Top 10 Funniest Marvel Characters

A few years before the Merc with a Mouth was breaking the fourth wall and injecting a much-needed dose of humor into Marvel’s comic universe, criminal defense lawyer and crime-fighter Jennifer Walters was breaking that ground. After receiving an emergency blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner (who thought that was a good idea?), Jennifer took on her own variation of the same gamma poisoning that had plagued him. During a groundbreaking run of the character by legendary writer John Byrne, Walters began blurring the lines between fiction and reality by commenting to readers, breaking through panels and at points even arguing with Byrne himself.

Doreen Green, better known as Squirrel Girl, debuted all the way back in 1991 by attacking Iron Man in an attempt to show him she could be his sidekick. Soon after Tony Stark rejects her, Squirrel Girl winds up saving the hero from Doctor Doom, beginning her reputation of being able to defeat some of Marvel’s most dangerous supervillains, and make readers laugh along the way. Squirrel Girl was quite an obscure character until her popularity began to rise as she was featured in several team books, leading up to Doreen finally getting her own highly-acclaimed solo series in 2015.

Rocket Raccoon has served as a core member of the Guardians of the Galaxy since the group was rebooted in 2008, and the character has since become a major fan favorite. With his loud, sarcastic sense of humor and affinity for absurdly oversized weapons contrasting with his cute and cuddly appearance, it’s not hard to see how Rocket has become so popular. Despite being created in 1976, Rocket Raccoon made only a small number of appearances before joining the Guardians. He’s been a mainstay of the team ever since, even serving as their wise-cracking leader at times when Star Lord was captured or forced to step away.

The most junior member of Marvel’s First Family, Johnny Storm is usually depicted as a care-free, sometimes reckless but good-hearted young man, and also fills the role of comic relief on the team as the Human Torch. With his love of pranks and constant back-and-forth with friend and fellow team member Ben Grimm, Johnny became Marvel’s earliest funnyman upon the debut of “Fantastic Four” in 1961. It’s no surprise then that Storm has a well-documented friendship with another one of Marvel’s funniest heroes who began his career around the same time: a certain web-slinger that might just come up later on.

Hey, the good guys aren’t the only ones who get to have all the fun. As the mighty and malevolent dictator of his own entire universe, known as the Mojoverse, Mojo uses the power of television to dominate and enslave all of his subjects. In order to keep his viewers enthralled, the grotesque alien overlord is constantly coming up with new programming, which often involves putting the heroes of Earth into incredibly dangerous and ridiculous situations. Mojo’s entire character serves as a clever satire of America’s television industry, and since nothing draws a rating like good old-fashioned violence, it’s unlikely he’ll give up on destroying superheroes anytime soon.

In pretty stark contrast to his MCU counterpart, the comic book incarnation of Clint Barton’s life is a little bit of a mess, which can result in some pretty funny situations on its own. However, with his strong disdain for authority, a love of adventure and risk-taking, and an extremely sharp wit, Hawkeye has developed a strong personality that readers over the years have come to love. Barton manages to be an entertaining read whether he’s running solo, working with a partner, or serving as a member of a team such as the Avengers but it’s writer Matt Fraction’s renowned work on the character that is perhaps the best example of just how funny the purple-clad sharpshooter can be.

Tony Stark has always had a dry, snarky sense of humor, and that personality trait has only gotten more prominent along with the massive popularity of Robert Downey Jr.’s take on the character. It’s undeniable that both writers and artists have taken a great deal of inspiration in recent years from the MCU when it comes to Tony Stark, and considering just how much RDJ has made the role his own, it makes complete and total sense. Stark’s mouth tends to get him into trouble more often than not, but as readers we’re thankful for it all the same.

Peter Quill became a household name almost overnight when Chris Pratt brought the character to life in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” but Star-Lord has actually been around for quite a long time. However, like many of his fellow team members, the character of Peter Quill was kept mostly on the sidelines until being selected as the perfect fit to lead Marvel’s soon to be rebooted “Guardians of the Galaxy” title in 2008. Ever since, Star-Lord has been a prominent part of Marvel’s cosmic universe, and has been making readers chuckle ever since. With his every-man charm, terrible bad luck and inability to take anything seriously, we have a feeling Peter Quill’s going to remain a Marvel mainstay for the foreseeable future.

Few Marvel heroes have quite the same reputation for making jokes in the face of extreme danger as New York’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Though Peter Parker is usually a quiet and worrisome young man, when he dons that red and black mask, a whole other side of the hero’s personality is let loose. It’s never been officially stated, but one of Spider-Man’s superpowers has got to be his ability to deliver a complete and utter verbal smackdown to whatever villain he happens to be facing that day. It’s probably no surprise that Marvel’s funniest book over the last several years happens to be a team-up title between the webhead and another certain red-suited, loudmouth hero...

Was there ever any doubt? Even Wade Wilson’s very creation was a not-so-subtle parody of rival DC’s own sword-wielding masked mercenary, Deathstroke. Though his character began as a fairly straightforward anti-hero with a sense of humor, over the first several years after his debut Deadpool’s personality gradually became more and more erratic. The character began breaking the fourth wall and often acknowledged the fact he was a comic book character. Couple that with his almost non-stop string of insults, jokes, violent threats and obscenities, and you’ve got a hit character on your hands!