paradise X, respectively. With the middle entry in the series, several spinoff one-shots were created, including Spidey: A Universe X Special, which highlighted the different Spider-Men from Earth X. But the controversy was hidden within one of the comic’s panels, and it brought some troubling feelings to light.
Artist Al Milgrom took his inking opportunity to unload some dirty laundry, targeting former Marvel editor-in-chief Bob Harras with a hidden message.
“Bob Harras. Ha, Ha. He’s Gone. Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish. He was a nasty S.O.B.,” the message reads. It’s pretty well hidden, also, so it’s tough to pinpoint where the trouble started, but it was found, and the issue was removed from the shelves. The message ended up removed from reprints.
8) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #5 – Marvel Douche Advert
Another decision by DC Comics exec Paul Levitz that led to a book’s exodus from comic shops, the fifth issue of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 1. It’s a small controversy that adds some late flavor to the larger history between DC, Marvel and Alan Moore, but in funnier fashion.
In the issue, Moore includes a very real advertisement for a product called the Marvel Whirling Spray Syringe. The controversy comes from potential litigation with rival Marvel Comics, forcing the removal of the Marvel name and replacing it with “Amaze.” Moore was clearly aware of what the ad could lead to, making fun of it in a panel from his series Top 10. Another chapter in his long-running feuds with both Marvel and DC Comics.
Did we skip out on any important controversies? Are you still too upset about some of them to even address it? Let us know in the comments.
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