Today is National Hairstylist Appreciation Day, where we celebrate and honor all the hairstylists who keep our hair from looking like a dirty mop (unless that’s the look you’re going for, of course!) A good hairstyle is critical to the look of many comic book characters, helping them stand out to readers either in or out of costume. Superman has his spit curl, Professor X has his cueball, and Peter Parker has that cheap haircut he probably got from a $5 barbershop. There’s also plenty of characters with slightly more…unique styles, making them stand out even more. To celebrate National Hairstylist Appreciation Day, here’s five of the wackiest haircuts in comics:
Magpie
A museum curator turned jewel thief, the Batman villain Magpie is best known for her crazy tri-hawk hairstyle. Magpie was a product of the 1980s, with oversized pink sunglasses and long dangly earrings to go along with her insane, implausible haircut. At least one comic tried to establish that Magpie’s three-pronged haircut was a wig, but that seems to have been largely ignored by creators who want to believe that her ninja star-esque hairstyle was real. Sadly, Magpie’s sole appearance in cartoons (Beware the Batman) cast aside her amazing hair style for a far tamer look.
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Wolverine
Wolverine’s two-pronged haircut is proof that being functionally immortal doesn’t automatically come with a sense of style. Wolverine’s hair seamlessly blends into his oversized mutton chops, giving him a look meant to evoke his classic costume. It also makes him look like the Tasmanian Devil, but that’s probably a compliment for a dude who makes a living stabbing people with his claws. We’re not sure if Wolverine styles his hair that way, or if his overpowered healing factor makes it impossible for him to try a haircut that doesn’t make him look like a Motorhead reject.
Guy Gardner
As a proud Ohio State alum, it fills me with great happiness that the University of Michigan’s hometown superhero is a jackass in a bowlcut. We imagine that Gardner’s surly attitude and hairtrigger temper makes it impossible for his barber to suggest a look that doesn’t evoke shades of the Three Stooges’ Moe. Still, coupled with his bright orange hair, it’s impossible to mistake Guy Gardner for someone else, which is probably a good thing since there’s now six Green Lanterns running around on Earth.
Yugi Muto
Yugi Mutoh is best known as the star of the manga/anime/collectible card game Yu-Gi-Oh, but he also has one of the most extreme haircuts ever drawn on paper. Spiky haircuts are a staple for manga (hello, Goku, I see you!) but Yugi takes that style to an extreme. Yugi has a distinctive two-toned hairdo, with spiked magenta hair in the back and spiky blonde bangs in the front. When Yugi turns into his alter-ego Dark Yugi, some of those blonde bangs suddenly affix themselves to his purple backspikes, which almost no one seems to notice. Probably the most bizarre thing about Yugi’s haircuts is that he’s inspired others to try equally outrageous styles. Each protagonist of the various Yu-Gi-Oh series have sported their own large, spiky hairstyle that probably doesn’t fit through a doorway.
Norman Osborn
If you’re the owner/president of a shady science conglomerate, you probably have enough money to do whatever you want with your hair. So why did Norman Osborn choose to model his hair after a brillo pad? Was it a visual power play to show that he’s harsh and abrasive? Was it an unfortunate science accident gone wrong? Or is it Osborn’s stylist’s idea of an awful joke that almost surely led to the stylist’s murder? Whatever the reason, Norman Osborn’s haircut is the second worst thing we’ve ever seen in a Spider-Man comic. (The worst, of course, was that time that Norman Osborn knocked up Gwen Stacy.) Sadly, the “Stormin’ Norman” seems to be hereditary, as both Harry Osborn and Harry’s son Normie also rock the armadillo-shell haircut. At some point, someone needs to tell the Osborns that shaving their heads might look better.
