Pencil Dick: The 10 Worst Comic Character Redesigns

Poor Superman. Whenever his books dip in sales, DC panics and gives him an unnecessary makeover. Well in the 90s when long hair was all the rage, the creative staff over at DC decided to hop on the bandwagon and give the Man of Steel a mullet! Looking like a cross between Penn Jillette and MacGyver, Superman has never looked less manly. And if the mullet wasn’t bad enough it got even worse when Superman would put his hair in a ponytail whenever he was disguised as Clark Kent.

Having Kyle Rayner become the new Green Lantern was DC’s way of updating the character for younger readers in the '90s. DC hoped that younger readers would relate to Kyle Ranyer’s laid back personality and quick wit. And in order to further distinguish Kyle Rayner from previous Green Lanterns, DC decided to redesign his costume as well. And the result was nothing short of hideous. Comics have a nasty habit of “fixing” what isn’t broke, and this turd of a costume is a great example of that.

Nobody likes Aquaman. Sure, he can command oceanic life with his thoughts, but in reality, the ability to have your enemy get gnawed on by a clown fish isn’t too impressive of a superpower. When DC decided to make Aquaman look more intimidating they decided to give him...a mullet. That seems to be DC’s answer for everything. Sporting a blonde mullet and a hook for a hand, Aquaman was ready for stardom. But Aquaman’s stardom never really took off as his books routinely get canceled due to low sales. Lesson learned: Nobody likes Aquaman.

For a brief period during the '90s, Spider-Man was actually replaced by a clone of himself named Ben Reilly. While Reilly shared the same superpowers as the original Spider-Man, he didn’t exactly have the wall crawler’s fashion sense. Instead of wearing the original Spider-Man uniform, Reilly wore a pair of red tights and a cheap hoodie. Trying to intimidate criminals in an outfit that would cost less than $20 at Old Navy never works. Thankfully Reilly soon kicked the bucket and the “Clone Saga” is now just another dreadful footnote of '90s comics.

The Fantastic Four's Sue Storm is one of the most respected women in comics. She’s never been a prostitute like Catwoman, she’s never been an assassin like Elektra, and she never sold out a hero’s secret identity for a heroin fix like Karen Page. But apparently Sue felt like she wasn’t getting enough attention from Mister Fantastic, so she decided to give her costume a touch of sex appeal. And by “touch of sex appeal” we mean that she made herself look like a model out of an S&M personal ad. The costume didn’t last long and eventually Sue regained at least a shred of dignity by returning to her classic duds. But no matter how often she turns invisible, the sweaty palmed masses of the comic fan world will always remember her busty dominatrix outfit.

In order to modernize Wonder Woman for the “Women’s Lib” movement of the early '70s, DC Comics stripped her of her powers and portrayed her as a powerful mortal who could fight crime solely because she possessed feminine wit and an independent spirit. Instead of having a magic lasso, star spangled skirt, and bountiful bust line, Wonder Woman was drawn like a gal heading to spin class. DC soon learned that people didn’t want to read stories of a powerless Wonder Woman and the redesign was scrapped. In an ironic twist, popular feminist Gloria Steinem was actually the most influential figure in having Wonder Woman superpowers returned to her. I am Woman, hear me whine!

Apparently Daredevil’s popular red costume just wasn’t tough looking enough, so Marvel decided to turn it black and slap some garish armor on it. While the costume didn't last long, it was a very dry period for the character and his book almost got canceled numerous times due to low sales. But while the redesign itself was downright brutal, you have to admit that Daredevil did a pretty good job making the costume given the fact that he’s blind.

Comics during the '90s were just awful, and Rob Liefeld’s art is in no small part responsible for that. Not only could he not draw a straight line with a ruler, but he also had such a skewed perspective on the human anatomy that it actually lead people to believe that he was either blind or not of our species. His redesign of Captain America was so unsettling and anatomically incorrect that comic book fans still shudder at the sight of Cap sporting DD breasts. Please, if you value all that is holy, look away from Liefeld’s art.

After Batman had his back broken by Bane, DC Comics decided to replace the venerable character of Bruce Wayne with a more ruthless version of the Caped Crusader. The new Batsuit, with Jean-Paul Valley under the mask, was a more high-tech and lethal version of Batman’s classic duds. DC hoped that a new generation of readers would be able to identify with an edgier version of the popular vigilante. However, the costume wound up looking like something a latchkey kid with ADD and the fans made their displeasure known. Soon enough the new design was gone and Bruce Wayne was back and more pissed off than ever.

The horror... In the late '90s, DC felt that Superman needed a total facelift. In order to make Superman more relevant for the new millennium, he was granted new electricity-based powers and a costume that made him look like a human roller disco. DC’s master plan for a more modern Superman didn’t last long and the original Man of Steel was back within a year. It is rumored that these discarded Superman comics are currently warming up various hobo clusters in New York City.