Top 10 Most Controversial Superheroes Ever
#10: Ben Reilly
Although some comic fans are more open today towards the idea of someone other than Peter Parker adopting the Spider-Man persona, this wasn’t always the case. Ben Reilly could tell you all about it. He was introduced as a clone of Parker developed by one of Spidey’s enemies. Marvel writers initially intended for Reilly to take up the mantle of Spider-Man. While fans were warming up to the idea, a plot thread was introduced saying that Peter was a clone the whole time. Backlash to this twist led to Parker resuming his career as New York City’s favorite web-crawler. Although’s Reily’s returned to comics and back to life a few times, he’s unlikely to ever take the mantle from Peter.
#9: Gin Genie
During an…interesting time for the X-Men franchise, a mutant named Gin Genie was introduced as a member of the X Force. This heroine possesses a superpower with very troubling requirements. In order for Gin Genie to emit seismic waves, she needs alcohol in her system. As she gets increasingly more loaded, her attacks become more dangerous. It was a little problematic to introduce a character who was encouraged to drink more to feel powerful. Fortunately, she didn’t last very long. This character was actually killed off in the very first issue of this “new” X-Force. We wonder if Gin Genie would’ve had better luck joining Deadpool’s X-Force in his sequel film.
#8: Power Girl
A number of controversies have followed Power Girl. One of her initial obstacles occurred when a retcon turned her from being Superman’s cousin to the granddaughter of an Atlantean sorcerer. While that’s no longer the case, fans are still very split as to how much Power Girl has been sexualized as a character. On one hand, the hero born Kara Zor-L is badass, powerful and definitely her own heroine with a stellar reputation. But her revealing costume has been accused in the past of undermining these qualities. Writers have tried to create various reasons for why she wears a suit that highlights certain assets. But no matter what the explanation is, her original costume is always likely to stir up conversation.
#7: Hank Pym
Hank Pym is notable for not only being the first superhero to adopt the alias of Ant-Man, but for also becoming Goliath, Giant-Man and Yellowjacket. However, this brilliant biophysicist also has a dark side that was demonstrated when he changed suits. His most infamous moment came when he was still using his Yellowjacket persona. Not only did Pym mentally torment his wife, but he also struck her. It was hard to see him as a hero after doing something so criminal to his own spouse. Pym’s reputation for angry and reckless behavior may have been one of the reasons MCU chose to make Scott Lang the main face of the live-action “Ant-Man” franchise.
#6: Hit Girl & Big Daddy
The film adaptations of the Kick-Ass franchise were already controversial due to the levels of violence on display. But the origins of Hit-Girl are even more disturbing once you dig a little deeper. Her father Damon McCready, a.k.a. Big Daddy, seems to think nothing of pushing his young daughter towards a dangerous life of crime fighting. The violence Hit-Girl faces on a daily basis is all due to Damon’s comic book fandom and his desire to live out his fantasies in real life. This backstory was slightly shifted once the pair made it to the silver screen. However, Hit’s-Girl’s coarse language and brutal actions still turned heads once footage of the film was released.
#5: Captain America
There was a time where negative Asian stereotypes were placed next to images of Superman to promote the purchase of war bonds back in World War II. But he’s not the only patriotic superhero who appeared in questionable stories. After Captain America appeared in comics with racial caricatures, he was involved in a controversial storyline while the divisive Vietnam War was occuring. When the “Secret Empire” storyline from 1974 hit shelves and depicted a not-so-veiled reference to sitting President Richard Nixon on the final panel, it was not taken well. Any changes to Cap also can cause immediate blowback. Just ask fans how they felt when it looked like Cap joined the Nazi organization Hydra.
#4: Extraño
DC Comics didn’t get off to a great start by naming an openly gay character Extraño in the 1980s because the name translates to strange. Unfortunately, that’s not the only aspect of the character that was bungled. The character’s personality, mannerisms and dress were all meant to embody lazy stereotypes about gay men. Any hopes of Extraño being a part of a revolutionary panel were continually dashed because he never got to enter a relationship. To add insult to injury, the character died after the stupidly-named and almost equally offensive “Hemo-Goblin” gave the hero HIV. Thankfully, Extraño has since been resurrected and treated with more respect in modern times.
#3: Snowflake & Safespace
In 2020, Marvel Comics decided to bring a bunch of fresh faces to their New Warriors team. The new roster included a non binary hero named Snowflake and their sibling Safespace. The pair were supposedly given those names to make terms that had been used as insults into inspiring heroes. However, many audience members thought it was either insulting or far too cringe worthy to use these characters just to put a spin on those terms. Within the first two years of these characters being announced, fans started seeing less of them around. It’s unclear whether the company will try to rename these characters or let them fade into obscurity. Either way, this pair’s history definitely got off to a rocky start.
#2: The Black Bomber
The Black Bomber was a racist white man who was exposed to a chemical during his time in the Vietnam War. This exposure caused him to turn into a Black superhero with no memories of his other identity. Thankfully, this horrifically tone-deaf Black Bomber idea was justiafably scrapped and unreleased. And as a bonus, his failure actually pushed creator Tony Isabella to bring the groundbreaking hero Black Lightning to the world. However, the idea around Black Bomber wasn’t completely forgotten. The legendary creator Dwayne McDuffie would later make fun of the character in a “Justice League” comic. His “Brown Bomber” tried to show the heroine Vixen that he could help. But just like most people, she saw him as just a big joke.
#1: Big Bertha
Although Marvel’s Ashley Crawford aka Big Bertha can be very likable and funny, it quickly became apparent that there’s an uncomfortable part of her character. She has the power to greatly increase her body mass so that she can endure heavy hits and strike back just as hard. Outside of heroic work, Big Bertha works as a model during her downtime. She initially got into the shape of a stereotypical model by getting rid of her mass in an uncomfortable way. Bertha’s methods of shedding pounds made it seem like the writers were making light of people who struggle with conditions like bulimia. Although the heroine does often comment on double standards of beauty in society, her disturbing methods are still rough to watch.
