It’s been over a week since John Cena shocked the world and gave Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson his soul. This was supposed to be a farewell tour for one of (if not the) best professional wrestlers ever. More than that, he was someone that kids looked up to. Now, those kids have kids and they’re seeing their hero go Anakin Skywalker and embrace the dark side of the Force.
Changing from a baby face (hero) to a heel (villain) happens often in wrestling, but it's shocking in comics. It usually means the balance of power in the universe shifted. For example, one of the most famous was Superman becoming a tyrant during Injustice. Comic book fans have seen alternate realities where The Man of Steel has switched sides, but this happened on a bigger scale. Even if you don’t read comics you know about it because it was a popular video game that reached a wide audience.
Coming up are ten comic book heel turns that shocked the world. I’d like to note that Hal Jordan isn’t on this list since he was possessed by Parallax and many people don’t count this as him being evil. Also, the last one on this list is a major spoiler for Invincible.
Omni-Man
Comic book: Invincible: Eight is Enough
Omni-Man was Earth’s greatest protector. The Defender of Democracy. He was also the one who killed the Guardians of the Globe and later beat his son nearly to death. Comic book fans and people new to the Prime Video show didn’t see that coming. This may have been the equivalent of Hulk Hogan joining the NWO except with much less blood and zero destroyed buildings.
Steve Rogers Hails Hydra
Comic book: Captain America: Steve Rogers No. 1
This wasn’t the real Steve Rogers, but fans didn’t learn this until much later. At the time, all anyone knew was that Steve Rogers killed someone and said, “Hail Hydra.” No one saw this coming and it shocked the comic book world. It may have caused some people to get a little too angry online as well. It’s a good thing wrestling fans have never overreacted online over a storyline.
Beast
Comic book: X-Force written by Benjamin Percy
Hank McCoy could be the biggest bastard on this list. He took advantage of the Mutant Resurrection Protocols and used them to make X-Force cannon fodder. Even worse was when he mind-controlled Wolverine and turned him into his murderous pet. In some ways literally by the way he was feeding him.
Ultimate Black Widow
Comic book: The Ultimates 2
This was one of the biggest jaw-dropping moments in comics. Right as some of the world’s governments attack America, Natasha Romanova reveals her true alliance by shooting Jarvis. It was more heartbreaking when you learned she killed Hawkeye’s wife and children and Steve Rogers was framed for it. Thankfully, Clint Barton got revenge in the end.
Alex Wilder
Comic book: Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan
Unbeknownst to the rest of the Runaways, Alex Wilder wanted the power that came with being part of the Pride and he was willing to lie, cheat, and kill to get it. It was a betrayal that no one saw coming and ended with his death. Not only was his treachery shocking, but the moment left his former friends scarred. Surprising to no one, Alex comes back to life years later and is still evil.
Jason Todd
Jason Todd's return from the dead must have been a heck of a moment for the people who voted to have him killed. They were witnessing the former Robin return as a villain and making Batman’s life Hell. In Jason’s defense, we’d all be upset if Batman didn’t kill Joker after he murdered us. So maybe his rage was justified.
Scarlet Witch
Comic book: House of M No. 7
This writer may be playing loose with this being a heel-turn moment. Nevertheless, Wanda Maximoff's attempt to rid the world of mutants was villainous. She didn’t care about the ramifications of her actions or that good people would be hurt and killed in the process. All she knew was mutants were monsters and they needed to be dealt with.
Later, redemption came at the end of X-Men: The Trial of Magneto. All of the mutants who died before Cerebro started backups were placed in a type of waiting room created by Wanda Maximoff. It doesn’t absolve her of her actions, but it helps.
Billy Butcher
Comic book: The Boys: The Bloody Doors Off
Butcher’s mission wasn’t over after he killed Black Noir for causing his wife’s death (Noir was a clone of Homelander). He felt that every superhuman needed to die. While readers knew Butcher thought about it, no one believed he had a plan to kill all the supes. The world is lucky that Hughie stopped him before Butcher could follow through.
Showrunner Eric Kripke said he wouldn’t use the ending from The Boys comic book. In some ways, this is a good thing. The fans have gone through enough with this show with Homelander being in charge. They don’t need to see Butcher violently killing his friends. It could be a bit much after everything that’s going to happen in the show’s final season.
The Maker (Ultimate Reed Richards)
The Maker went from one of Earth’s greatest heroes to one of the multiverse’s biggest threats because Sue Storm wouldn’t marry him. Is there a more complex reason? Eh, maybe, but this is the meat of it. Reed couldn’t stand rejection so everyone had to suffer.
*Invincible SPOILER*
Robot turning on his friends and peers was the biggest “OH SNAP!” moment in comics. He stranded Invincible in an alternate dimension, killed a bunch of innocent heroes because they couldn’t stop him, and ripped Eve’s leg off while she was pregnant. After the carnage was over, the world was a better place for years. However, he couldn’t help himself. He kidnapped kids because their parents posed a threat.
Overall, this was the biggest heel turn in all of comics and it's not close. Rudy becomes the epitome of villainy and this writer can't wait for this moment to happen on Prime Video's Invincible.
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