Summary

• Howard the Duck introduced a wide variety of kooky characters, like Heathcliff Rochester, a Regency-era cosplaying real estate agent.
• SUDD, the Scrubbing Bubble That Walks Like a Man, was a wild character who spread the puritanical SOOFI agenda before Howard stopped him.
• Howard the Duck faced bizarre foes like the Spanker, a pointed commentary on corporal punishment, and Doctor Bong, the weirdest villain he ever encountered.

Howard the Duck is a Marvel character like no other. A talking, anthropomorphic duck from another dimension, Howard is the brainchild of writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. From the get go, Howard’s solo title pits the fowl against a wide variety of screwball characters, in a variety of outlandish situations. From Regency-era real estate agents to vampire cows, Howard the Duck gave the Marvel Universe a number of kooky characters, and here are the 10 best, ranked.

10 Heathcliff Rochester

First Appearance: Howard the Duck #6

Howard encountered the odd Heathcliff Rochester early in his time on Earth. A real estate agent, Heathcliff, was put in charge of selling a supposedly haunted house, and mistook Howard for the buyer. His name is a mashup of Heathcliff, from Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Mister Rochester, from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Drawing from his namesakes, Heathcliff Rochester dresses up as a Regency-era highwayman, right down to the horse. Billing himself as a “lifestyle consultant,” this cosplaying real estate agent is but one of many bizarre characters originating in Howard the Duck.

9 SUDD, the Scrubbing Bubble That Walks Like a Man

First Appearance: Howard the Duck #20

A play on a classic toilet bowl cleaner ad, SUDD was one of the wildest characters first appearing in Howard the Duck. SUDD began life as a regular human who worked as a dishwasher. An acolyte of the bizarre and puritanical SOOFI cult, he was transformed into a creature made of soap bubbles after an accident. Armed with these new powers, SUDD begins “cleaning up” the streets and spreading the SOOFI agenda. Howard was able to stop SUDD by hitting him with common household chemicals, such as lemon juice. SUDD’s appearance was a harbinger of Howard’s fight with the SOOFIs in the following issue.

8 Bessie, the Vampire Cow

First Appearance: Giant-Size Man-Thing #5

Bessie the Vampire Cow was one of the first “villains” Howard the Duck faced after arriving in our reality. Bessie was a regular cow, but after Dracula attacked her, she became one of the undead, going on a killing rampage. Howard becomes a reluctant vampire hunter, ultimately destroying Bessie. Bessie the Vampire Cow encomes just about everything great about Howard the Duck. The book trafficked in surreal characters and dark humor, two boxes that Bessie the Vampire Cow checks. Having such a wild character early on was a good indication of what direction Gerber was taking Howard.

7 Le Beaver

First Appearance: Howard the Duck #9

Le Beaver was one of Howard the Duck’s most unique foes, and the man who sabotaged his run for President. A Canadian “superpatriot,” Le Beaver, seeks revenge on the United States for thwarting his attempt to dam Niagara Falls. His next campaign was to arrange Howard’s Presidential bid, and then smear him, causing damage to the American psyche. Le Beaver’s ittedly dark scheme was offset by his ridiculous beaver exoskeleton. This type of juxtaposition, of dark and comedic elements, was common in Howard the Duck, and Le Beaver exemplified it.

6 The Spanker

First Appearance: Marvel Treasury Edition #12

Social commentary was abound in Howard the Duck, and the Spanker best represented this. The Spanker was once the heaster of a private school, stripped of his title for excessive paddling. Swearing revenge on society, he became the Spanker, istering corporal punishment to anyone who got in his way. While the character is over the top, he is making a pointed commentary on spanking. Corporal punishment, which includes spanking, was still common practice in the mid-1970s, and Gerber used a Howard the Duck story to call it out.

5 The Kidney Lady

First Appearance: Howard the Duck #2

Not every oddball character in Howard the Duck was a one-off villain–some of them would become recurring characters, such as the Kidney Lady. Howard first met the Kidney Lady on a bus not long after arriving in our reality. She believes in a vast conspiracy that exists solely to poison people’s kidneys, including hers. The Kidney Lady has a sad backstory: she was jilted by a door-to-door salesman. Broken up, she sought solace in a book on kidneys. The Kidney Lady travels the buses of Cleveland, spreading her message to anyone who will listen–but mostly annoying fellow engers.

4 Winky-Man

First Appearance: Howard the Duck #4

Unlike other characters on this list, who were Howard’s foes, Winky-Man was something of an ally. Another resident of Howard and Beverly Switzler’s apartment building, artist Paul Same, was having vivid dreams, ones where he was a costumed vigilante. Soon, these dreams started coming true in the waking world, leading to one of the most bizarre costumed vigilantes in the Marvel Universe: Winky-Man! Paul would become one of Howard’s best friends, sharing many adventures with him. The idea for the character finds echoes in the cult hero Sleepwalker.

3 Pro-Rata, Chief ant of the Universe

First Appearance: Howard the Duck #1

By the time Howard received his own title, he had already fought some truly bizarre villains, but Pro-Rata’s arrival signaled the beginning of greatness. A financial wizard in both senses of the word, Pro-Rata mixed the worlds of finance and magic. Residing in a tower built of credit cards (yes, really), Pro-Rata sought the Jeweled Key, which he believed would make him a god. Pro-Rata kidnapped Howard to force him to retrieve the Key, but Howard was able to stop him. Pro-Rata is also noteworthy for introducing Howard to Beverly Switzler, his best friend on Earth.

2 The Turnip Man

First Appearance: Howard the Duck #2

Arthur Winslow, the Turnip Man, was one of the silliest foes Howard the Duck faced–and also one of the most powerful. The friend and roommate of Beverly Switzler, Arthur worked as a night watchman while waiting for his literary career to take off. One night, Winslow found a turnip from outer space that bonded with him and promised to fulfill his fantasies of being a hero. Instead, the turnip led Arthur on a rampage, one that Howard was able to stop. The turnip was destroyed, and Arthur was able to resume his normal life–and was never seen again.

1 Doctor Bong

First Appearance: Howard the Duck #15

Doctor Bong is the weirdest, most odd villain Howard the Duck ever encountered. While the name may lead fans to think of the instrument used to smoke cannabis, in fact Doctor Bong’s name derives from his bell-shaped head. When rung, it can do a number of amazing feats, such as teleport Doctor Bong anywhere on Earth. Doctor Bong is easily the most powerful villain on this list, and while others have only appeared in the pages of Howard the Duck, Bong would go on to menace others, including Deadpool, as well.

Howard the Duck was a landmark book in Marvel history, marking the moment when the counterculture invaded the Marvel Universe. Steve Gerber and his collaborators infused it with a number of surreal elements, including some truly outrageous, off-the-wall characters.