This article contains mentions of sexual assault.
Some of the greatest comics in history have come fromMarvel, along with some of the world’s most regrettable and controversial. And whileMarvel’s best crossover eventshave created some iconic moments in history, their misses live on in infamy.
These tales immediately drew the ire of readers, forcing Marvel to retcon them out of canonical existence, or try their hardest not to even acknowledge such stories today. But for too many ofthese highly controversial comic storylines, the ill-fated narratives were just too unforgettable to ignore, no matter how much people hate them.
The Amazing Spider-Man#509-514, J. Michael Straczynski, Mike Deodato Jr.
Sins Pastnot only revealed a secret affair between Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn before her death, but that the Kindreds were the long-lost children of Gwen and the Green Goblin.Marvel readers did not receive this ‘affair’ well, and Marvel was forced to think of a last-minute retcon in which the Kindreds are revealed to not be the children of Gwen and Norman after all. Instead, they are clones of Gwen and Harry Osborn.
Still, Marvel fans find it easy to criticize two decades after the fact. Despite the last-minute attempt at a retcon,Spider-Man’s most controversial story still stings. Some will argue that this marked the beginning of Marvel’s constant attempts at trying to insert the long-dead Stacy into modern storylines,a practice which persists today.
9The Time Carol Danvers Was Assaulted by Her Own Son
The Avengers#200, Jim Shooter, George Pérez, Bob Layton, David Michelinie
Marvel has made its regrets known over what is almost certainlyThe Avengers' most controversial story, and with good reason. Marvel took a heinous act and, to make things worse, trivialized it into a strange moment of assault, incest, and Stockholm syndrome all in one. Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief at the time and writer, Jim Shooter, hasopenly admitted a story like this should never have been published, regretting the idea, and apologizing for it.
Thankfully, wveryone who played a part in the decision to so much as publish this issue has worked effortlessly to atone for the mistake. Marvel was quick to rectify the creative decision by rectifying it with not only a retcon, butMs. Marvel holding the Avengers critically accountable inAvengers Annual#10, calling them out for letting her go with Marcus under mind-control, not to mention trivializing her experience and her forced relationship.
8The Time Jean Grey Outed Iceman as Gay
All New X-Men#40, Brian Michael Bendis, Mahmud Asrar, Rain Beredo
One of the more memorable moments from theX-Menmovies comes inX2: X-Men United, where Iceman comes out as a mutant to his parents, with the allegory it’s trying to portray being evident. That scene’s subtext becomes actual text when Iceman is revealed to be gay in the comics. The biggest difference being that, rather than come out of his own volition,a teenage Marvel Girl reads Bobby Drake’s thoughts to discover his secret.
At the time of release, readers were vocally in an uproar, most being of the opinion that Jean had forcedthe coolest X-Men memberto come out. To say she ‘outed’ him may be a strong phrase, considering the two were having a private conversation, as opposed to her blurting the news in a room full of people. But the fact remains thatJean forced Iceman to admit something deeply personal before he was ready. The notion was enough to turn off critics.
7The Time Spider-Man Gave Mary-Jane Cancer (in The Grossest Way)
Spider-Man: Reign#1-4, Kaare Andrews, Jose Villarrubia
In one of Marvel’s darkest possible futures, superheroism and supervillainy have both been banned in New York City under an Orwellian style dictatorship forcing Peter Parker into retirement as a florist. The ex-hero must put his tights back on to confront The Reign, all the while haunted by visions of his late wife. The story soon reveals thatMJ died as a result of… contaminationto Peter’s radioactive ‘fluids’ over time.
While the story itself is praised among Spider-Man’s best, and was acclaimed enough to warrant a sequel to givethe dark universe a happy ending, the controversy spurred from fans feeling as if Ms. Watson was too dignified a characterfor such an ending. Many critics believe that theimplications surrounding her death were inappropriatefor a comic book starring such a kid-friendly superhero.
6The Time Punisher Became A Black Man
The Punisher: The Final Days#59, Mike Baron, Hugh Haynes
When the Kingpin frames Frank Castle for a crime, The Punisher finds himself in the same prison as a supervillain who suffered a horrible disfigurement because of him:, Jigsaw. Jigsaw conspires with the inmates to disfigure Castle in return, succeeding in the process. When Castle escapes prison he has Melinda Brewer, a former doctor turned unlicensed sex worker, fix his face, but in a way to make him unrecognizable.She takes the task far too literally, turning Frank into a Black man.
Frank Castle’s Blackness lasted for three issues - The Punisher #62, ironically titled “Fade to White” - when the melanin injections that the doctor prescribed him started to wear off during a team-up with Luke Cage.
To call the move strange from Marvel is an understatement. As much as this undoubtedly had jaws hitting the floor in 1987, one can only imagine the response this would have received today. It’s not something Marvel addresses in-universe or in real-life, as there still remains unanswered as to what inspired the creative decision in the first place.
5The Time The World Lost Its Mind Over A Black Spider-Man
Ultimate Comics Fallout#4, Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer, Sara Pichelli, Salvador Larroca, Clayton Crain
Modern readers forget that Miles Morales' physical appearancewas inspired by a real person, actor Donald Glover(a.k.a. Childish Gambino in the music realm). During his stand-up comedy routine forWeirdo, Glover recalls the online campaign from fans wanting him to play Sony’s next Spider-Man after Tobey Maguire:“That’s when the world went crazy.“The same reaction can be applied tothe moment that Miles Morales lifted his mask for the first time to reveal a Black face under the new Spider-Man’s mask.
Morales' on-panel debut was met with a mixed reaction and widespread news coverage. While some readers championed the bold move, manycritics accused Marvel of being woke (before woke became a buzz word)in the internet lexicon. In spite of the divisive reaction, Morales continues to be a staple of the Marvel Universe today.
4The Time ‘Miles Morales as Thor’ Went Viral For the Wrong Reasons
What If Miles Morales#4, Yehudi Mercado, Luigi Zagaria,Chris Sotomayor
In 2022, Marvel would produce aWhat If?series centered around Miles Morales, hypothesizing what alternate versions of the world would look like if Miles was a different superhero. Other issues pondered if he was the Hulk, Wolverine, and Captain America, but the fourth issue drew the most widespread attention when Miles Morales became Thor. As Thor, Miles' Asgard was his"hood"hybrid of Asgard and Brooklyn laden with graffiti,while he uttered catchphrases like “Hammer Time,” referencing MC Hammer, and “All eyes on me,” referencing the 2Pac album. Most egregious to most readers was the phrase,“By Odin’s fade!”
The dialogue and visuals for theMiles/Thor variant received backlashacross social media, earning accusations of ignorance and racism for how Miles Morales, and Black culture itself, were portrayed in the issue. The controversy boiled up enough to warrantan apology from the writer.
3The Time Marvel Turned Captain America Into A Flag-Smashing Nazi
Secret Empire#1-10, Nick Spencer, Rod Reis, Daniel Acuña, Steve McNiven, Leinil Francis Yu, Andrea Sorrentino
Secret Empireisinfamous for its jaw-dropping"Hail Hydra"reveal from Marvel’s leading patriot. Thanks to Red Skull’s meddling via the Cosmic Cube, the original Captain America was replaced by someone best described as a clone orevil twin brother related to Rogers. The clone is still an active part of Marvel canon, having rechristened himself fromHydra Cap to Flag Smasher.
Although this twist was always meant to be a fake-out, and the Steve Rogers who uttered “Hail Hydra” was never planned to be the original,Marvel stuck to the publicity stunt, and fans were convinced to fall for it.Before the twist revealed itself, readers were outraged, convinced that Marvel was ready to permanently transform Captain America into someone who was always a Nazi sleeper agent. Thankfully, this wasn’t to be the case, and Steve’s love for the United States has yet to waver.
2The Crossing Was Secret Empire Before Secret Empire
Avengers: The Crossing#1 -Avengers#395, Bob Harras, Terry Kavanagh, Mike Deodato Jr.
Those who vehemently campaigned againstSecret Empirewould have hatedThe Crossingif they were around at that story’s inception. In what was perhaps themost shocking moment in Marvel history to that point, Iron Man was revealed as a turncoat working for Kang the Conquerer, and had been for years. Once Tony Stark is uncovered for being manipulated into committing atrocities, the Avengers go back in time to recruit a younger, 19-year-old Tony for help. Upon the adult Tony’s death, the young Tony takes his place as the new Iron Man.
Marvel May Love Iron Man, But the Hero Has Been Killed In Some Seriously Awful Ways
It isn’t just the Marvel Cinematic Universe that gave Iron Man a traumatic death. Tony Stark has been through the wringer in the comics just as much.
While Marvel intended to completely rebirth Iron Man for a new era,all Marvel did was confuse readers. Marvel may have even confused themselves, hence why within a year’s time, the company went out of their way to start retconningThe Crossinglike it never happened through not one, butthreeevents:Onslaught,Heroes Reborn, andAvengers Forever.
1The Time Marvel Gave Spider-Man “One More Day” with MJ
The Amazing Spider-Man#544-55, J. Michael Straczynski, Joe Quesada, Danny Miki
Few storylines in either Spider-Man or Marvel history are hated as much as “One More Day.” In fact,some will argue that it’s Marvel’s most hated storyline. Peter Parker selling his marriage to Mephisto to save Aunt May’s life produced an unforseen, unprecedented ripple effect across not only the Marvel Universe, but Spider-Man as he and his storylines have been written for the next several years.
When fans think aboutthe problem with modern Spider-Man stories,“One More Day” is frequently cited as the beginning of the end for Spider-Man. It’s where everything seemingly went downhill, both for the character as far as the misery he experiences in-universe, and for many readers, when his stories stopped being fun. Readers continue to begMarvelto undo and retcon “One More Day,” but unlike with their most controversial tales, the company won’t budge on this one.
