10 Disastrous Superhero Redesigns

8. Extreme Namor

Namor The First Mutant-01-Cover
Marvel

Not to be outdone, Marvel used the totally tubular grimdark tone of nineties comics as an excuse to give their undersea anti-hero a little makeover as well. With, well, interesting results. Designed by now-feted artist Jae Lee, the outfit Namor The Sub-Mariner got saddled with for the better part of a decade wasn't befitting of a king of his stature. Like, at all.

Before that Namor was content to swim around in little green, scaly underpants, and not a whole lot else. A rare example of a character who appeared to be for those other than the straight male gaze, as mostly every superheroine is. The beefcake has been toned down a little in recent years by spoilsports who insist on him wearing a weird black trousers-and-waistcoat (but no shirt still) combo, which doesn't seem like it€™d be much good when you live underwater.

Still, that€™s nothing compared to the weird outfit Lee saddled him with, which was more American Gladiator than Prince of Atlantis: the short cropped hair became a wild Tina Turner mane, the speedos swapped for some pointy armour that looks ready-made for an action figure. Which might explain it.

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Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/