There are some ridiculous superhero weaknesses that don’t make sense in the world of Marvel and DC Comics. When creators invent superheroes, they must find a way to ensure they are not completely invulnerable. For some heroes, like Spider-Man and Daredevil, they are just normal people, so they have basic weaknesses to things like guns and knives. Other weaknesses are built into the superhero origins, such as Kryptonite for Superman and dehydration for Namor. However, along the way, some weaknesses were introduced in comics that remain ridiculous, no matter how much writers and artists try to explain them in their stories.
From having vulnerabilities to specific colors to having a weakness to one of the most plentiful things on Earth, here are seven of the most ridiculous weaknesses that exist in the world of Marvel and DC Comics.
1) Green Lantern – The Color Yellow
Easily, one of the worst weaknesses in comic book history was that of the Green Lantern Corps, and it was most apparent in Hal Jordan’s run as the hero. The weakness was simply to the color yellow, and nothing that the Green Lantern’s ring did could affect anything yellow. This means anything from a banana to a sunflower could stop the Lanterns from using their powers. However, it turned out many years later that the weakness to the color yellow was actually because of the ancient monster Parallax, which they had imprisoned in the Central Power Battery. This caused an impurity in the Power Battery, since Parallax uses the yellow energy, which is fear. Soon, Hal and the Green Lantern Corps overcame that fear and ended this ridiculous weakness.
2) Martian Manhunter – Fire
The Martian Manhunter’s biggest weakness was something born of trauma, but that doesn’t make it any less ridiculous. Martian Manhunter’s weakness is fire. This was something that DC wanted to use since he was extremely overpowered, possibly even more so than Superman. With so many powers at Martian Manhunter’s disposal, DC made him have a panic attack and lock down if he ends up surrounded by fire. This weakness comes from a tragedy on Mars when the Guardians of the Universe first encountered the Burned (Martians). When he sees fire, he loses his powers, and when the fire is extreme, he can lose control over his biomorphic form. This means anyone with a lighter or a match can shut down one of the Justice League’s most powerful warriors.
3) Spider-Man – Bug Spray (Ethyl Chloride)
When Spider-Man gained his powers, he learned he had all the abilities of a spider, from crawling up walls to enhanced strength. However, what he didn’t realize for a few years was that he also had the weaknesses of a spider. In fact, it turned out that one of Spider-Man’s most ridiculous weaknesses is bug spray. The original Spider-Slayer discovered this in The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #106, and years later, his son took over the mantle and used the same thing. It seems almost strange to know that the villains can spray the ethyl chloride over Spider-Man, and it seeps through his costume and saps him of all his strength. Luckily, only the Spider-Slayer knows about this, or else all Spider-Man’s villains would have an easy time taking him out.
4) Zatanna – Mouth Gag/Tape
Zatanna is one of DC’s most powerful magic users. She has immense power over mystical and cosmic forces, and there are instances where she is strong enough to earn the title of Sorceress Supreme. However, in most comic stories, she can only cast her spells by saying them. Her Legomancy means that she must recite her spells in backwards speech to create the desired magical effect. This creates a problem that several villains have exploited over the years in comics. All they need to do is gag her mouth, and she is instantly powerless. Luckily, that has changed recently, as DC has revealed she has learned other ways to perform magic without speaking. However, for many years, if she couldn’t talk, she couldn’t do any magic.
5) Human Torch – Asbestos
After the Fantastic Four became a hit series for Marvel Comics, the company decided to give the Human Torch a series of his own. This was in the pages of Strange Tales, and it was there that Johnny Storm learned about one of his biggest, and most ridiculous, weaknesses. The Human Torch is vulnerable to asbestos. This was in 1963 (Strange Tales #111), and there wasn’t as much information available about asbestos at the time as there is now. This means Marvel could invent stories about the toxic mineral and just run with them. As the dangers of asbestos became known later, the Asbestos Man ended up contracting cancer, so at least this ridiculous weakness had an interesting follow-up story years later. It is also interesting to note that there was an Asbestos Lady from Timely Comics years earlier, who battled the Android Human Torch.
6) Domino – Chickens
Domino has one of the strangest and hardest-to-control mutant powers. She has the power of Psychic Probability Manipulation, which is the ability to create good luck for whatever she is trying to do, while her enemies have bad luck. This helps her and her allies when they need to complete a mission. However, she also has a ridiculous weakness. Domino has alektorophobia, which is the crippling fear of chickens. This was shown in Deadpool (Vol. 3) #17. Domino and Wolverine were making their way through an air vent, and she couldn’t move once she came across a chicken Deadpool put there to slow her down.
7) Power Girl – Sticks & Stones
Power Girl had one of the most ridiculous weaknesses in comic books since the Alan Scott Green Lantern was vulnerable to wood. Since there are trees, park benches, and more everywhere, Scott had a lot of places he could fall apart. Power Girl had it worse since she was vulnerable to “natural elements” that are “raw and unprocessed.” Power Girl is a Kryptonian, but originally she had no weakness to Kryptonite. As a result, DC needed something that could slow her down. This means things like rocks, wood, and more, which fans learned in Supergirl (Vol. 4) #16 when a bad guy took her down with a stick to the head. DC has since retconned this, and now she is vulnerable to Kryptonite like all Kryptonians.
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