The comic book business has had a long history of controversies. It’s no secret that authors occasionally go down the twisted path of adding extremes in the hopes of shocking readers and increasing sales. We don’t only mean killing off the most beloved heroes and villains; we also mean the unimaginable fiddling with these individuals’ internal issues or scandals.
With their surprising turns, several of the tales have upset fans and sparked enormous debates throughout the years. They have been successful in increasing sales in some cases, but in the majority of cases, they were just despised by the fans and had to be withdrawn shortly after.
In this video, we’ll take a look at some of the most frightening comic book tales that we think are a little too much for some people to stomach!
Iron Man Battles Addiction Problems
The DC world is generally the first thing that springs to mind when we think about exploring the dark side. Marvel, on the other hand, was not one to shy away from a challenge, and they made their intentions apparent in the Demon in a Bottle plot line, which was part of The Invincible Iron Man (vol. 1). The narrative revolved around Tony Stark’s struggles with addiction, which he found incredibly difficult to overcome!
We’re used to seeing Tony Stark have a few drinks, but this narrative arc took it to a new level. It all began when his Iron Man armour malfunctioned during a Stark Industries event, resulting in the death of a foreign ambassador.
The Avengers team asks him to hand up the costume for examination, which wounds his pride tremendously! He even resigns as the group’s leader and turns to drinking as a coping strategy. Tony is able to cleanse his reputation from the terrible event after it is revealed that the malfunction was the result of a plot devised by his competitor Justin Hammer. However, his problems with alcohol grow worse by the day. It goes to the extent where he misbehaves with his trusted butler Jarvis who then resigns, disgusted at the change of his boss.
It is Bethany Cabe who lends the helping hand by telling Tony about her own struggles with addiction. He fights the strong withdrawal symptoms and even fixes his differences with Jarvis. All’s well that ends well! But even then, fans weren’t too pleased to see a major superhero struggle with alcoholism like any random Tom, Dick, or Harry!
The Scandalous Gwen Stacy Pregnancy
Gwen Stacy is well-known as Spider-first Man’s love interest. She is typically considered favourably by fans and is a memorable figure who represents one of Peter Parker’s greatest losses during his Spider-Man adventure. However, J. Michael Straczynski’s tale, Sins Past, revealed some deep dark truths about Gwen that did not sit well with viewers.
It was revealed that she had an affair with Norman Osborne, Peter’s arch-rival. She was seduced by Norman on their trip to France and subsequently gave birth to twins, a boy called Gabriel and a girl named Sarah. Gwen, on the other hand, had no plans to stay with Norman and instead wanted to raise her children with Peter Parker.
Norman regarded her as a threat to his next generation after he learned of her plans, and he killed her. He raised the twins as his own, and due to his enhanced blood, the kids aged two to three times faster than usual. Norman told them that their father was Spider-Man, who was also responsible for their mother’s death. Disillusioned, the twins went on to attack Peter, but eventually, he managed to learn about their real identity and made them change allegiance.
Straczynski later wanted to remove the characters later on but wasn’t allowed to do so by the higher authorities. It still remains one of the most controversial storylines because the pure relationship between Peter and Gwen was tarnished in the worst possible manner, much to the disappointment of the fans.
Spiderman Killed Mary Jane
Welcome to one of the most weird Spider-Man plotlines ever! Mary Jane’s death is explained in the most sickening way conceivable in the Reign narrative. Reign is set in a futuristic world where superheroes and villains are no longer a thing of the past. New York is governed by a corrupt government that imposes its will on the people with an iron hand.
The violent police unit known as The Reign is one of its most infamous forces, and they mercilessly suppress any kind of opposition. Somewhat in a The Dark Knight Returns style, we see an aging Spider-Man come back from retirement and fight injustice and Venom, who was the Mayor’s assistant all along! All things said and done, we can’t get over the distressing death of Mary Jane, and the cause will send you into a tizzy as well.
When you think about Spider-ladylove Man’s dying, you usually imagine her dying at the hands of a supervillain or while attempting to rescue a large number of people! If you look at the storey arc offered in the 2006 Reign plot, your dreams will be dashed. Peter Parker retires from Spider-Man responsibilities as a result of Mary Jane’s death, and we see him tormented by the tragedy!
However, the tragedy occurred due to Peter himself because Mary Jane died from cancer after prolonged exposure to his radioactive sperm! The plot does show Peter getting the better of his mental demons and fighting the evil forces, but Mary Jane’s fate was indeed in bad taste and detested by the fans!
Tim Drake transforms into Joker Jr. with some serious torture
To begin, we must state that this plot line did not appear in any genuine comic book, but rather in an animated film set in the Batman Beyond universe. The famous Batman-Joker relationship is given a deadly twist in this animated picture titled Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Tim Drake is all set to be the next Robin, but during one of his solo missions, he is kidnapped by the Joker and Harley Quinn.
The unimaginable torture of a young kid in the abandoned Arkham Nightwing for three weeks follows! He manages to hold out for the first few phases, but finally succumbs to the constant brainwashing and pain.
By the time Batman locates him, he has nearly completely lost his mind. Even after the Joker orders him to murder the Batman, he regains his calm for a brief period before shooting the Joker.
Tim then goes through a complete mental breakdown and while he is being nursed back to health, the horrors are yet to be over! We learn that Joker has installed an advanced microchip inside Tim with his own DNA and consciousness that slowly transforms a young Robin into a vicious Joker clone. The vivid animation and the detailing of the child’s transformations are not for the squeamish, and this certainly stands as one of the most disturbing events even by DC standards!
The Day Nightwing Was Violated
Dick Grayson battled crime as Nightwing in the city of Bludhaven after his successful time as Robin, Batman’s vigilante companion. He was also pals with John Law, a crime-fighter who went by the moniker Tarantula.
However, he died from one of the devious plans of the notorious villain, and Cataline Flores, a former FBI agent, took over as Tarantula. She was also starting to develop feelings for Dick and even went to the extent of manipulating his breakup with his girlfriend, Barbara Gordon.
Blockbuster, one of his arch-enemies, found out about his true identity in Nightwing #93. Nightwing was fatigued and exhausted from his past bouts when he met Blockbuster in one of their fights. He let Tarantula take over, and she murdered the villain as Nightwing lay on the roof.
After all of his injuries, he barely had any strength left, and his mental collapse made matters worse. His night, on the other hand, had just just begun to go wrong, for what occurs next will astound even the most jaded DC fan! Tarantula seizes him and rapes him in the rain, despite his repeated pleadings to let him go. To worsen the controversy even further, the writer Devin Grayson claimed that she did not intend to express the scene as rape but a non-consensual love scene!
But, isn’t that the exact definition of rape?! As expected, the fans were unhappy with such explicit content, and as for Dick Grayson’s character, it was one of the many sexual assaults that he had faced. There is something about DC and Dick Grayson, and somehow they love to shower his character with the most horrifying moments in comic history!
Death Of God – Preacher
A pun on God is frowned upon even in the most tolerant and liberal civilizations. So you can imagine the readers’ surprise when the Preacher series goes so far as to murder God! Garth Ennis, who is hailed for his impeccable work in the comic book industry, took things a step beyond the permissible line when the storyline for Preacher took a sensitive turn. The plot revolves around Jesse Custer, who is a small-town preacher and sets out to find God!
In this series, it is revealed that God has abandoned heaven and even the world to its fate. He is shown to be a selfish jerk who sends an eternal gunfighter to murder Custer, rather than the omnipotent forgiving and loving deity.
Custer, on the other hand, is able to sway the killer’s allegiances by explaining how his bullets can kill even the Almighty! When God returns to heaven, he learns that all of the angels have died, much to his surprise. The next thing you know, a mere gunfighter manages to kill God, and readers are left in utter bewilderment!
Religious sentiments are delicate, and many readers were taken aback by the harsh portrayal of their lord and savior. The work was condemned from various sectors, and we believe that indeed it was in bad taste to ruffle the feathers of faith!
Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch’s Incestuous Relationship
Many people were enthralled by Marvel’s Ultimate universe because of the unexpected twists and turns it offered! It gave the designers a lot of leeway in terms of tinkering with the characters and framing tales according to their whims and fancies.
Jeph Loeb took the creative liberties a bit too further while working on The Ultimates 3. The innocent brother-sister relationship that Quicksilver shared with the Scarlet Witch took a horrifying turn into an incestuous relationship.
The events of The Ultimates 3 begin with a leaked sex tape of the Black Widow and Tony Stark, which leads to a number of startling situations. The robots malfunction as a result, and Scarlet Witch is inadvertently shot.
The Ultimates face off against Magento, who steals Scarlet Witch’s body, and we even witness Quicksilver die at the hands of Hawkeye in the midst of the chaos. However, the disturbing aspect in the storytelling was the depiction of the love shared by the siblings, Pietro and Wanda.
Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch had an incestuous relationship that gave many members of the Avengers some uncomfortable moments. The back-stories are carefully woven to perfect the controversial plot and make the fans shift in their seats as this inappropriate story arc unfolds!
When BlackWidow And Ironman’s Private Video Leaks
Jeph Loeb didn’t stop with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s incestuous connection. In fact, Ultimates 3 opens with a groan-inducing scene in which a sex tape involving Black Widow and Iron Man is released.
In the very first issue, we can see the Ultimates gathered together in the Stark mansion as the sex tape plays on the screen. The graphic content took no time in spreading like wildfire, and we also get the information that it has been sold on DVD.
In astonishment, Tony Stark drinks, and the sex tape is shortly interrupted by a Venom attack. The main issue we have with this origin story is that it doesn’t add anything significant to the broader plot. It appeared as though one of the only goals was to stir up controversy and tickle the sexual quotient of the audience.
We have to admit that this is one of the biggest romantic disasters in the issue, which is a bold statement given the Quicksilver Scarlet Witch connection we just discussed. This is probably the type of stuff that eventually ruined the Ultimate Universe, and the unnecessary details of the sex tape could have been easily skipped by the creators. Maybe it isn’t always a good idea to have zero restrictions on how these much-loved characters are dealt with!
The Death of Jason Todd
While involving fans in deciding a character’s fate may sound like a lot of fun, it may occasionally have disastrous consequences. Following the unfortunate death of Jason Todd, who might have been a perfect Robin for the Dark Knight, we learnt this the hard way! It all started after Dick Grayson grew up to become the Nightwing.
A gaping hollow was left behind, and readers were keen to have a perfect Robin to fill the shoes of Dick. Jason seemed like the ideal candidate, and his gripping back-story and street attitude made him a probable choice.
However, the producers were undecided about the character’s fate and asked fans for their thoughts. Jason Todd’s death received slightly more votes than those who wanted him to stay alive, but the obvious flaw was the little amount of votes cast! There was also no safeguard in place to prevent little children from voting, which meant that a kid might decide the destiny of a key character.
The death of Jason Todd was done in the characteristic gruesome manner as we saw Joker beat the life out of this potential Robin with a crowbar before blowing him up! We feel that Jason and Batman could have formed an iconic duo, and it is just sad that a rash decision made quick work of this character!
When Hulk and She-Hulk Created Insane Inbreds!
The Hulk has always been regarded as one of the most divisive superheroes. He’s a popular favourite thanks to his raw strength and ability to demolish even the most indestructible heroes. Hulk, on the other hand, has done some dubious things in the past, and Marvel frequently exploited him as a scapegoat to get their dirty job done!
The giant green monster had a long-standing relationship with his first cousin, the She-Hulk. She had been a great support for him after his father murdered his mother, and in those distressing times, her company was the only solace for him.
When his alter ego just seemed interested in getting some action with this adored relative, things changed radically. Hulk makes such attempts in the Basic Instinct storyline, but She-Hulk rejects them. He can’t get his way, although that altered in the 2008 Old Man Logan parallel world plot.
Here, Hulk is somewhat like the main antagonist, and we can see a lot of weird inbred children. We can only imagine that he probably forced himself on She-Hulk and the Hulklings as a result of their scandalous affair. She doesn’t really appear in this comic book, but two plus two is four more often than not! We only wish they spared us from this disgusting story arc!