10 Marvel Superheroes With Tortured Pasts

And you thought Daredevil had it rough...

Iron Man Tony Stark
Marvel Comics

It seems that to be a hero in the world of comics means that you must have a backstory that would make even the most ardent emo cry. Whether that's due to being orphaned or experimented on or developing powers when you hit puberty that you can't control, nearly everyone that takes up the fight for good has, in one way or another, experienced some serious tragedy.

But it's not just DC who has a cast of capes and cowls with tortured pasts, as Marvel has a fair few themselves.

From alcoholics to assassins, rampaging green monsters and more, the House of Mouse has a history littered with enough angst to fill a Shakespeare play, and it's a testament to those characters involved - as well as to those responsible for writing them - that those that fill this list haven't gone on to tarnish their good reputations by indulging in their darker sides (at least not frequently).

But who's had it the worst? Which members of the Marvel clan will have you reaching for the nearest box of tissues to dab away tears of sorrow instead of laughter?

10. Daredevil

Iron Man Tony Stark
Marvel Comics

If life for the boy from Hell's Kitchen wasn't bad enough to start with, things somehow got even worse when a truck carrying radioactive goo spilled all over him, leaving him blind. That alone would've been bad enough if that was all that happened to the future Daredevil but, unfortunately for him, life wasn't done making his existence a misery.

When his Dad, Jack Murdock, refused to throw a fight, the local mob was out for blood. Murdering him and leaving little Matt an orphan, this act should've broken the boy but it didn't deter him and he would go on to become a successful lawyer.

So it all works out in the end, right? Well... not so much. Tragedy continued to haunt him like a cheap Scooby-Doo villain resulting in, amongst other things, his on again off again girlfriend Karen Page developing a heroin addiction and then later on being murdered by one of his arch nemesis, Bullseye.

These are just two examples of the utter cluster bomb that is Matt Murdock's life - and let's not get into whatever that thing is he has going on with Elektra.

Contributor
Contributor

Jack of all trades, Master of none. The former rocker of the big beard.