The Marvel Cinematic Universe is entering Phase 5 in 2023 and thus Marvel Studios will continue to look through the archives of Marvel Comics to develop more characters that might populate this superhero landscape. The 1990s were a brilliant era for the comic book company that could provide plenty of inspiration.
While there were countless characters and narratives that began in the '90s and have stood the test of time, there were those figures that made their debut that are far from well-ed. They are some of the worst debuts of the time period, perhaps because of continued mismanagement, poor premise, or lack of impact within the Marvel Universe.
Slapstick
Created by Len Kaminski and James Fry in 1992, the first appearance of Slapstick took place in The Awesome Slapstick Issue 1. Real name Steven Winsor McCay Harmon, Slapstick is a real oddity among Marvel's creations and was modelled on classic cartoon characters like the Looney Tunes.
For many, Slapstick is one of the worst characters because of his crass humor, odd art style, bizarre powers, and lack of realism. However, the New Warriors regular is also quite popular for those very same reasons, making Slapstick a bit of a marmite figure. His villainous turn in The Initiative is perhaps one of the key times when an intriguing story was taken from the character's premise.
Ahab
Marvel has introduced so many truly violent villains that have still somehow failed to make an impact in the grander timeline. Dr. Roderick Campbell is one of them. Created by Richard Ashford and Ken Lashley in 1990, the antagonist's first appearance was in X-Factor Annual Issue 5.
Taking on the identity of Ahab, visually the character is very much of its era, with a rather unmemorable cybernetic design, with his robotic body giving the villain his powers. Ahab was a futuristic geneticist that hunted down Mutants with his advanced technology, an origin story that feels pretty recycled, despite the fact that surprisingly the character was featured in the TV show, The Gifted.
8-Ball
Every Marvel fan knows of certain obscure villains that pop up in the most unlikely of spaces. However, 8-Ball is one of those few that has managed to survive the test of time (with three incarnations at present), despite being one of Marvel's most ridiculous and useless characters.
Created by Bob Budiansky and Bret Blevins in 1991, Jeff Hagees was a talented pool player that got his start in Sleepwalker Issue 2. With no powers to speak of besides some skill with a cue, it's incredible that the over-the-top snooker head didn't hinder 8-Ball sooner in battle.
Dragoness
Dragon-based characters are pretty popular in Marvel Comics, with the likes of Dragon-Man boasting their own reptilian abilities. Dragoness is a cheap replication though, with a pretty uninspiring costume. The character was initially a Mutant with wings to match.
Created by Louise Jones Simonson and Rob Liefeld, Tamara Kurtz has also gone by the name of Vultura but somehow has never managed to stand out. Debuting in 1990's The New Mutants Issue 93, sparse appearances have demonstrated that even with some potential, Dragoness was an overall dud.
Mathemanic
Math-based villains have never been particularly successful. The Calculator is probably DC's most famous, with super intellects like the Mad Thinker or the Tinkerer taking on the roles that Mathemanic might have once been able to fill himself. Thomas Sorenson actually had some pretty impressive abilities.
With the silly sounding arithmetic telepathy, Mathemanic's genuine powers should have been able to help him achieve anything but the visual design and treatment of the character left Sorenson by the wayside. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley in 1990, his New Warriors Issue 4 debut saw him overshadowed by his teammates.
Bliss
The Morlocks became sidekick characters of sorts for the X-Men, with the Mutant adjacent figures often dwelling in the darkness. Bliss was among their ranks and was created by Chris Claremont and Kieron Dwyer after debuting in 1990 as part of Uncanny X-Men Issue 261.
It's hard to imagine that a random Mutant would be one of the worst characters from the era, but it's her powerset that has become specifically infamous. At the end of Bliss' tongue is another face and fanged mouth, which she uses to kill. It's a disturbing and horrifying Mutant gift and one that has not aged well.
Crippler
The 90s were an era of over-the-top violence in comics, with muscled artwork, some two-dimensional scripting and macho-heroism. The Crippler is a good representation of all of this, with even the name sounding more like a professional wrestling move. Carl Stricklan was a former Marine who had ties to terrorist groups like Hydra.
Developed by Gregory Wright and Jackson Guice, Crippler was ultimately a street-level anti-hero vigilante and hit-man, who debuted in 1991 as part of Daredevil Annual Issue 7. The character doesn't even have any powers to speak of, instead relying on his muscled build and elite training to get the job done. He is unfortunately a product of the time period.
Batwing
Perhaps Marvel wanted to add to their own Bat Family and rival DC in some regards, but Batwing has ended up being one of the company's most obscure heroes. James Santini was transformed into a bat-like creature after drinking some dubious chemical mixture.
Created by Kurt Busiek and Pat Olliffe in 1995 for Untold Tales of Spider-Man Issue 2, Batwing is simply too close to characters like Man-Bat to be taken too seriously. The character never felt like a Marvel original, and although he slightly shined in The Initiative and Avengers Academy, even there he was somewhat of an afterthought.
Snake Whip
D-list villains are just a part of following comic book lore and the array of snake-inspired antagonists is truly spectacular. Among them is Snake Whip, a figure who's very name is among the worst. With the real name Leeann Foreman, the character even briefly identified as Whiplash for a time.
Created in 1990 by Erik Larsen as part of Marvel Comic Presents Issue 49, Snake Whip is a basic mercenary with an outdated style, that previously ed such teams as the Femme Fatales, Femizons and the Band of Baddies. Needless to say, there is a reason that Snake Whip's career isn't going anywhere, with the washed-up foe not quite inspiring readers.
The Pantheon
Perhaps it seems like cheating, but there was a group of characters that were brought together in the 90s that were supposed to be a specialist supehero team, but ended up being one of the worst. The Pantheon was designed by Peter David in 1990 as part of The Incredible Hulk Issue 368.
Featuring Agamemnon, Ajax, Andromeda, Atalanta, Cassiopeia, Delphi, Hector, Jason, Paris, Prometheus and Ulysses, the group are supposedly all descendants of gods and play on both Norse and Greek mythology. However, they felt like imitations of the genuine deities of the Marvel Universe with a twist in the team seeing it collapse from within and never resurface again.