10 Utterly Ridiculous Comic Book Characters

No one intends to make a bad character. Every creator puts their best efforts into every character they create, but there are just some characters that hit the reader in a certain way that makes it hard to take that character seriously in any way. Some of the characters may have been made with a comedic intent but the thing that pushes them into the ridiculous is that readers are laughing at them rather than with them.

In some cases, the characters may have been created at a different time. What may have been accepted characterizations, mannerisms, or stereotypes at the time, the characters were created are now seen as silly or even offensive through the prism of modern sensibilities. The world changes quickly but print is forever. And comic fans tend to remember the missteps as much as the successes.

In other cases, the premise simply fell apart after the initial story was over. A character with an outrageous appearance or silly powers can make sense for a single story. But if they are called upon to hold up to additional scrutiny, they just crumble. They fall into a parody of what comic heroes or villains are supposed to be and end up being figures of ridicule in many circles of fandom. Some people may still love these characters but most find them to be utterly ridiculous.

Of all the crazy powers that the mutants of the X-Men have displayed over the years, Maggott’s are the most literally stomach-turning of them all. Maggott was a young South African man named Japheth and was created by Scott Lobdell, Ben Raab, Joe Madureira, and Melvin Rubi for Uncanny X-Men #345 in 1997.

Maggott’s digestive tract is actually two enormous sentient slugs named Eany and Meany. The slugs can consume any type of matter. Once they’ve fed, they return to Japheth’s abdomen and grant him advanced strength and durability. The slugs are highly intelligent and communicate with their host telepathically. Their union also blocks other telepaths from entering his mind.

Initially saved from suicide by Magneto but horrified by the mutant’s savage killing of African rebels. Japheth recoils Magnus’ attempts to recruit the young man but he finds his way to America and the X-Men. Ashamed of the odd nature of his powers, he kept to himself before being befriended by Wolverine. He was sent to the Generation X team to learn to deal with his powers but ended up being killed after being captured by the Weapon X Program. Maggott has since been resurrected in the mutant nation of Krakoa.