11 Comic Book Characters Who Underwent Horrifying Transformations
7. Speedball Becomes Penance
After being exposed to...something, at a young age, Robert Baldwin developed the power to manipulate kinetic energy and so became the superhero Speedball.
When his team, The New Warriors, became popular, they received their own reality show. When popularity in the show started to dip, the New Warriors sought more dangerous foes to boost their ratings. While the group attempted to apprehend a combustible villain called Nitro in Stamford, the criminal caused an explosion, which killed 612 civilians, including 60 children.
Baldwin believed that if he wasn't so desperate for ratings, he would have never pursued Nitro and those 612 people would still be alive. Baldwin was so overwhelmed with self-loathing, he knew that he deserved to suffer.
As punishment, he ordered a new costume which contained 612 internal spikes that caused him constant pain while he wore it. Each of these spikes represents each life lost in Stamford because of him. Since 60 of the victims were children, 60 spikes were made extra long so they pierced his skin, making Baldwin experience excruciating agony. When he put on his new costume, he burned his Speedball outfit and took on the name, Penance.