10 Worst Injuries Superheroes Have Survived

Death in comics is rarely permanent. Reboots, retcons and revivals have desensitised readers, and when a given hero does eventually bite the dust, the reaction from most fans tends to be apathy - they know already that it won't be long before they're back to full strength.

With the impact softened, writers have been left to wonder how to create those gut-wrenching moments again. Rather than killing a character off completely, it can be far more upsetting to see your favourite hero injured in such a way that you wonder how they are still alive.

From limbs lost to the hero having his legs removed from the rest of his body, it's a tough life fighting crime and saving the world. However it's not always a product of battle. Some of the injuries are simply a case of wrong place, wrong time. Some of the worst shows of violence aren't even at the hands of villains. The only consistent thing is that each panel will stick with you - for better or for worse.

Prepare for some gory tales in the pages ahead as we test the limits of some of your favourite heroes...

For a God, Thor Odinson is really bad at keeping body parts attached. Maybe it runs in the family, or maybe it's just bad luck. Most recently the God of Thunder has been without his left arm, settling for a prosthetic made from Uru. It hasn't held him back, and has in fact been a positive addition to his arsenal, but the story of how he lost a limb is one of his more shocking tales.

Having found himself unworthy, Thor heads back to Midgard just in time to disrupt Malekith and his squad of frost giants who have infiltrated a Roxxon storage facility. This encounter didn't end well for the Odinson, as he attempted to battle for the first time without Mjolnir.

Realising he has the upper hand, the ruler of Svartalfheim gives one of his most arrogant monologues yet. Malekith effortlessly takes on the Unworthy Thor, taunting him the entire time about the loss of his hammer.

The fight ends when the Odinson is caught by a frost giant and in the ultimate act of humiliation, Malekith chops off Thor's arm with his own ax. The last we see of our hero is him falling, unconscious, into a deep underwater trench. It's never explained how he returned from the depths (with one less arm there's little chance he managed to swim to safety). Yet somehow, a few issues later, the God of Thunder returns to face the new holder of Mjolnir.