10 Most Disturbing Marvel Hero and Villain Origins We’d Rather Forget

Marvel has created countless incredible characters that readers can’t help themselves from rooting for or loving to hate. The Marvel Universe is filled with incredible characters, forged into heroes or villains through unforgettable backstories. While some Marvel origin stories can be sad, there are others that are simply too depressing or unsettling for most comic book readers.

In some cases, the origin of a Marvel character is so disturbing to read, the stories are better off forgotten entirely. Whether it be the horrific things that characters have done to others, or the circumstances or body horror of their powers emerging, these Marvel origin stories are a level of ‘disturbing’ all their own.

10

Skin (AKA Angelo Espinosa)

Debuted In 1994

The first of several characters from the X-Men universe, “Skin” saw his powers manifest in a very tragic way. While driving with his friends, Skin was involved in a drive by shooting that was so stressful, it caused his powers to activate. When he came to, Angelo saw his friend dead, his girlfriend seemingly disappeared, and a homeless man stealing the wallet from out of his pocket. When the car exploded and killed the man with Skin’s wallet on his body, everyone thought that Angelo was dead. To protect his girlfriend from criminal charges and keep his mutation a secret, Skin left town.

9

Rogue (AKA Anna Marie)

Debuted In 1981

With her mother gone (due to typical Marvel mysticism) thee young Anna Marie was sent to live with her strict, authoritarian Aunt Carrie. Her poor relationship with her guardians prompted her to run away from home, choosing instead to fend for herself on the street. Things seemed to look better when the seemingly kind Mystique took Anna Marie under her wing as part of her new found family. Unfortunately, it turns out that Mystique was only getting close to Rogue to use her as a terrorist.

Also, while Rogue eventually got her happily ever after with Gambit, her first kiss had a horrible effect that led to the off and on nature of her relationship with Remy Labeau. After she kissed her first love interest, Cody Robbins, she unintentionally left him in a coma due to her powers.

8

Maggott (AKA Japheth)

Debuted In 1997

Born with cripplingly painful stomach issues, Japheth’s childhood was one long battle. With the cause unknown, and the only possible explanation suggesting stomach cancer could be the cause, Japheth fled his family to spare them the cost of his medical problems. When he was eventually discovered near death by Magneto in the Kalahari Desert, the iconic Mutant leader was able to correctly diagnose Maggott.

The explanation was just as horrifying as the affliction, when he realized his digestive system was based on two slug-like creatures (a real ‘loser’ in the game of mutations). Magneto was able to help, but when Japheth learned his father had been killed in his absence, he decided his future lay elsewhere.

7

Nebula

Debuted In 1985

Adopted by Thanos (already not great to start with) the villainess Nebula is raised by the same person who invaded her planet and wiped out half its population, including her biological parents. As if being raised by a mad man was not bad enough, Thanos’s approach to home life is about as brutal as his population-slaughtering life. Since Thanos preferred Gamora over Nebula, he would neglect her, pitting the women against each other in armed combat.

These were no ordinary fights, however, with Thanos taking off parts of Nebula’s body and replacing them with cybernetic enchantments every time she lost a fight. Being constantly thrown into violence, and the abuse she received at the hands of Thanos makes for a disturbing enough origin to make any character sympathetic.

6

Hulk (AKA Bruce Banner)

Debuted In 1962

There are dysfunctional families, and then there is Bruce Banner’s family, who are on another level. While Bruce’s mother Rebecca loved him very much, Bruce’s father, Brian, hated him with a truly intense passion. Due to Rebecca’s love for Bruce, Brian held a grudge and jealousy against his son. Fueled by his hate for Bruce, Brian hypothesized that his research with radiation led to Bruce being a mutant, which was another point of contention.

The culmination of these different factors led to Brian being physically abusive to a young Bruce. Things got much worse when Brian murdered Rebecca, leaving Bruce without the one parental figure who cared for him. Meanwhile, Brian got sent to a mental hospital for the murder. While Bruce was eventually sent to live with his nurturing Aunt Susan, a lot of damage had already been done.

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5

Mister Immortal (AKA Craig Hollis)

Debuted In 1989

While immortality may be a gift to some, it is a horrible curse to Mister Immortal. After his mother passed away as a child, Craig Hollis found a friend nobody else could see or hear. But where most children have imaginary friends, Craig’s was the superhuman death entity known as Deathurge, who (as the name suggests) regularly encouraged Craig to engage in highly dangerous acts. When Deathurge persuaded Craig to set his house on fire and then hide unde the burning house. Mister Immortal survived but his father was killed. After losing his father who was his sole guardian left, he was sent to live with the abusive Mr. O’Doughan. His first love, who was Mr. O’Doughan daughter died by suicide, causing Mister Immortal to make his first attempt.

4

Red Skull

Debuted In 1941

Red Skull is one truly reprehensible villain, having no redeeming qualities. As it turns out, he was more or less always this way, providing for a really dark and disturbing backstory. Red Skull, born Johann Shmidt, became obsessed with Esther, a neighborhood shopkeeper’s daughter. He tried to force himself onto her and when she rebuffed him, he killed her. There was no remorse at all when he killed Esther, but instead he had glee, providing the start to Red Skull’s disgusting and horrific actions that were soon to follow. Adding another layer to Red Skull’s backstory is his father, Hermann Shmidt. Hermann, greatly upset by the death of his wife during childbirth, turned his grief and anger onto his newborn son, who he tried to drown to death. He was stopped by a doctor before eventually dying by suicide.

3

X-23

Debuted In 2003

Made for the sole purpose to be an assassin for The Facility, X-23, also known as Laura Kinney, was created by using the genetic material of Wolverine. Since she was built to be a lethal weapon, Laura Kinney underwent multiple different procedures, most incredibly damaging and painful. For instance, she was exposed to radiation poisoning and took out her claws by force to coat them with adamantium. If that was not enough damage for Laura Kinney, things would continue to go downhill. When Dr. Rice thinks that X-23 is not tough enough, he makes a trigger scent that causes Laura Kinney to go wild and kill anything around her. Consequently, when the trigger scent is activated on one fateful day, she kills her best friend. The loss is not the only one she would suffer as she also accidentally murdered her mother after Dr. Rice finds a way to get revenge on Sarah Kinner by activating the Trigger Scent.

2

Carnage

Debuted In 1991

Usually, villains are presented with a backstory that leads to the buildup of some horrific action that marks their path as a malevolent evil doer. However. Cletus Kasady, who would later go by the supervillain name Carnage, was introduced from the start as one very disturbed and disturbing individual. Being Eddie Brock’s cellmate in prison, Cletus Kasady was a convicted serial killer who was serving 11 back to back life sentences. Cletus Kasady was already a highly dangerous, very evil man before he even came into contact with the symbiote, committing heinous crimes that were horrible before he even received superpowers. When the symbiote bonds with him through a cut in his arm, the pair bring out the worst in each other, much to the misfortune of all the New Yorkers in the Spider-Man lore. They break out of a prison where Carnage continues his killing rampage, and all with the symbiote’s help.

1

Rocket Raccoon

Debuted In 1982

Used by aliens that resembled humans, Rocket Raccoon has an easy going enough start, where he is just a pretty regular raccoon that is employed as a therapy animal for the individuals staying at the Halfworld Asylum for the Criminally Insane. When the funding for the Asylum gets cut, the aliens leave but the robots that worked there became sentient after a supernova and used their newfound sentience to give intelligence and self-awareness to the service animals, including Rocket Raccoon. The surgeries to make Rocket intelligent are actually incredibly painful, and as a result, traumatic for him. He is modified to walk upright, given a metal exoskeleton as part of his painful surgeries. Along with his procedures, he also gained an identity crisis that leaves Rocket and the other animals to question their true purpose.