10 Strangest Licensed Marvel Comics, Ranked

Over the many decades, Marvel has produced and published some of the best comics ever. Stories including Captain America, Spider-Man, and the Avengers have thrilled, shocked, and delighted fans the world over. But The House of Ideas has given fans plenty of other stories that often involve licensed characters from other IPs.

While many of Marvel’s licensed stories have been massively successful with Star Wars, GI Joe, and the Micronauts, others are among the oddest and weirdest Marvel has produced. Among these strange series are movie adaptations, characters based on celebrities, and even some very unexpected toy lines. This isn’t to say that any of these series are outright bad, but rather that they are some of the most unique stories Marvel has put to print.

10 Alice Cooper

To celebrate the 50th issue of Marvel Premiere, Marvel pulled out all the stops and dedicated the issue to the master of shock rock himself, Alice Cooper. Based on his 1978 album, From the Inside, Marvel Premiere #50 features Alice himself as he fights to escape from a mental institution. It’s wacky and wild, with plenty of fourth wall-breaking shenanigans that fit perfectly with Alice Cooper’s concept album.

What’s particularly strange about this story is how, of all the bands and musical artists Marvel could have adapted to comics, they landed on Alice Cooper. Not that there’s anything wrong with Alice Cooper, but oddly, Marvel never collaborated with other rock artists to this degree before this issue. As colorful and over the top as Alice Cooper is, it’s a shame they never continued their collaboration with him. A full-length series based on his music would have fit perfectly with their expansive horror and science fiction series catalog.

9 The Human Fly

The Human Fly has a surprisingly long and in-depth history in the pages of Marvel comics. A former supervillain of Spider-Man, Richard Deacon became the recipient of a radical experiment that infused him with the powers of a housefly. A classic Spider-Man villain through and through, but believe it or not, there was another version of The Human Fly that deserves the most attention.

The second iteration of The Human Fly was a man who suffered a terrible car accident that led to most of his skeletal system being replaced by steel. Now able to withstand injuries easily, The Human Fly performed wild stunts to raise money for children. What makes The Human Fly so cool is that this version of the character was based on the real stuntman, Rick Rojatt, who suffered the same tragedy The Human Fly did. It’s not often Marvel superheroes are based on real people, but The Human Fly did it with finesse and style.

8 Meteor Man

Based on the 1993 film of the same name, Meteor Man tells how everyman Jefferson Reed becomes imbued with amazing superpowers. Reed’s hometown of Washington, DC, is overrun with crime courtesy of the gang The Golden Lords, and after attempting to stop them one night, Reed becomes struck by a piece of glowing meteorite. Now possessing super strength, flight, x-ray vision, telekinesis, and more, Reed dedicates his new powers to defeating The Golden Lords. As uplifting as this classic superhero story is, Meteor Man didn’t perform very well upon its release.

Despite having a stacked cast and fantastic score, Meteor Man was panned as derivative and unfocused. Adapting an original superhero movie into a comic book would seem like a solid move for Marvel, but like its film counterpart, Meteor Man has largely been forgotten over the years. But as he was officially folded into the Marvel Universe, there’s always the chance Meteor Man could make a meteoric comeback to fight another day.

7 Madballs

Crafting entire comic series out of toys is nothing new for Marvel. Classic series such as ROM Spaceknight, Micronauts, and GI Joe were all inspired by their respective toy lines. But of all the possible toys Marvel could have put to print for younger audiences, it was the Madballs that were incorporated into their Star Comics imprint. The Madballs were squishy toy balls that looked like the grossest, weirdest creatures imaginable, like one-eyed drooling monsters, mummies, and bloodshot eyeballs.

Starring in their own 1986 series, the Madballs contended with the mad scientist Dr. Frankenbeans, who was obsessed with capturing them. But perhaps the strangest move of all was the Madballs crossover with the Care Bears, a toy line on the total polar opposite end of the cuteness spectrum with their own comic series published under Star Comics. The Care Bears had a frightful time dealing with the gooey and bulging Madballs. It was all in the name of slimy good fun, but it must have certainly been a major shock for Care Bears fans to see their favorite bears being swarmed by the spooky Madballs. What may even be more surprising than the Madballs getting their own comic series is that the super-gross toys received a second series!

6 House II: The Second Story

Marvel and horror are a match as timeless as peanut butter and jelly. With decades of experience publishing some of the best horror comics, it would only seem obvious to Marvel to adapt popular horror films. But rather than taking on horror films such as 1981’s An American Werewolf in London, 1985’s Fright Night, or 1987’s The Lost Boys, Marvel instead opted for 1987’s House II: The Second Story. Like the first film, House II tells of a mansion with a ghostly host and the spooky ordeals itsresidents experience because of it.

House II adapts the film’s story, and its lighter tone over its predecessor helped fit Marvel’s classic bill of horror content better, but on the other hand, adapting films such as Fright Night or The Lost Boys would have been absolutely fantastic. But if there’s one thing that’s even more terrifying than restless spirits and shambling ghouls, it’s dealing with licenses and publishing rights which may have accounted for Marvel’s decision to opt for House II.

5 NFL Superpro

It seems like a match made in entertainment heaven. Marvel Comics, one of the leading names in comics, teamed up with the NFL, one of the biggest sports organizations in the world. The result was, by and large, one of the silliest and most maligned series in Marvel history. NFL Superpro starred Phil Grayfield, an ex-NFL player who gained a superpowered NFL uniform, as he battled for truth and justice across the country. NFL Superpro is as classically superhero as can be, but for all of Phil’s skill, he just couldn’t score a goal.

The biggest issue with NFL Superpro is the wonky writing. Fabian Nicieza began the series but left after only four issues (he has admitted he took the gig for free Super Bowl tickets.) Superpro’s dorky roster of villains (like Quick Kick, a disgruntled football player turned evil ninja, and Instant Replay, an assassin who could rewind time) coupled with a total lack of direction for the character left fans wanting. While NFL Superpro still exists within the Marvel Universe, it’s highly unlikely this football-themed crusader will ever come back out of retirement.

4 Evel Knievel

Gigantic thrills! Death-defying feats! Amazing vehicles and out-of-this-world stunts! Evel Knievel was the stuntman of the ’60s and ’70s. No jump was too great, no distance too far for him to attempt. Evel Knievel became one of the country’s biggest sensations, earning himself toy lines, pinball machines, movies, and a partnership with Harley-Davidson. Such explosive fame would only make Evel Knievel the perfect candidate for a Marvel Comics adaptation, except the comic that was created wasn’t exactly what most fans would have expected.

In a joint venture with Ideal Toy Company, Marvel released Evel Knievel #1 as a one-shot comic that featured Evel Knievel performing various hair-raising stunts. As a free comic tie-in with Ideal’s toy line, the comic was nothing more than a glorified ad for Evel Knievel’s toys with positive PSA messages inserted for good measure. As popular as he was, it could have been possible to create a full Evel Knievel comic series, especially at the height of his popularity. However, all Evel Knievel received was a single comic issue to his name, so the possibilities of his comic career were forever unknown.

In a supreme moment of meta-fiction, Marvel once published a comic series based on a TV show that starred a comic book creator and his comic book character. 1992’s Bob aired on CBS and featured Bob Newhart as Bob McKay, the creator of a fictitious 1950’s comic character named Mad-Dog. The show focused on Bob’s battles to retain creative control over Mad-Dog in the face of opposition from the Comics Code Authority, Ace Comics, and the American-Canadian Trans-Continental Communications Company.

Marvel’s Mad-Dog was split into two separate entities: the kinder and classic superhero iteration that Bob McKay envisioned and the grittier, more violent version that Ace Comics wanted. The series told the stories of the two versions of the same character, acting as a parallel supplement to Bob. It might not have been the hottest title to hit the racks next to Marvel’s many mutants and Spider-Man, but Mad-Dog is still one of the most interesting series Marvel has produced as it actively bridged television and comics.

2 Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night

The story of Pinocchio is one of the world’s all-time classics. A kindly old man named Geppetto crafts a wooden puppet named Pinocchio that miraculously comes to life. Pinocchio becomes swept up in a dangerous adventure as he learns what it means to be a real boy. Pinocchio’s story has been most famously adapted into Disney’s 1940 animated film named Pinocchio. In 1987, New World Pictures released Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, an animated film set one year after the events of the original Pinocchio story. The film was universally panned by critics and viewers alike, with Disney even suing New World Pictures unsuccessfully for copyright infringement. This was the unfortunate film that Marvel chose to adapt into a comic.

Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night is a one-to-one adaptation of the animated feature. While certainly colorful, the paper-thin plot and generally lackluster art direction of the film did little to elevate itself into another medium. Of all the animated films produced in the ’80s, it’s a shame that this was one that Marvel put to page. It’s far from unreadable, and it’s certainly fitting for its target demographic. Still, Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night does very little to fill the shoes of its bigger, more famous film predecessor.

1 Billy Ray Cyrus

Marvel is absolutely no stranger to adapting major music talents to the world of comics (lookin’ at you, Dazzler), so it made perfect sense to bring one of the biggest names in country music into their fold. Billy Ray Cyrus is the performer best known for the mega-hit “Achy Breaky Heart.” He is one of the country’s most prolific and successful artists and the father of superstar Miley Cyrus. His hop into the Marvel Universe promised to put the country superstar into some of the most spectacular and strangest adventures of his life.

The problem was that Billy’s adventures were perhaps a bit too strange. Billy Ray Cyrus was a one-shot issue featuring two stories starring the titular star. The first involved Billy becoming mixed up with the ghosts of Cherokee natives. The second transported him back to the 13th century, where he battled against knights of the realm. It’s great that the comic decided to go top-speed into fantasy and whimsy. However, the stories might have been too imaginative for fans expecting a comic that portrayed the country star more realistically. Portraying Billy Ray Cyrus as a kind-hearted hero was cool, but keeping him on a slightly less fantastic keel might have been better.