10 Dark Marvel Storylines We Still Can't Believe Even Happened

While Marvel stories are often well-known for being light-heartedly fantastical, especially compared to other major publishers like DC or Darkhorse, Marvel has released some seriously dark content over the years. These stories aren’t just for the comparative shock value to Marvel’s superheroics, but intend to push readers to an emotional place few comics like to traverse. That said, these morbid tales are especially tough tales to emotionally handle.

Comic books need a good depressive story every once in a while. Yes, most heroes and villains go through their own tribulations, but we’re talking about the truly sickening stories. These Marvel comics transcend traditional tragedy to tell a greater chronicle meant to pull readers in. The writers behind these comics want their audiences to deeply empathize with the plight of these characters, even if we can’t agree with them. It’s in these stories that we come to identify with our heroes. However, these ten dark Marvel storylines are especially tough to get through.

1 The Ruins

The Ruins #1-2 (1995) - Written by Warren Ellis; Art by Cliff Nielsen, Terese Nielsen, & Chris Moeller

Starting off this list, The Ruins is one of Marvel’s most emotionally disturbing stories. Taking place in a bleak alternate universe where superpowered people are cursed with horrific consequences for their powers, no hero is left untouched by the corruptive nature of this world. The story is told through the perspective of a reporter who is documenting the chaotic powered world they live in. The Hulk has been mutated into a grotesquely decaying living corpse, seeping radioactive pus. Spider-Man slowly becomes a more insect-like mutilated mess of disfigured limbs.

The X-Men especially suffer in this world. Mutants are rounded up and thrown into forgotten prison cells. Some, like Nightcrawler, have even turned to cannibalism to get by. As the reporter continues with their investigation, they too slowly succumb to the bleak depravity of this universe. However, this story isn’t just visual shock. As the characters endure the hellish landscape, their minds have decayed, leaving only hollow shells with echoes of their former selves.The Ruins is a haunting story of emotional, physical, and existential horror unlike any other.

2 God Loves, Man Kills

Marvel Graphic Novel #5 (1982) - Written by Chris Claremont; Art by Brent Eric Anderson

One of Marvel’s more harrowing X-Men stories, this story analyzes the abusive and repressive effects of religious extremism, bigotry, and persecution of marginalized groups like mutants. The main antagonist of this issue is Reverend William Stryker, a religious zealot who believes mutants are a “curse” upon society. Calling mutants “children of Satan,” Stryker convinces his flock that mutantkind is proof that humanity has strayed from God’s plan. The fanatic and his forces successfully kidnap Professor X and abuse his mind to psychically spread their anti-mutant propaganda to the masses.

By the issue’s end, Stryker kidnaps Kitty Pryde, who is still a child at this time, and plans to execute her on a public stage as his followers rally with thunderous support. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler experiences a crisis of faith as he realizes that he and Stryker “worship” the same God. As our real world still struggles with the existential battle of faith and how it intersects with human rights, God Loves, Man Kills is still a sickeningly familiar situation even 40 years later.

3 The Red Right Hand

Wolverine #1-14 (2010-2011) - Written by Jason Aaron; Art by Renato Guedes

Starring Wolverine, The Red Right Hand storyline follows the X-Man as his past and frequent fatherly failures finally catch up to him, followed by a heart-shattering finale. Before adopting his modern morals from the X-Men, Logan was nothing short of a murderer and hedonist. As he walked the path of heroism, he left behind a string of bodies and single mothers. In Daken’s quest for revenge against his father, he partners with a secret organization called the “Red Right Hand”, which comprises people who have lost loved ones to Wolverine’s past rampages.

Meanwhile, Daken has gathered many of Wolverine’s abandoned children and trains them to turn against their long-lost father. However, neither Wolverine nor his children knew of the other’s existence. Logan tracks down the Red Right Hand’s base and brutally slaughters his children who stand in his way. Coated in the blood of his kin, Wolverine enters the central chamber of the facility to find all the organization’s members dead by suicide. A video then plays, taunting that Logan will never get the satisfaction of killing the leaders before revealing that the eviscerated corpses in the previous room were his children.

4 Immortal Hulk

Immortal Hulk #1-50 (2018-2021) - Written by Al Ewing; Art by Joe Bennett

Immortal Hulk is an unparalleled epic that explores the tragedy of childhood abuse and trauma. This 50-issue masterpiece dives into the horrific abuse that Bruce Banner faced as a child and his journey to embrace and work through his dissociative identity disorder. Meanwhile, the plot is juxtaposed against some of the most flesh-twisting art Marvel Comics has ever published. But still, it’s Bruce’s exploration of his long-repressed traumatic past, and what that experience molded him into as an adult, that steals the show with this run.

DID is rooted in childhood trauma and Immortal Hulkplays none of that for laugh or spectacle. Despite the series’ monstrous art style, the story is surprisingly human. As Bruce explores his inner mind he is also forced to face his alters (the Hulks) and the pain he has put them through by rejecting their very existence. Immortal Hulk should be considered a literary epic for what Al Ewing accomplished. It is a story that emphasizes the lifelong pain that childhood trauma creates and the internal devastation when a victim has yet to face the horrors of their past.

5 The Death of Jean DeWolff

The Spectacular Spider-Man #107-110 (1985-1986) - Written by Peter David; Art by Rich Buckler

Despite Spider-Man’s own saddened past, the costumed hero Spider-Man will be there to save the day. But underneath the mask, Peter Parker is not so infallible. The story begins with the murder of Chief of Police Jean DeWolff, a key ally and staunch supporter of Spider-Man’s heroic actions. DeWolff was a symbol of virtue and justice in her lifetime, dealing a massive blow to Spidey and the NYPD. Spider-Man discovers the culprit behind DeWolff’s death is a villain named Sin-Eater, who believes he is cleansing society of the unworthy as God’s work to make a better world.

However, Spider-Man learns that Sin-Eater’s identity is closer to DeWolff and the NYPD than originally thought. Throughout the story, Peter ruminates on the value of the justice system. Even as a costumed vigilante, Peter has to look at himself and decide whether his work makes a difference. He wrestles with the feeling that justice is only a fleeting concept in an unusually cruel and callous world. The Death of Jean DeWolff deconstructs the costumes and capes that hide what inevitably is revealed to be nothing short of human nature.

6 Punisher MAX: Tiny Ugly World

Punisher MAX: Tiny Ugly World #1 (2010)

Tiny Ugly World centers around a man named Bobby Boorsteen. Throughout his childhood, Bobby was repeatedly raped by his mother. However, his mother suddenly snapped, sickened by herself and her son. As punishment, Bobby’s mother castrated her young son before committing suicide. Of course, as an adult, Bobby was plagued with unyielding trauma that has gradually eaten at his humanity over time. When Bobby witnesses the Punisher slaughter a building full of drug dealers, something in him awakes and believes that he has the freedom to live unshackled by society just as the Punisher does.

Throughout the story, we see Bobby fall deeper and deeper into this pit that both his mother and the Punisher helped him dig. Of course, we aren’t supposed to agree with anything Bobby does, but we are supposed to empathize with him. Tiny Ugly World is a tale about one broken and forgotten man with no power over his own life and his exasperatingly desperate struggle to gain any sort of control. Yet, in the end, Bobby becomes another name on Frank Castle’s list and is executed.

7 Old Man Logan

Wolverine #66-72 (2008-2009); Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size #1 (2009); Wastelanders: Wolverine #1 (2021)

One of Marvel’s more well-known grim stories, Old Man Logan begins with bitter tragedy before unfolding into an entire world of cataclysm and hopelessness. In this reality, the villains have successfully taken over the world. As Wolverine tries to defend the X-Men from invasion, he inadvertently slaughters them all due to Mysterio’s tricks. With the blood of his family on his hands and the world in disarray, Logan renounces the name “Wolverine” and embarks in self-exile. Decades later, Logan has a family and homestead but struggles to pay rent to the Hulk Gang.

He embarks on a job with Hawkeye but when he returns home he finds that the Hulks have gotten “bored” and torturously massacred Logan’s family. Stood over their broken mangled bodies, the X-Man brandishes his claws before unleashing a living hell that only an old and bitter Wolverine is capable of. Despite this story mainly being one of revenge, its ending is heart-shatteringly bittersweet. This is a story of grueling endurance in the face of a world that wishes nothing more than to break its inhabitants and the glimpses of hope that shine underneath.

8 Ultimatum

Ultimatum #1-5 (2008-2009) - Written by Jeph Loeb; Art by David Finch

Ultimatum is by far the X-Men’s most controversial storyline. Set in the original Ultimate universe, Ultimatum sees a version of the world recently overcome by calamity. In one of Magneto’s plots, he manipulated the Earth’s magnetic field to melt the icecaps, resulting in monumental tidal waves across the world. Millions die due to his actions including many of Ultimate Marvel’s heroes. Magneto has plunged the world into this apocalyptic turmoil to cull humanity.Ultimatum is nothing short of pure nihilism.

The remaining heroes are distraught over the deaths of their loved ones. Soon their grief turns into depravity as readers are made to endure seeing these pinnacles of justice devolve into senseless monsters of pure suffering. But despite the controversy of the story’s plot, the inspiration behind writer Jeff Loeb’s decisions is woeful. Having previously lost a child, many of Loeb’s works reflected his emotional state at the time. Rereading the story calls for a depressive new meaning once you realize why everything in this world became so suddenly tragic.

9 Daredevil: Born Again

Daredevil #227-231 (1985-1986) - Written by Frank Miller; Art by David Mazzucchelli

Admittedly, Daredevil: Born Again is one of the more emotionally taxing stories on this list. Long-time ally and former love interest to Daredevil, Karen Page, has recently fallen into a toxic cycle of drug addiction that has ravaged her life entirely. Page was well-loved both on and off the page, so her distressing new life is a particularly hard blow. Karen eventually sells Daredevil’s identity to the Kingpin in exchange for drugs, completely obliterating Matt’s life. Murdock has been stripped of everything, leaving him wandering the streets of Hell’s Kitchen in a hopeless daze.

Meanwhile, Karen, now a desperate victim of drug addiction, becomes the target of an assassination plot meant to drive Matt out. After Mysterio infects Page with HIV, she and Matt finally reunite but the two are intercepted by Bullseye. In a climactic final battle, Karen sacrifices her own life to save Daredevil, redeeming herself at the foot of a cross as Matt holds his love’s body close to his. In her final months of life, Karen experienced nothing but suffering and shame as she distanced herself away from friends, ultimately destroying both her and Matt’s lives in the process.

10 The Punisher: Born

Born #1-4 (2003) - Written by Garth Ennis; Art by Darick Robertson

Taking place before Frank Castle adopted the Punisher moniker, Punisher: Born follows Castle in the final days of his military service in Vietnam. While he first seems like any other soldier, as the series progresses, it becomes clear how far separated from morality Frank Castle really is. While his allies are both physically and existentially exhausted, broken from the senseless violence of the Vietnam War, Frank Castle is in his element. He’s excited to mow down wave after wave of Vietnamese soldiers, reveling in the slaughter.

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As the series progresses, Castle feels this itching in the back of his head; a voice urging him to give in to his carnal desires. As the realization that Castle and his soldiers were fighting and dying in a senseless war, Frank turns against central command, turning his most loyal grunts against their official leadership. Yet, in the end, all that surrounds Frank Castle is gore and death and his soldiers and the Vietcong lay waste to one another in a fiery hellscape of bullets and bombs. As dawn approaches, Castle is left alone in a sea of dead bodies, drenched in the viscera of his comrades and enemies and his face twisted in both trauma and rage.