Top 10 Times Supervillains Humiliated Superheroes
For this list, we're looking at moments when a supervillain succeeded in making a superhero look foolish, stupid, amateurish, or just straight up embarrassing them in a major way.
With great power comes the possibility of great humiliation. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Moments Supervillains Humiliated Superheroes.
For this list, we’re looking at moments when a supervillain succeeded in making a superhero look foolish, stupid, amateurish, or just straight up embarrassing them in a major way.
#10: Gorilla Grodd Makes Flash Super-Fat
Pity the poor DC heroes of the Silver Age whose bodies were frequently put through a variety of bizarre physical changes. One of the most popular was to force someone like, say, the Flash, to gain weight. At least in the Flash’s case, when he’s blown up to a full half-ton of weight, there’s a reason. With all that extra mass, it immobilizes him so that he can’t use his super speed. Turns out the cause of that weight gain was a special ray which caused him to massively absorb water. It was all a trick of the nefarious Gorilla Grodd, who had temporarily transferred his conscience into a human body. Because, you know, the Silver Age was wild.
#9: Mojo Turns X-Men to X-Babies
Far too often, comic writers decide, “Hey, wouldn’t it be fun to do a story where the heroes get turned into babies?” The answer is, not really. It was bad enough when it happens to a single hero, like Batman. It’s unbearable when it happens to a whole team of heroes, like the X-Men. But as bad as it is for the readers, it’s even worse for the heroes, who have to put up with comments about diapers, bottles, naps, and all the rest. Their infantile adventures may have been a hit on the home of Mojo, the villain who transformed them. But in the real world, it’s creepier than it is cute.
#8: Deathstroke Uses Beast Boy’s Vanity Against Him
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One of the things that was most endearing about Marv Wolfman’s take on the New Teen Titans’ Changeling AKA Beast Boy was that he had a bit of an ego. Not enough to make him obnoxious, but enough to give him a believable failing. Unfortunately, uber-enemy Deathstroke took advantage of that bit of vanity. During the classic “Judas Contract” storyline, he came up with a unique way to put the Titan out of commission. Beast Boy received numerous requests for photos with his autograph, supposedly from his legion of fan clubs – but actually from Deathstroke. Beast Boy signed and sealed them up for mailing – unaware that the envelope’s sealant contained drugs which eventually knocked him out.
#7: Superman Doesn’t Notice Lead-Wrapped Lump in Costume
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For an obsessed genius, Lex Luthor sure had fun coming up with overly complicated traps to foil Superman. One such trap involved making it necessary for Superman to need a whole new suit – and then disguising himself as the man who provides it. It even comes with an anti-kryptonite belt. It says so, right there on the belt, in case there is any doubt. But unbeknownst to Supes, Lex has actually hidden a lead-wrapped lump of kryptonite in the belt, which the incredibly gullible Superman doesn’t seem to notice. Word to the wise, Man of Steel: thoroughly check out all aspects of your work clothes next time, ok buddy?
#6: Wonder Woman’s Accessories Lead to Subjugation
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Fans know that the Amazing Amazon’s bracelets come in handy for deflecting bullets, but they also have a nasty downside in many stories. They’re a reminder of the fact that Diana’s mother once let Hercules fool her, leading to their original subjugation to men. As a result, if a male manages to bind the bracelets together, Wonder Woman loses her super-strength. This has happened numerous times, especially in Wonder Woman’s early days. It happened so often, as a matter of fact, that one had to wonder why. After all, attaching chains to two bracelets isn’t easy to do in the best of circumstances – let alone when fighting a woman with super powers.
#5: Superman Has Trouble Beating Terra-Man
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This one is embarrassing purely because of how silly it is. Clearly, one of the big problems with a character as powerful as Superman is coming up with foes that are worthy of him. Which is why the original Terra-Man story is so ridiculous. We’re talking about a space cowboy wearing a cape who rides a winged horse and shoots atomic bullets. He’s strictly a run-of-the-mill villain, yet Superman describes him as the most fantastic, formidable foe he ever faced. In fact, the only reason Superman didn’t wipe the street with Terra-Man when they first met was that he was suffering from a trauma that affects Kryptonians around their birthdays. Even with that, the fact that it took him more than 10 seconds to dispatch this third-rate villain is inexplicable.
#4: Umar Derides Hulk’s Sexual Stamina
The Hulk, as we all know, is basically the unbridled animalistic nature of Bruce Banner. But that’s usually expressed in terms of anger and a fondness for smashing things. More than one fan has wondered about how that might affect his unleashed sexuality. Well, thanks to the goddess Umar, we now know that however much of an unstoppable force Hulk may be on the battlefield, he gives in after about six minutes in bed. For the record, this occurred when she had the green giant in a spell. Six minutes with a goddess isn’t really bad, but she wasn’t impressed – much to Hulk’s chagrin, we’re sure.
#3: Jester Gives It to Spider-Man Where It Counts
As anyone who has watched “America’s Funniest Home Videos” knows, one sure way to get a laugh is to show a dude getting hit in the privates. Spider-Man learned this while fighting the villains Screwball and Jester. While Screwball live-streamed their encounter, Jester took out a slingshot and sparked a solid hit right between the ol’ spider-thighs. And it didn’t help that this occurred when Doc Octopus had taken over Spider-Man’s body, or that the humiliation continued with paint-filled balloons. Peter Parker might have dealt with such humiliation a little better than Doc Ock. He at least kept his cool better when battling Spot, a guy who’s basically a human portal, and ended up punching himself in the face.
#2: Flash Is Fooled by a Painting
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This happened during Barry Allen’s first ever outing as a superhero, so perhaps we should cut him some slack. We won’t, but maybe we should. See, the deal was that the Fastest Man Alive – that’s the Flash – was being thwarted by the Slowest Man Alive, namely Turtle Man. Sounds fun in theory, but in truth, it was kinda painful to watch Barry unable to capture a guy because he kept overshooting him or not noticing he was there. But the biggest humiliation came when Turtle Man fooled Flash simply by painting a silhouette of himself on a wall. Barry thought this was the real thing and, reaching for the shadow, smashes into the wall. Very Wile E. Coyote for a super-speedster.
#1: Superman and Big Barda Almost Make a Porno
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Whether you love him or hate him for it, Superman has always been understood to have the morals and honesty of a proverbial boy scout – which is what makes this entry so excruciating. In a John Byrne-penned storyline, an outcast of Apokolips named Sleez, who has the power to control people’s emotions, gets Mr. Miracle’s voluptuous wife, Big Barda, under his control and has her dance while scantily clad. When Superman tries to rescue her, he gets control of Superman – and decides that making a porno with these two specimens would make him rich. Fortunately, Mr. Miracle arrives before things cross over a certain line – but the whole thing is so icky that readers feel almost as embarrassed as Superman.
