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Sometimes, a terrible superhero can result from a failed attempt to create a genuinely interesting character to attract new readers. Other times, they were purposefully designed to be laughed at for how pathetic they are. Either way, these are the characters who should have been left on the cutting room floor.
10) Red Bee
During the Golden Age, superheroes were a relatively new concept, so writers tried many different ideas to see what would work. Richard Raleigh, aka Red Bee, didn’t work. Although initially published under Quality Comics, Red Bee was bought by DC Comics, where he would have several more adventures. Red Bee was a lawyer who became a costumed vigilante to fight crime. Red Bee’s greatest weapons were his trained bees. Unlike Ant-Man, who can telepathically control legions of ants, Red Bee only had a few bees in his belt at his disposal. These bees would help their master battle evildoers by stinging them. To give you an idea of how lame Red Bee was as a hero, he was knocked unconscious in over half of his comic appearances.
9) Madam Fatal
If there’s one thing the superhero genre is known for, it’s the colorful costumes the characters wear to disguise themselves when they fight crime. However, instead of masks and spandex, Golden Age hero Richard Stanton was an actor who, after his daughter was kidnapped, dressed up in a wig, glasses, and a dress as an old lady named Madam Fatal. Using this grandma persona, Stanton caught his adversaries off guard and used his cane as a weapon. Although Madam Fatal was a unique character for his time — a man who disguised himself as a woman, as one might imagine, eventually Madam Fatal’s one-note “old lady” gimmick literally grew “old,” ran out of steam, and the character fell into obscurity.
8) Gunfire
The 90s were notorious for creating countless overly edgy and violent anti-heroes who were obsessed with guns, and Andrew Van Horn, aka Gunfire, was easily the most ridiculous. After surviving an encounter with deadly aliens, Andrew developed the power to turn anything he touched into a gun. Whether it’s a pipe, a wrench, or a hammer, he can channel energy through it to fire lasers. Along with a superpower that sounds like a parody of 90s anti-heroes, Gunfire was a very arrogant and unlikeable character who constantly boasted about how cool he was. Despite his high opinion of himself, readers didn’t share Gunfire’s perspective, which led to this dated anti-hero’s comic line being cancelled.
7) Color Kid
The 30th century is home to some of the strangest and weakest superheroes in DC Comics history. The alien Ulu Vakk, aka Color Kid, was caught in a lab accident that gave him the power to change the color of anything. That’s it. Color Kid tried to apply to the Legion of Superheroes, but his weak abilities resulted in a quick rejection. He would then go on to join the Legion of Substitute Heroes, who are a team of heroes with useless superpowers. At best, Color Kid can camouflage himself and others to do sneak attacks, but his lack of creativity in the application of his own powers means that he’ll always be stuck as a Substitute Hero.
6) Blimp
In 1966, DC Comics debuted the Inferior Five, who were a comical parody of the superhero genre. The team consisted of Merryman, Dumb Bunny, the Blimp, Awkwardman, and White Feather, who were all very unqualified to fight crime. But while other members possessed at least some power or skill that proved helpful, Herman Cramer, aka the Blimp, was easily the most useless. As his name suggests, the Blimp is an overweight man with the power to fly. However, he can only fly at very slow speeds, and a single gust of wind can blow him off course. In a team full of idiots and klutzes, the Blimp is arguably the biggest loser of them all.
