Marvel Comic Covers That Don't Hold Up Today

Jul 28, 2023

Marvel Comics, and their predecessor Timely, have been in business since 1939. It's no wonder that not every cover has aged well.

This article discusses racism and inappropriate sexualization in comics.

Marvel Comics has published tens of thousands of issues since it started as Timely Comics in 1939. Some of those comics feature iconic cover art, while others' covers are forgettable. However, fans remember some covers for the wrong reasons. With art dating back to the 1930s, it's no surprise that some covers have aged poorly. More surprising is how many covers from recent decades have joined their regrettable ranks.

Marvel has tried to be progressive. The company made headlines with its decisions to address issues like alcoholism and domestic violence well before comics regularly dealt with topical issues. Marvel's titles feature characters of different genders, ethnicities, and abilities, including some of comics' first LGBTQ+ heroes. Despite its track record, however, Marvel hasn't always gotten it right.

Updated on August 26, 2023 by John Dodge: This list has been updated meet with CBR's current standards in formatting and to include even more comic covers that didn't withstand the test of time.

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Captain America debuted with a bang in 1941. His first Simon & Kirby cover featured Cap punching Hitler in the face. The cover was very on-brand for the character, given his role as the pinnacle of American patriotism. Interestingly, Cap was what American conservatives later called a "premature anti-Fascist," entering WW2 months before his country did.

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, it's no surprise Cap turned his attention to America's newest foe in Captain America Comics #13. Unfortunately, Al Avison, who drew the cover for this issue, treated the Japanese people on this cover very differently than the Germans, relying on racist caricatures and giving them inhuman features like long fangs in an effort to dehumanize America's opponents in the war.

The first volume of The Incredible Hulk pitted him against all kinds of villains who would become central to Hulk's rogue's gallery. Issue #355 sees Glorian rope Hulk into a fantasy where he gets everything he wants: food, beautiful women and the admiration of his fellow Avengers.

The cover shows how Glorian enchanted the Jade Giant with a rainbow ray, telling him "Don't struggle, Hulk. I just want to give you your wildest dreams." Looking back to The Incredible Hulk #355, it's very easy to spot the non-consensual tones of this dialogue. Readers can't help but wonder who green-lit the cover.

Having recently joined the MCU via her Disney+ show of the same name, She-Hulk is arguably one of Earth's strongest characters in Marvel Comics. However, fans can't see any of that strength on the cover for Sensational She-Hulk #40, which was drawn by the series' writer/artist, John Byrne.

Here, She-Hulk cowers and tries to stretch out her title's Comics Code Authority's seal of approval to cover her naked body. She is clearly uncomfortable with her nudity, and the caption "Because You Demanded It" further implies a lack of consent on her part. Byrne's hand comes in from offstage, handing her props and telling her to stop stalling, which only makes this cover that much creepier.

"Exposed Wiring" focuses on Max Dillon, also known as Electro, who is about to die in an electric chair. The story, available in Amazing Spider-Man #422, follows his last moments and the way his life flashes before his eyes. The cover depicts the actual execution, with Max crying in fear and pain as the electricity goes through his body.

Although this cover isn't as explicit as it could be, it's still quite graphic, especially since society now considers the electric chair an obsolete and inhuman method of execution. This comic's depiction of capital punishment is far less acceptable as human rights become a more current topic.

Most Marvel fans have probably forgotten that the company once published a comic series based on the 1980s TV show ALF, but it definitely happened. The company might be hoping fans' collective forgetfulness will remain intact if this cover is any indication of its content.

The cover for ALF #48, drawn by Dave Manak and Michael Gallagher, makes a play on words involving the "safety seal" on new products by showing ALF holding a seal (the animal). The seal is in obvious distress, and it's easy to wonder if something unsavory is happening here.

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It was a different era when "Her First Fur Coat" could be the premise for an entire comic book, as it was in Patsy Walker #105. Patsy's affection for animal-based outerwear has not aged well over time, as attitudes toward fur have changed drastically over the years.

Although artist Al Hartley had no way to know that fur would fall out of fashion, his condescending attitude toward teenage girls has arguably aged even worse than fur, proclaiming that "the most exciting day in the life of any teenager" is the day they get their first fur. Patsy herself says she'd rather die than remove her new coat.

X-Force #116 marks X-Statix's debut, a new mutant super-team created to replace X-Force after the latter sacrificed themselves in the battle against Romany Wisdom. The team was never as successful as the X-Men, X-Force, or any other iconic Marvel team, but fans remember the team for the cover of X-Statix #15, which features Princess Diana, reborn as a superhero.

Since Marvel released the cover six years after Princess Diana's death, it was quite controversial at the time. In fact, a new superhero, Henrietta Hunter, replaced the character. However, Princess Diana's inclusion was part of the series' social satire. Many modern readers find it despicable that Marvel used a recently-deceased public figure like that.

Heroes in a state of peril are common on the covers of comic books. This cover for Heroes for Hire #13 takes that concept to a new level. The Black Cat, Colleen Wing, and an unrecognizable Misty Knight are bound on this cover, barely covered by their costumes, while glistening, dripping tentacles hover near their chests.

Marvel published the cover, created by artist Sana Takeda of Monstress fame, in 2006. Its overt sexualization of the three heroines and reference to hentai comics have aged poorly in a relatively short amount of time. Marvel and hentai shouldn't mix.

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Variant covers have allowed many artists to contribute their visions of characters to a broad audience. However, some are more successful than others. When Marvel published a variant cover for Invincible Iron Man #1 featuring Riri Williams, drawn by J. Scott Campbell, it provoked an immediate backlash from fans.

The cover portrayed the 15-year-old Ironheart as an inappropriately sexualized adult in a seductive pose. In response, Marvel pulled the issue from shelves, and Campbell drew a new, more age-appropriate rendition of the hero for the following issue.

Marville was widely panned by critics as one of the worst Marvel comic book series of all time. The company launched the series as a satire of superhero books during a Marvel marketing promotion and involved a convoluted plot concerning time travel. The series also employed incredibly sexualized images of women on many of its covers.

The cover of Marville #6, created by Greg Horn, portrayed an almost-naked Mary Jane Watson swinging on a rope made from Spider-Man's webbing, looking uncharacteristically vacant. The sexually-charged images failed to draw in readers, and the series was canceled after only 7 issues.

Many comic books' covers age poorly due to changing social values, and some simply reflect an aesthetic that has fallen out of favor. This cover for Fantastic Four #375, drawn by Paul Ryan, reflects a lot of comic book trends from the early '90s, which relied on gimmicks.

For a time in the '90s, comic shop shelves were full of covers using foil or holograms to make them look valuable and collectible. Fantastic Four #375 added enormous shoulder pads, random military jackets, and absurdly large guns that were also in style for comics at the time. The result is a dated relic of its era.

"Demon in a Bottle," on Iron Man #128 depicts Tony Stark's struggle with alcoholism. The arc follows Iron Man as he faces several mistakes due to his addiction, and he tries to make amends. The story ends with Tony deciding to stay clean with Bethany Cabe's help.

Although Iron Man #128 ends on a hopeful note, its cover is very dark. Tony Stark seems to have hit rock bottom, looking sweaty, confused, and shocked in front of the bottle. Thanks to the MCU and the comics, Iron Man is incredibly popular with Marvel fans, so this image is difficult to digest.

Mary Jane Watson has a tough role to play as Peter Parker's love interest. Readers can certainly empathize with the concern she feels when Spider-Man heads out to fight crime. However, some comics have taken it too far when showing her sadness.

The cover for Amazing Spider-Man #601 by J. Scott Campbell reflects M.J.'s concern, but many readers took issue with the sexualized depiction of the anxious woman. Mary Jane's position on the sofa is contorted and unnatural, presumably to emphasize the curve of her hip and breasts, which her arms are pushing forward. It was completely unnecessary.

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In 2014, Marvel gave Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman a series of her own for the first time in five years. The series kicked off a multiversal adventure featuring other Spider-Heroes, such as Silk, Spider-Girl, and Spider-Man Noir, and lasted 10 issues before Civil War II changed things around.

Since superheroes are supposed to be in peak human condition, it isn't surprising that they often adhere to certain beauty standards. However, things can cross into awkward and sexualizing territory, which is what happened with Milo Manara's variant of Spider-Woman #1. Manara's art took it a bit far with Jessica Drew's body proportions. In a time and age where body positivity is as important as it is now, there isn't space for this kind of cover.

The Young Allies comics from the 1940s followed the adventures of Marvel's sidekicks, including Bucky Barnes and the Human Torch's pal, Toro. The young protagonists often faced dangerous situations, and Young Allies #8 is no exception. That said, a number of details on the cover have aged incredibly badly since its publication.

The cover artwork, drawn by Alex Schomburg, features offensive stereotypes of Japanese people, which was common in propaganda at the time. This cover takes it a step further, though, by portraying a Black hero in an incredibly offensive style as well. Both renditions dehumanized the people in ways that are no longer welcome.

The Ultimate Marvel Universe built its foundation on reimagining beloved characters and storylines in dark and gritty ways, and the eponymous team of Ultimates #8 was no exception. Unfortunately, dark and gritty didn't always mean egregious levels of violence, and in the case of two classic characters, it actually meant the most unnerving kind of romance.

Just like their primary counterparts, the Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch of the Ultimate Marvel Universe were siblings by birth. As such, the physical intimacy they displayed for one another as seen on Bryan Hitch's cover for Ultimates #8 was utterly unnerving, with the confirmation of their incestuous relationship culminating in one of the most infamous moments in Marvel Comics history.

Plenty of comic book covers have been considered scandalous for one reason or another, but not every piece of cover art doesn't age well due to changing societal standards. For some, it is simply a matter of method and execution, as well as the audience's occasional distaste for novelty as a selling point.

This more so than anything else is what largely contributed to the derision again artist Eliot Brown's photographic cover for 1984's Amazing Spider-Man #262. Despite showcasing a key moment from the issue in unique fashion, this cover has gone down in history as more of a case study in failed execution than an early predecessor to more modern cosplay photo covers.

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Whereas some comic book covers become unsettling with context or fall out of favor due to a particularly niche presentation, 2003's Trouble managed to do both throughout the entirety of its five issue run. This wasn't due to any fault of photographer Philippe Bialobos or the models involved, but rather due to the unique space the series itself attempted to inhabit.

On the surface, Trouble was an attempt to bring back the once beloved romance comics of a bygone era. Between its covers, however, readers found a story of infidelity and heartbreak that also served as a purported alternate origin story for May and Ben Parker as a couple, one that fans have not remembered fondly as a whole.

While the nineties have come to be remembered by fans as the era of extreme everything and convoluted plots rife with explosions, those same tropes gave rise to a specific brand of art. Featuring overly sized muscles and terrifying proportions, these images were effectively a distillation of their era, and not even Marvel's King of Atlantis could escape ending up at the center of one.

1992's Namor, the Sub-Mariner #26 stands as quite possibly the titular Atlantean's most egregious example of being turned into a Liefeldian caricature of himself. If not for his trademark codpiece and the title of the book, this Namor likely wouldn't be recognizable to most fans, making the issue he appears on a prime example of an artistic fad aging poorly.

Making comic book characters bigger, sleeker, and sexier was certainly the style of the day for the 90s, but casting fan-favorite heroes in increasingly darker scenarios was just as big of a part of the experience. In concept, this created opportunities for classic characters to be thrust into unfamiliar territory, whereas when taken literally, it resulted in some of the most egregious cover art that readers have had to endure.

Although there is nothing overtly offensive about Humberto Ramos and Tom Palmer's cover art for 1995's Avengers #392, it was derided by fans upon its release, and hasn't been favored any better in the years since. With four characters all directly facing the reader and a blinding light source directly behind them, the cast featured on the cover of the issue are almost entirely unrecognizable.

Thayer is a writer, artist, and musician based in Canberra, Australia.