Marvel Characters The Saddest Origin Stories:
Most of the superheroes we know had a heartbreaking beginning to their story. Be it Black Widow being brought up in the Red Room to Flash losing his mother and Batman watching his parents getting killed, all of them had a horrifying past that pushed them to become a hero. Star-Lord, Arrow, Superman, Captain America, and Wanda, they wouldn’t be sacrificing their lives for the world if they had a normal and happy life. Their passion to fight crime and villains roots from their deeply engraved pain. These superheroes and vigilantes have driven all their anger and agony towards bringing the bad guys down. Most of the fans know the original storyline that’s shown on the screen.
Watching various iterations of Batman and Spider-Man over the years has taught us that one watched his parents and the other got bitten by a radioactive spider, respectively. These are the stories that are impressed on our minds. But you’ll be surprised to know that the comic book version sings a grimmer tale. The movie portrayals are nothing compared to the real stories that originate from the books. Who knew that these charming heroes that can act as a beacon of hopes had such a dreadful past? Find out the 10 Marvel characters with the saddest origin stories in comic books.
1. Star-Lord
Star-Lord’s origin is already quite heartbreaking in the movie where his biological father implants cancer in Peter’s mother. But on the pages, his father isn’t a planet but an alien ruler of an empire in the outer galaxy while his mother still belonged to the earth. One day the aliens from his paternal planet show up in his town and kill Meredith in front of young Peter Quill.
2. Black Widow
Scarlet Johansson’s Black Widow starts off as an assassin trained by the Soviets who later joins S.H.I.E.L.D. She is an ordinary human in the movies with extraordinary spy and combat training. But her comic book origins roots back from World War II. She is introduced as a kid who loses her family in a fire and kidnapped by an assassin training facility that turns orphan girls into spies and assassins. She was trained in the Red Room and subjected to disturbing experiments that manipulated her mind and gave her enhanced abilities and lengthier life.
3. Rocket Raccoon
Rocket used to be a companion animal for patients on a planet of a mental asylum built by alien humanoids. Soon the humanoids got tired of the job and left it over the robots who themselves decided to ditch the asylum. Before leaving, the robots performed dreadful genetic experiments on the companion animals and turned them humanoid so they could watch over the patients. Rocket may seem to keep a strong appearance but deep down he can’t get over the harrowing experiment he underwent.
4. Drax
The comic book Drax isn’t an alien but a common man from earth whose family was randomly killed by Thanos during his visit on the planet. Even Drax aka Arthur Douglas dies in that attack but Thanos’s righteous Titan father resurrected him and transformed him into Drax the Destroyer to take vengeance.
5. Captain Marvel
In the movies, Captain Marvel has been portrayed as a perfect superhero who has everything sorted out in her superhero career. But in the real story, she suffered a dual personality disorder. The Kree device that accidentally gives her superpowers also affects her brain and leads to a serious mental illness. Carol Danvers is a feminist writer in the day and transforms into Ms. Marvel by night who fights the bad guys.
6. Hawkeye
The MCU never dug into Hawkeye’s past and he is simply introduced as a dedicated Avenger. But in the books, he started as a runaway kid who joins a circus where he learns the mastery of bows and arrows. On discovering the malicious intentions of the circus master, Clint abandons them and becomes a follower of Tony Stark aka Iron Man. He eventually joins the Avengers and convinces Black Widow, who once saved him from danger, to join the team too.
7. Falcon
The Falcon most of us know from the big screens is a former Air Force pilot who later joins Captain America with his high tech wings. But in the books, he is raised by the Red Skull on an isolated island after losing his parents in conflict. Over there, he is forced to undergo certain experiments that enhance his powers. One day he runs into Captain America and joins forces with them to escape the island.
8. Ant-Man
The real origin story isn’t as comical and light-hearted as shown in the films. Most of it matches the movie except that Scott’s daughter Cassie suffers from heart diseases. One day Cassie’s doctor is abducted by a villain that forces Scott to take the Ant-Man suit from Hank Pym. Since then it remains with Scott as Pym saw through his heroic abilities.
9. Ultron
Just like the movies, Ultron is an evil android who is hellbent on bringing destruction upon humanity. But in the comics, he was created by another Avenger, not Tony Stark. It was Hank Pym who created Ultron but before he realizes his mistake, it already gained its conscience. The android is a recurring character in the comics who rises back after several defeats.
10. Cyclops
While the X-Men movies didn’t throw much light on his origin, the books had a complicated past. Scott aka Cyclops was on a trip with his family on a plane when it was suddenly attacked by aliens. Only he and his brother could escape the strike with a parachute. However, their paths get divided as they end up in different orphanages.
