At their best, the most shocking plot twists in superhero TV shows can transform a good show into something great. In the age of the internet, it's hard for TV shows to keep secrets hidden from audiences, especially when it comes to superhero shows. Twists that are meant to leave viewers' jaws dropped, such as Daredevil's appearance in She-Hulk, usually end up being spoiled by internet sleuths, forcing the creative team to retool their shows.
While it's difficult for many superhero TV shows to surprise audiences, there are some which managed to pull off shocking plot twists in the not-too-distant past. Not all of these reveals have been monumental or even beloved, but there's little denying that audiences were left aghast at what they saw on screen. Here are the 10 most shocking plot twists on superhero TV shows.
10 Everyone Knows Clemson Murn Is A Butterfly
Peacemaker was one of the best shows from 2022. It gave depth to one of The Suicide Squad's breakout characters, and managed to tell a compelling story about redemption while still being a laugh riot. The character of Clemson Murn helped drive that narrative.
Murn was an ex-assassin who was forced to head project Butterfly, and as many fans predicted, he himself was a butterfly. What viewers didn't expect was that Harcourt and Economos already knew, and the subversion helped drive home the idea that the most senseless of villains could change and work as forces of good.
9 Hank Henshaw Is J'onn J'onnz
During Supergirl's inaugural season, the show introduced audiences to Hank Henshaw, a stern military figure who led the DEO in an effort to locate super-powered individuals. Given that he shared the name of one of Superman's most powerful foes, fans expected him to reveal himself as the big bad. However, the show threw viewers for a loop in the episode “Human For A Day,” when he revealed himself to be Martian Manhunter.
Beyond simply throwing a bate and switch that temporarily ended the CW's streak of predictable plot twists, the Martian Manhunter reveal worked to expand the world of Supergirl. It gave the titular hero an ally she could trust, and also paved the way for more comic characters to show up.
8 Peter Parker Married A Clone Of Mary Jane
The Clone Saga is one of the most derided Spider-Man storylines in comics, yet the then-recent arc was used as inspiration for one of Spider-Man: The Animated Series's most shocking twists. Despite having been lost in an alternate dimension for a season, Mary Jane was mysteriously returned to Peter Parker at the end of season 4 and the two married shortly afterwards.
While many were willing to write off Mary Jane's return as a contrivance to keep angry fans at bay, John Semper had a carefully crafted explanation for her return. In one of the show's gutsiest moves, it was revealed that Peter had actually married a clone of Mary Jane who was created from some of Hydro Man's DNA. The cruelest part in all this was that the clone melted in front of Peter's eyes, to the horror of many children.
7 The Penguin Was Falcone's Stooge
Gotham was an utterly nonsensical show for much of its run due to the attempt to match its grim tone and quandaries about making compromises to protect the city with plots involving clones and people coming back from the dead. Despite how ridiculous Gotham was, it still managed to surprise viewers in its first season with the character of Oswald Cobblepot.
Early in the show, Jim Gordon is tasked with executing Cobblepot by Carmine Falcone. However, due to his moral com, instead helps the low-level crook fake his death. This happy accident instead turned out to be a long con when it was revealed in "Penguin's Umbrella" that Falcone had planned for Cobblepot to survive being executed so he could return to Gotham and infiltrate Maroni's gang without suspicion.
6 Morgan Chase Is Superman's Brother
Superman & Lois is perhaps the best-written CW superhero show. The relationships and drama between the characters feel believable, the stakes are palpable, and the antagonists actually pose a threat to the Man of Steel. While some people saw through the nifty twist that "Lex Luthor" was in actuality John Henry Irons, few could have realized that corporate tycoon Morgan Chase would end up being Superman's half-brother. It was a shakeup to the lore, but one that elevated the already compelling villain to the next level.
5 Ward Was Working For Hydra
Agents of Shield was full of twists and turns throughout its seven-season run, many of which worked to heighten the show’s sense of excitement. Yet none quite live up to the reveal very early in the series run that Grant Ward was an agent of Hydra. Beyond simply tying into The Winter Soldier (one of Marvel's best movies), the twist worked because viewers had come to view Ward as a stern but friendly member of the team. His turn was a gut punch for audiences who had slowly grown attached to the character, and made the already deadly reveal that Hydra had been running SHIELD that much more terrifying.
4 Brainiac Emerges From Lex Luthor
In Justice League Unlimited, Lex Luthor was mysteriously cured of the cancer that had previously plagued him. Viewers knew it to be a mystery the show was bound to explore, yet few anticipated how much of a game changer the twist would be. In "Divided We Fall," it's revealed that Brainiac had merged with Lex Luthor. The sight was horrific, especially given Lex's shock at feeling Brainiac's presence. The twist was made all the more tantalizing by the fact that Brainiac had been inside Luthor's body for years and had been subtly manipulating the egomaniac to accomplish his goals.
3 Jessica Jones Is Immune To Kilgrave's Powers
Jessica Jones is easily one of the best Marvel superhero shows thanks to Krysten Ritter's gritty performance as the titular heroine and the taut writing which kept viewers captivated for three seasons. None compare to the first season however, which had Jones face off against Kilgrave, a.k.a the Purple Man.
In the show's debut season, viewers learned that the Purple Man had used his mind control powers to violate Jessica Jones' free will in the past. This set people up to see how Jones might defeat the manipulative Purple Man, only for the show to reveal that Jones had somehow become immune to his powers. This explained why Kilgrave was so intent on tormenting Jones's loved ones in the present.
2 Victoria Neuman Is The Head Popper
One of the best mysteries set up in The Boys' season 2 was the identity of the head popper, the supe responsible for the deaths of Susan Raynor and countless others. Many viewers deduced that a patient introduced in "The Bloody Doors Off" was the killer, but in the season two finale, it was revealed that Victoria Neuman was the head popper when she took out Alastair Adana.
What makes the twist so potent is that it completely unraveled viewers' perception of one of the few people the Boys could trust. Neuman was willing to put her life on the line to take down Vaught, only for it to be revealed in the closing moments of the show's sophomore season that she was just another mole for the company.
1 Lenny Is The Shadow King
Legion begins by establishing to audiences not to trust anything they see. The story is told from the perspective of a schizophrenic mutant named David Haller, and the first episode finds Aubrey Plaza's character killed off when David supposedly switches bodies with another person. Because of David's mental state, many viewers assumed that the recurrence of Aubrey Plaza’s character was a seeming manifestation of guilt. It was only toward the end of the first season that it was revealed that this projection was instead a guise of the Shadow King, an entity who invaded David's mind as an infant. This makes it one of the most surprising superhero TV show reveals ever.