Top 10 Hated Comic Book Characters That Became Favorites

The main man wasn’t always a main attraction. For starters, even his co-creator Keith Giffen had little love for him. Lobo was a loud-mouthed, vain, obnoxious jerk when he first showed up in “Omega Men”. And that was the whole point! He was meant to be a parody of edgy brutes, a dumb lug who never should’ve been anything more than a joke. But after a while, his reckless attitude and penchant for violence started generating fans. Nowadays, he’s appeared in comics, shows, games, and more. There’s even speculation of Jason Momoa playing him in the DCU. It looks like the last Czarnian is going to be everybody’s main man soon.

Standing as one of Marvel’s most powerful and quirkiest characters, this unlikely hero has helped vanquish big bads like Doctor Doom and even Thanos. But she didn’t exactly fare well with people at first. When she debuted in the early 90s, she was considered a joke both by fans and even superheroes. But if you’re someone who can topple Marvel’s heaviest hitters with only squirrels and a can-do attitude, then you’ve more than earned our respect. Her comic book series became a hit in 2015. It even cracked the top 10 of the New York Times Best Sellers List in September of that year! While Squirrel Girl may still have a few detractors, her loyal fan base continues to grow.

This deadly character is recognized today as one of the DC universe’s premier contract killers. His bad skills are often put to slightly better use for Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad. Despite Deadshot’s notoriety, he didn’t exactly strike fear in his first iteration. In his earliest appearances, he wore just a suit and tie, a top hat, and an eye mask. While it was a…bold fashion choice, it didn’t help him resonate with readers. It wouldn’t be until “Detective Comics” #474 that a slick redesign and attitude adjustment made him into the icon we now know and love. While Deadshot may not always be a good guy, his flexible moral code and accurate skills make him a fun wild card in any story.

Before we go any further, we want to make it clear that we’re not talking about the awesome archer. The Artemis we’re focusing on infamously beat the world’s most famous amazon in a competition and then became Wonder Woman. Coming out of nowhere and ripping the iconic mantle from Diana kicked the hornet’s nest to say the least. But when she was reintroduced during DC’s “Rebirth” initiative, she got a much deserved second chance. She became an integral and beloved part of Red Hood’s Outlaws team. Sparks even flew between her and Red Hood, leading to arguably one of the former Robin’s most popular romances. In the end, Artemis started being beloved once DC kept her far from the Wonder Woman moniker.

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#6: Ben Reilly

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If you were following “Spider-Man” for years and Marvel suddenly told you that your beloved webslinger wasn’t actually the real Spider-Man, you’d probably be furious! But anyone who’s heard Ben Reilly’s name before knows this pain all too well. This character was introduced as a clone of Peter Parker. However, everything was turned on its head for an infamous storyline. During“The Clone Saga”, it was revealed that Peter Parker was actually a clone of Ben Reilly. This retcon was loathed by fans. Once Marvel moved away from the Clone Saga and did some more retcons, Ben got to become a popular new hero called the Scarlet Spider. There’s a lesson to be learned: sometimes you just gotta do your own thing!

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#5: Guy Gardner

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In the infinite multiverse, there’s few people who can rock a bowl cut. And we’re still not entirely sure if Guy Gardner is one of them. But we can confirm that he beat the odds to become a fan favorite. Guy was originally nothing more than an obnoxious musclehead that played second fiddle to more popular Lanterns. It arguably wasn’t until the legendary “Justice League International” run from the ‘80s that Guy’s abrasiveness finally became endearing. He went from someone people hated, to a hero who fans loved to hate to someone people genuinely loved. While the Green Lanterns have always been an ensemble act, Guy’s managed to cement himself as one of the Corp’s best cadets.

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#4: Mr. Freeze

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This may sound cold-blooded, but ridiculous gimmicks and horrible puns used to be the norm for Mr. Freeze. For a long time, he was in the category of joke characters like Calendar Man (xref) and Kite Man (xref). But while they would all get fun reinventions later, Mr. Freeze is the only one who can brag about having an Emmy-award winning origin story. The “Heart of Ice” episode from “Batman: The Animated Series” changed the game for Mr. Freeze forever. During the story, we learned that Freeze had a terminally ill wife who he was desperately trying to save. His tragic backstory and striking new design made viewers flock to him. Ever since Freeze’s reinvention, he’s been a DC staple and one of Batman’s greatest foes.

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#3: Aquaman

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If there were ever a character who would benefit the most from a strong PR firm, it’d have to be Aquaman. On paper, this guy should have been a fan favorite superhero right from the very start. He was a founding member of the Justice League and also, you know, the freaking king of Atlantis! Yet despite the stacked resume, Aquaman was always the butt of jokes to people. They laughed at his ability to talk to aquatic life and his admittedly not-so-impressive costume. However, numerous overhauls like Peter David’s 90s revamp, Geoff Johns’ New 52 reboot, and Jason Momoa’s movie portrayals eventually altered fans’ perceptions. The tides have finally turned in Aquaman’s favor.

There’s characters that fans don’t like, and then there’s characters that fans detest so much that they actually manage to get them killed off. That’s what happened to Jason Todd. Initially, he was considered to be a poor imitation of Dick Grayson. There was so much animosity towards him that DC readers voted for him to die. But after he was resurrected as Red Hood decades later, fans latched on to his reckless attitude. Jason was now seen as a cool character with great fighting skills and a good foil for Batman. Admittedly, he wasn’t the only disliked Robin. Fans didn’t take too kindly to Damian Wayne initially either (xref). But Jason’s meteoric rise from hated sidekick to celebrated anti-hero made him a dark legend.

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#1: Miles Morales

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Superhero Origins: Miles Morales

After Peter Parker died on Earth-1610, Brian Michael Bendis created a new Spider-Man: Miles Morales. He made history as the first Afro-Latino webslinger. Unfortunately, the decision got a lot of unwarranted backlash from those who felt like it was just a publicity stunt. But those initial complaints never derailed this webhead’s popularity. He quickly grew to be a fan favorite in the comics. Within a decade of his introduction, he reached even higher heights by starring in an Oscar award winning film. Miles is now one of the most popular heroes in the Marvel universe and then some. Instead of just being compared to Peter Parker, he’s now seen as a hero who fully swung out of the main webhead’s shadow.