Top 10 Marvel Comic Book Bloopers
Back in the day when comics weren’t the big business they are today you only had a few underpaid and overworked people pushing out a large number of comic books every month. And those overworked employees and freelancers did an incredible job of laying the groundwork for the high quality of comic books we have today. But, because of deadlines (they actually met) and not enough eyes to look at every comic, mistakes were going to be made and you have some wonderful bloopers. And while DC comics has their share, I’m more of a Marvel fan and have focused on their bloopers. Read the top ten Marvel comic book bloopers and have a laugh.
Click on each comic panel to view a larger image.
10. Hercules pulls Manhattan Island? Really? Really?
Marvel Team-up #28 – What’s the story?
Okay, I’m not a picker of nits and I realize comic books aren’t the place to find factual stories that are based on truth. I also know a man can fly, breathe water, survive in space, shoot beams from his eyes and a hundred other powers which are described in the comic books, but the idea of pulling Manhattan is so absurd it must start the list of comic book bloopers by Marvel. And just what is the chain connected to on the island? The only “bigger” blatant disregard of physics I’ve found in comics is the defiance of gravity so many females are capable of with their bosoms.
9. Hank McCoy (Beast) insults the female gender.
X-men #28 – What’s the story
Jean Grey telekinetically “hands” Hank a screwdriver but then calls it a pair of pliers. Hank decrees she is a “credit to her gender”. I guess Hank knew he didn’t have a shot at dating Marvel Girl, so an innocent jab at her and the entire female gender seems to have been in order.
8. Conan apparently doesn’t like waiting a waitress.
Savage Sword of Conan #25
I guess the writer, Roy Thomas, was mighty hungry when writing for this issue of Savage Sword of Conan. Or else the letterer was working at the local coffee shop. Either way, the “little hussy Murelia” better bring him his blue plate special fast after he calls her a waitress (see green text).
7. The Grim Reaper, give him a hand. No wait, he has an extra already.
Avengers #160
Luckily the grim reaper was able pull down his mask with his prosthetic hand before quickly replacing it with his metal scythe. Who knew he had so many attachments. Thankfully this has prevented any bathroom accidents.
6. Two left hands, no wonder he is so fantastic.
Fantastic Four #88 – What’s the story?
I guess Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic, isn’t satisfied with just scaring the crap out of Alicia Masters by tapping her on the head, he reinforces the shock by using a second left hand? Keep the baby away, Alicia!
5. Stop it, Mr Fantastic, you’re scaring the children!
Fantastic Four #152 – What’s the story?
Apparently Mr. Fantastic is always the joker. After permanently scarring his child and Alicia Masters (see above) he now decides it would be funny to have two right hands…and a left hand. Check out the hand that should be a left foot, high up in the window. I have zoomed in for a closeup in the bottom left of the picture. Not only was a hand drawn in place of the foot, but a right hand was used for a left foot! The atrocities continue.
4. I can’t see a thing with this eye patch.
Hulk #219
Captain Barracuda is obviously seeking attention for his disability or else he was too embarrassed to admit his mistake. Trying to look through the periscope with the eye covered by his patch is probably a desperate cry for help.
3. Peter Who?
Amazing Spider-Man #1
Does Stan Lee really call Peter Parker, Peter Palmer? Yep, he sure does and thank the Marvel gods he got it right later. Cut Stan some slack it was only the second issue Peter had appeared in. But, can you imagine trying to root for a guy named Peter Palmer? Maybe we got the wrong guy after all. I mean with all the clone stories, maybe there really is a Peter Palmer out there biding his time.
2. Captain America knows when to give up…
Tales of Suspense #92
Captain America admits defeat before the fight even starts. Our only guess at his lack of confidence was some kind of attempt at reverse psychology. I guess that is why he is a fighter and not a thinker.
1. The Amazing Super-Man…I mean, Spider-Man…I mean…what?
Okay, wow! Could there have been a bigger blunder than for Doc Ock to call Spider-Man, Super-man? I mean, where were the army of DC lawyers to sue Marvel and shut down Amazing Spider-Man? They could have prevented the atrocious Clone stories and the even more despicable “One More Day” storyline from Spider-Man. Of course, we would have also lost a host of great Spider-Man stories as well.
Maybe those over-sized glasses are covering a severe vision problem and he only saw the red and blue colors and made an honest mistake.
Do you disagree with this list of Marvel comic book bloopers? Make a comment below or send us your own list. Got a list of DC comic bloopers? We’d love to see it.
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I cannot believe Stan Lee would have called Spider-Man Superman. I guess the House of Ideas was looking for better ideas.
I've seen the Captain America panel before but the rest are new to me. Thanks for posting them. I wonder if mistakes in comics are just fewer today because of the editors, or larger number of editors?
well, maybe at that time there's a prize for anyone who discovered the mistakes from their comic?
who knows?
Yes, there was, It was called No-prize by Stan Lee
People who found mistakes were awarded the infamous Marvel No-Prize by Stan Lee himself!
What the heck was no-prize. I had heard it was an empty envelope. Does anyone know?
#1 was on purpose
It wasn't on purpose. Stan Lee even admitted that it was a mistake and the hyphen was the only thing that stopped DC from suing him.
I think uh^ is right, when you look at the comment Doc Ock made there is a hypen between super and man. The good ol' doctor was just referring to the fact that spiderman is indeed super. It seems as though the comment was intended especially since the word is in bold print.
well there was a superman vs spiderman comic, maybe it was just a little hint or foreshadowing in whats to come and was intentional. this definitely shouldnt be number one
This was a fun list. Was the author named Peter Palmer because I can't imagine that anyone who actually knows women would be so conversant in comics that they'd know of all of these errors! At any rate, I recommend that the author memorizes that Cap'n America line in case he ever faces a fight…
The coveted Marvel "No-Prize" was indeed an empty envelope with a return address to Marvel and small Hulk picture in th eupper left. On the outside it proclaimed "Congratulations! This envelope contains a genuine Marvel Comics No-Prize which you have just won! Handle With Care". It was sent to fans who caught bloopers like this. The story goes that this was initially a smart-ass way of shutting up the readers who took comics too seriously. But of course they caught on as an actual award and became sought after. When Stan Lee finally moved on completely, the prize was retired.
It makes sense, the Peter Palmer reference..
Peter Palmer (the actor) played Lil Abner in the 1959 movie/Broadway musical. Lil Abner also became an icon in Sunday comic strips across the nation.
Given that Spiderman was created circa 1962(?) by Stan Lee (who worked in New York City where Broadway is AND was closely related to comic strips through his chosen profession), the either intentional or unintentional transpostion begins to make sense!
(I for one am glad that Spiderman did *not* grown up in Dogpatch, however)
The biggest flaw in #9 is Jean refers to what is clearly a screwdriver as a pair of pliers. Oy vey, mayhaps the beast was being sarcastic, about such an error?
A periscope usually allows for binocular view, so
#4 is not really a blooper, since the guy has one
good eye. I always thought #1 was intentional and
I remember reading the Avengers issue #7 happened
in and thinking "Now, hold the &%$# on!".
Very nice list, thanks.
There was one goof that a lot of people caught in one of the X-Men books during the X-cutioner's Song story. Wolverine gets hit with a blast and when a teammate asks if he's okay, he replies, "Ribs shattered… punctured a lung… healing factor kicking in…" First of all, his rapid healing won't reset broken ribs; they'll just heal inside of his lung. Second, his bones are laced with adamantium… they can't be broken anyway!
Marvel's response was, "What can we say? We goofed!"
“Ribs shattered… punctured a lung… healing factor kicking in…” …obviously a smart alec comeback ha ha ha, whats the goof in that. like what 58% of what Wolverine says is just smart back talk lol
mr. fantastic doesnt have two left hands! thats his right hand! thats not a blooper..
What planet are you from? that is a left hand dude…
Marc,
Yes those are two left hands, Stan Lee admitted as much in his one-shot book of bloopers and no-prizes. As a matter of fact, all of these bloopers are admitted by Stan Lee.
I was the person who pointed out the topological impossibility of Mr. Fantastic’s two left hands in FF#88 (back in ’69). I received a “no-prize”, and my letter pointing out the problem was published in FF#92. The no-prizes were empty envelops as shawn describes.
I'll be looking for this when/if I read through early FF stories
i dont see 2 left hands. i can understand the confusion but it looks like a stretched out right hand lol its not a tumb, its his muscular palm and his pinky streatched funny.
No, epic fail. mr fantastics "Hand foot" Is clearly the back of his boot, fools.
All of these Marvel Comic bloopers came from Stan Lee himself. They are all actual bloopers whether the fanboy in you can admit it or not.
This was clearly one of Doctor Nick's (Rivera) first successful limb transplants.
i cried laughing, this is so funny…
One of my ALL-TIME comic book bloopers I actually blogged about is X-Men #138 – When Cyclops leaves the team. John Byrne makes a hilarious anatomy blooper
Check out the super-sized appendage!
The Captain America one was the funniest for me. I was rolling.
Did you find all these yourself? There is no why I pay attention that much to spot some of these.
And to think a hyphen would save #1 from a lawsuit. Super-Man?…. rorfl
But to get a no-prize, did you not need to come up with a legitimate reason why the blooper appeared? Theres no possible way you can get away with explaining these! haha Well done.
The Captain America one's my favourite. It's close to genius.
By the way, I don't think it's been mentioned here but all the way through Fantastic Four #25, Bruce Banner's mistakenly referred to as Bob Banner. A mistake that forced Stan Lee in later issues to rename him Robert Bruce Banner.
PS. Was that Savage Sword of Conan story inked by Neal Adams? It looks like it was.
I don't get the "Captain America" blooper. Probably going to get it later, but what does it mean?
he basically said only one of us is going to leave here alive, and it won’t be me
Lol, yeah, I got it after rereading it a few times. That cracked me up!
Never mind. I figured it out! That's funny!
Here’s a two-fer: In Marvel Premiere #42 (June 1978), Tigra reminisces. about her mentor, Dr. Tumulo. “She had risked a lot when she gave me, Greer Garson, the powers of the Cat.”
Then in West Coast Avengers #6 (March 1986), the doctor herself (who up to then had been known as Joanne Tumulo) was mis-remembered. Tigra reminisces, “I had participated in an experiment run by an old friend, Dr. Marie Tumulo”.
Thanks!
Darci
I got a blooper that was much later.
On the New X-Men comic of #18(I think), Omega Red is shown with his tendrills grabbing Wolverine. Problem is they have three ends amidst all fo the tangled tendrills. It may not be #18 but is within the first 20.
This is total rubbish, most of these such as Dr Oc calling Spiderman, Superman and Peter Palmer were mistakes made on purpose in the special edition print comic called NO-PRIZE it was a comedy comic full of bloopers as a tribute to the NO-Prize award handed out to Marvel Readers for spotting errors and writing in to Marvel.
@Shaun – Wow. I bet you can’t wait to kill Santa and the Easter Bunny, either! The bit was entertaining and that’s more than I can say for 99.9% of everything on the internet.
Oh no there real. Who do you think brings my presents every Christmas? Any way there not all from NO-PRIZE, just a majority. Dosnt stop the funny either. Just saying.
All of these are from the NO-prize book. And Stan himself said they were all honest mistakes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-Prize#No-Prize_book
I’ve recently began reading Marvel comics from the beginning of their creation. Mistakes like these are rampant. It sometimes makes me laugh. Other times it’s just downright confusing! Take Tales of Suspense #82, for example, where Iron Man keeps referring to Titanium Man (Boris Bullski) as “Ivan”. I had to do a double-take on that one. For awhile I thought his name really was Ivan!
Not saying that this is what they were doing, but “Ivan” was a common, somewhat derogatory slang for anyone Russian. Like calling any Mexican you see “Jose”. It’s pretty rude and wouldn’t fly in today’s PC environment.
There’s a better original X-Men blooper where The Beast is in the hospital for some reason, Prof X is visiting him and tells him telepathically to keep his mask on so that nobody will suspect his secret identity, then out loud calls him “McCoy.”
i just loved all of them!!!! lol
i remember a little one from X-Men Schism #1, the man in the UN pointing at Cyclops has 6 fingers
good job!
Thanks for mentioning this great blooper.
I mean, Mr. Fantastic can shape his body into whatever he wants, so while the hand mistake was probably unintentional, it’s still explainable. As for the foot, I would totally want my right hand to be what is holding me up when my life is on the line. With the eyepatch/periscope, it definitely seems like his right eye is RIGHT UP on the periscope, but if there was an inch or two of space between his good eye and the lens, it would look the same from that perspective. Captain America saying only one of them would walk out under their own steam could mean he wasn’t going to walk out without fighting…
On Amazing Spider-Man #98 Spider-Man is missing the Spider logo on his back. Tut tut Gil Kane.
Nice addition. Thanks.
If you notice, Captain America’s punching hand is completely wrong. His right arm is holding the shield…and he’s punching with his left…but it’s drawn as his right. Perhaps that’s just Reed Richards again, disguised as Captain America?
Excuse me, I meant his left hand is holding the shield and he’s punching with his right…which is drawn to be his left.