15 Most Notoriously Controversial Storylines In Comic Book History

4. "The Rape Of Ms. Marvel"

Avengers #200 stands out on top of a list full of controversial moments, and with good reason. The story, titled "The Child is Father To...?", features Carol Danvers AKA Ms. Marvel as she wakes one morning and finds herself pregnant, unaware of how or by who. The baby comes to term over a couple of days, and a boy is soon born. This boy, Marcus, begins to grow incredibly fast and starts to construct a machine that causes a number of time-related incidents across the city. The Avengers destroy the machine, and Marcus finally begins to explain things. Marcus, son of the Avengers villain Immortus, sought to create a human form that he could assume to escape the dimension known as Limbo. To do this he kidnapped Ms. Marvel, and using Immortus' machines brainwashed her so he could then impregnate her... with himself. With his machine destroyed, Marcus was forced to return to Limbo, and still suffering from the effects of the brainwashing, Carol willingly returns with him, while the Avengers stand around and fail to react at all to anything they just witnessed. Most of the Avengers are supportive of what Marcus did, and Thor even created the portal that sent Marcus and Carol to Limbo. Ms. Marvel, as one of the premier female superheroes of the Marvel universe, was written off as a rape victim who was manipulated into loving her abuser while her closest friends basically stood to the side and cheered, leaving her in the arms of Marcus, her father-son-baby-daddy-baby? At the time few people reacted to the ridiculous story and events, with the exception of Carol A. Strickland - who penned "The Rape of Ms. Marvel" in response to the issue - and Chris Claremont, who had written Carol previously and was appalled at her treatment. Claremont later wrote an Avengers Annual that tackled the events of the 200th issue and the betrayal of Carol (and her fans) by the Avengers (and the writers).