10 Heroically Terrible Superpowers Writers Should Feel Embarrassed They Invented

9. Matter-Eater Lad

Okay, okay, just one more ridiculous Legion character. This one actually does come from that bygone era of DC making stupid decisions regarding characters that had nothing to do with how much clothing they wore, and boy is this one stupid. The fifteenth member to join the OG Legion of Superheroes back in the 60s, Tenzil Kem had the power to...well, eat anything. Something which every inhabitant of his home planet (plus one French dude) could do too, which means that not only did he have a ridiculous power but it wasn't even unique! To be fair, Kem's abilities did come in handy precisely one time, which is more than we can say for most of the characters on this list. When the universe was threatened by the destructive powers of the paradoxically indestructible Miracle Machine, Matter-Eater Lad stepped up to the plate and...well, he ate it. What did you think he was going to do? And, like Man v Food host Adam Richman after a substantially spicy meal, it drove him mad for seven years. That was Matter-Eater Lad's only real "big" story, as most writers struggled to find ways to shoehorn the character into situations where his "powers" would actually be of some use. Like Arm-Fall-Off-Boy he was revamped as a comedic character, this time by Keith Giffen. As for who was behind the original iteration of Tenzil Kem? That would be artist John Forte, who worked on hundreds of early DC and Marvel Comics, and the writer was Jerry Siegel. Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman. Presumably his estate doesn't kick up nearly as much fuss about the ownership of his later superheroic creations. Expect to also see him in the next season of Arrow.