10 Superheroes You Didn't Know Had Shameful Origins

[Music] the allure of any superhero is their ability to put the interests of the people before themselves all whilst remaining stylist Li kitted out in the lurid lycra and in possession of abilities but we literally sell our very souls for they forego the comfort and safety of a normal existence to battle evil and they'll do whatever it takes for the betterment of others that said the world's super heroes weren't forged from the most solid and upstanding beginnings but what greater motivation is there for combating a deep dark secrets for masking that pain with heroic bravado the compulsion to uphold the peace for those lovable do-gooders in tights could be considered a form of therapy a technique for reconciling the demons of their past shaking the skeletons from their closets and letting go of some ugly truths because while they might stand for all that is just and commendable now there were some moments in their pasts they'd rather you didn't know about when we're talking shameful it might just be that they legit did something they should be ashamed of or it could just be shamefully weird and terrible storytelling Golden Age of comics was a crazy time dude I swear so with that in mind I'm will for what culture and this is 10 superheroes you didn't know had shameful origins number 10 Martian Manhunter DC Comics favorite Martian Manhunter had it rough from the get-go a family man living happily on Mars with his wife and daughter life couldn't be better but then in you know classic comic book fashion she hit the fan and his wife and daughter died in a cosmic Holocaust also the catastrophic event wiped out every other member of his race subject to atonement none of us will ever face he sort of lost his marbles and teetering on the brink of madness he was suddenly transported to earth upon his arrival and before his introduction to the Justice League of America he met scientists all hurdle the man responsible for summoning him to earth and instead of offering an obligatory thank you for saving me from a lonely life of blistered pants he gave Hurdle another gift a massive heart attack brought on by the sight of Martian Manhunter killing his Savior instantly which isn't really the best start for a superhero but you know he didn't do it on purpose really so that's why isn't number ten number nine Catwoman always at loggerheads with Bruce Wayne Selina Kyle and her alter ego Catwoman are rarely seen leaving the vicinity without having sneakily mapped something inherently valuable that's part of her charm and what makes her a useful asset for Bruce Wayne when he's in a tough spot that his gravelly voice or cumbersome car can't get him out of sure she isn't so much a superhero as an antihero but she's definitely more good than bad her darkest origin was explored in the year one series from the late 80s where she was working as a dominatrix prostitutes in Gotham's East End under the watchful eye of their abusive pimp stand Selina mother's a young coworker Holly and helps her escape prostitution clearly unhappy with a deserted street corner Stan kidnaps Selina sister Selina then murders him just another classic prostitute murders pimp and then dresses up as a cat for the rest of her life story it's a tale as old as time number 8 Bruce Banner Bruce banners roots are regarded pretty much as common knowledge he was exposed to lethal radiation when the first gamma bomb test went Wray his body was plastered with radioactive particles which oddly enough didn't kill him yet imbued him with the power to rage hard as the Jolly Green Giant Beast should he get angry but there's more to it than that his father atomic physicist dr. Brian banner hated him an angry alcoholic Brian despised his own son and became jealous over the close bond he shared with his mother Rebecca Banner fearful that his own research had affected his son deeply on a genetic level dr. banner lost it he began abusing his son when his wife stepped in to intervene he murdered her and was sent to live out the rest of his days in an insane asylum reeling from the shock Bruce became withdrawn at school and while living at home with his aunt a child prodigy and shy it was only a matter of time before he came under attack from school bullies but here's the cherry atop the sad sad Sunday Bruce actually built a bomb and planted it in the basement of his school to teach them all the lesson thankfully it didn't go off but still Jesus number seven Professor X Charles Francis Xavier also more commonly known as the ever reliable upstanding citizen of both mutant and mankind Professor X and the opener of Professor X's school for gifted youngsters one student he brought into the fold was Jean Grey a telepath traumatized after the vicariously experiencing the death of a friend bringing her under his wing he helps the young team develop her telekinetic abilities but as revealed in the original x-men comic series issue number four it seems the old professor got more than he bargained for he fell in love with her now love is grand and all but for a figure like Xavier to have quelled his truest romantic feelings for a girl young enough to be his daughter or maybe even granddaughter is pretty creepy creepier still is when Jean finds out via the onslaught series she has sown the professor's inner monologue hands understandably completely freaks out to be honest it's just the kind of thing that you'd see in the tabloids these days like with what is happening you know first Kevin Spacey now Professor X number six Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in the mainstream Marvel Universe known as earth-616 Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are actually the daughter and son of their father magneto as the spawn of such evil mutant genes they followed in daddy's footsteps and recruited into his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants they caused quite a bit of havoc for the x-men before turning to the good side and joining the Avengers however in Marvel's revamped ultimate series which sought to reimagine their most famous franchises they exist in an alternative universe known as earth one six one Oh in this spin-off universe Wolverine sleeps with Magneto's woman Magda who then gives birth to twins the possibility of Logan having spawned two kids with the bride of magneto is highly likely what's then revealed in Ultimates number three is a scene wherein Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver consummates their their sibling relationship while Wolverine watches yeah there's there's not many words to describe the sheer creepiness of a dad watching his own possible offspring you know getting at it like rabbits so yeah comic books number five Gomorrah so let's hark back to her comic book origins which were rather bleak the sole survivor of Zen humorous an alien humanoid race Gamora watched as her entire species were wiped out by a load of interfering religious zealots luckily Thanos intervened and rescued her from a gruesome demise escorting her to the safety of the past two decades into the past actually he equipped him with several abilities and tweets with her perceptions so she never really realized she was committing evil acts not exactly a cracking start to a new life and kind of similar to the film's but here's the kind of big thing even though she had ample opportunities she never took advantage of her time in the past to save Zhen who virus from their grisly face she could have saved her entire race from extinction but you know she just didn't as for why didn't oh well I guess she didn't want to number for The Runaways so if you thought the x-men had it bad check out this other Marvel troupe of pre-pubescent superheroes The Runaways their sole reason for being was formed in the fiery pits of hell or it probably felt like it to them embarking on what was to be a normal night out the gang of six friends witnessed their parents united in a horrific act of the ritual sacrifice of a teenage girl after spying them in the throes of murder the truth of their parents is revealed turns out that they are an evil alliance of mad scientists alien invaders dark wizards time travelers and mob bosses who call themselves the pride the children of the pride come together to form their own band of do-gooders hoping to bring down their parents after coincidentally learning they were bestowed with their abilities and powers it's kind of a downbeat note to begin a life of superhero antics but luckily one of them winds up in possession of a telepathic dinosaur so shameful parents on one hand but telepathic dinosaur on the other I reckon that kinda evens out but I'll leave that with you number three raw shark hero antihero defining a superhero can become a pretty fussy venture raw shark exemplifies this distinction his humble beginnings started on the streets of New York as a rapscallion with too much time in his hands and saw the poor lad on the periphery of some pretty evil acts way too often going by his birth name of Walter Kovacs he was hired to investigate the kidnapping of a six-year-old girl named Blair raus raus raus act to get it following up on a lead he made his way to an abandoned dressmakers shop and discovered the girls underwear burning away in a stove and two dogs gnawing on a human femur he finally snapped when he realized the store's owner had killed the young girl and fed her to his dogs he killed the two animals with a meat cleaver and when Grice came home completely denying his involvement in the murder he threw their bloody corpses at him handcuffed him to a pipe doused him in kerosene and left him with a sore in his hands then he lit a match okay so grace deserved it yeah 100% he deserved it but the dogs come on man they didn't know still I mean Rorschach's a badass he he probably didn't care but you know still number two rogue rogue you know that southern girl from the x-men film she can't have had such a bad past can she well she did before joining the x-men her very first comic appearance was in the 1981 avengers annual where rogue serves alongside mystique in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants being a part of such a coalition permits the mutant the rain to cause a number of headaches for the good guys following orders from her foster mother slash impossible boss mystique she tracked down Miss Marvel and waited for her to return home from shopping you know so she could usurp all of her highly sought-after abilities once their struggle had ended and rogue was greenlit at 100% fully charged she choked MS Marvel off the side of the Golden Gate Bridge if that wasn't bad enough she also nicked Thor's powers at one point during a battle in general she made life very very difficult for the Avengers and x-men and probably the most tricksy part of it is no one seems to remember anymore since the 2000 x-men film number one Wolverine Wolverines passed as a source of hot debate and has even spawned two spin-off origins he was even said at one time to be an actual mutated Wolverine cub yeah actually what's definitely known though is his kidnapping by the Weapon X Committee who hold him against his will and infused his bones with unbreakable adamantium this standard x-men law one thing that's not so widely discussed is his upbringing as a young lad named James Howlett born into the affluent lifestyle of John and Elizabeth Howlett's Wolvie began to grapple with his rage and his retractable claws after witnessing the family's old groundskeeper break into his family's abode and murder his father in cold blood young Wolvie loses its bursting out his bony claws he kills the intruder as origins go it's not that far out of the norm so far but that's not strictly true because after killing the man he discovers that the burglar was in fact his biological father Thomas Logan and his mother's true love she can't face Wolvie after this so she kicks him out then blows her head off with a shotgun that's a heaping pile of tragedy right there to kick off a superhero career no wonder it took nearly 30 years for wolfies origins story to surface [Music]

Channel: WhatCulture Comics

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Id: sVodcnXc44U

Length: 12min 17sec (737 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 14 2019