Stan Lee was never afraid to go places with his superheroes like Captain America and Iron Man from his early days at Marvel Comics. This confidence seeped down to every comic writer at the company who often subverted their fan expectation with certain storylines. However, there were several controversial choices that writers had to make, which did not impress the fandom.
Some writers quickly realized their mistakes and figured out a way around them, while others chose to run with their choice to see where it took them. The latter choice either brought them new fans or angered the existing ones.
#5 Revealing Ben Reilly As The Real Peter Parker
The Clone Saga was one of the popular yet most controversial Spider-Man storylines in Marvel Comics. Fans loved several of Peter Parker’s clones introduced in the series, especially Ben Reilly aka Scarlet Spider. However, one particular twist in the story did not sit well with many fans. A few medical tests eventually indicated that Peter Parker was actually the clone and Ben the original.
Following this revelation, Peter retired from his role as the web-slinger and even lost his powers. Fans were even more heartbroken and shocked by the revelation and expressed outrage. However, the writers set the events straight after revealing that everyone was being manipulated by Norman Osborn, who had returned from the dead. Unfortunately, fans lost Ben Reilly at the end of this storyline.
#4 Making Wanda Maximoff A Grief-Stricken Villain
If the movie goers hated Wanda Maximoff’s villainous turn in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the comic book fans were even more shocked. In Avengers Disassembled, the Avengers faced several overwhelming threats all at once, resulting in the loss of their mansion, their security clearances, and even some of their members.
Fans expected an all-powerful villain behind this organized attack against the Avengers, but they were shocked to learn that it was Wanda who was behind the attack. She was grief-stricken by the loss of the children she had created and blamed the Avengers for the loss. Brian Michael Bendis’ story was a deviation from the classic Avengers, which many fans just could not accept.
#3 Questionable Actions Of Pro-Registration Team In Civil War
Civil War movie did a better job of exploring the feud between the two Avengers teams. The storyline focused on the split among the Avengers due to their opposing views on the Government Registration. The two factions firmly believed in their ideologies, with one willing to go under Government oversight while the other did not.
While the movie took a balanced approach, the original comic storyline received criticism for putting one faction in a bad light and often portraying them as true villains. The Pro-Registration team had questionable methods like betraying their friends and imprisoning their allies in the Negative Zone. Many fan-favorite characters did the unthinkable in the name of being right, which several fans absolutely hated.
#2 Captain America Becomes A HYDRA Agent
Even movie lovers knew from a cold reference in the Avengers: Endgame film that Steve Rogers had a brief stint as a HYDRA agent. The relatively new comic story arc saw Captain America’s entire history being altered by a Cosmic Cube manipulation. This Steve Rogers was revealed to be always a member of the HYDRA.
Fans expressed their outrage when writer Nick Spencer revealed in the poorly-received Secret Empire comics that HYDRA Steve was neither a clone nor an imposter. Many couldn’t process the righteous Captain America’s turn as the Supreme Leader of HYDRA. Marvel had to eventually bring the old Steve back to satisfy the fans.
#1 Iron Man Turns Into A Villain
While the turn of Iron Man as a true villain-like character in Civil War angered many fans, his previous villain stint proved more controversial. In the ’90s storyline titled The Crossing, fans were shocked by a major twist in the Iron Man arc. It was revealed that Tony Stark was secretly under the influence of Kang the Conqueror all this time. At the end of this storyline, Iron Man sacrifices himself to save the Avengers.
If fan outrage over The Crossing wasn’t enough, Marvel brought in a teenage version of Tony Stark to make fans happy. When all their efforts to justify the storyline went futile, the comics retconned most of these events in the comics Heroes Reborn and Avengers Forever.
