For Better or Worse, Marvel’s Most Controversial Comics Are Impossible to Forget

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Some of the greatest comics in history have come from Marvel, along with some of the world’s most regrettable and controversial. And while Marvel’s best crossover events have 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 of these 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 Past not 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.

The Avengers #200, Jim Shooter, George Pérez, Bob Layton, David Michelinie

Marvel has made its regrets known over what is almost certainly The 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, has openly 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, but Ms. Marvel holding the Avengers critically accountable in Avengers Annual #10, calling them out for letting her go with Marcus under mind-control, not to mention trivializing her experience and her forced relationship.

All New X-Men #40, Brian Michael Bendis, Mahmud Asrar, Rain Beredo

One of the more memorable moments from the X-Men movies comes in X2: 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 forced the coolest X-Men member to 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 that Jean forced Iceman to admit something deeply personal before he was ready. The notion was enough to turn off critics.

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 that MJ died as a result of… contamination to 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 give the 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 the implications surrounding her death were inappropriate for a comic book starring such a kid-friendly superhero.

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.

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.

Ultimate Comics Fallout #4, Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer, Sara Pichelli, Salvador Larroca, Clayton Crain

Modern readers forget that Miles Morales’ physical appearance was inspired by a real person, actor Donald Glover (a.k.a. Childish Gambino in the music realm). During his stand-up comedy routine for Weirdo, 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 to the 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, many critics 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.

What If Miles Morales #4, Yehudi Mercado, Luigi Zagaria,Chris Sotomayor

In 2022, Marvel would produce a What 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 the Miles/Thor variant received backlash across 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 warrant an apology from the writer.

Secret Empire #1-10, Nick Spencer, Rod Reis, Daniel Acuña, Steve McNiven, Leinil Francis Yu, Andrea Sorrentino

Secret Empire is infamous 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 or evil twin brother related to Rogers. The clone is still an active part of Marvel canon, having rechristened himself from Hydra 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.

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The Crossing Was Secret Empire Before Secret Empire

Avengers: The Crossing #1 – Avengers #395, Bob Harras, Terry Kavanagh, Mike Deodato Jr.

Those who vehemently campaigned against Secret Empire would have hated The Crossing if they were around at that story’s inception. In what was perhaps the most 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.

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 retconning The Crossing like it never happened through not one, but three events: Onslaught, Heroes Reborn, and Avengers Forever.

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 about the 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 beg Marvel to undo and retcon “One More Day,” but unlike with their most controversial tales, the company won’t budge on this one.

“}]] Marvel’s worst, most hated tales.  Read More