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00:00Although comic books are a deeply entertaining medium of storytelling, some of the art can look
00:05preposterous out of context. If you don't know anything about the Guardians of the Galaxy,
00:09you'll be baffled if you pick up a random issue and see a drawing depicting a sentient tree and
00:14a gun-toting raccoon fighting a space gorilla. As ridiculous as that sounds, comic fans understand
00:20panels like this because it makes sense in context. But sometimes, even if you understand
00:25that context, there are certain comic book panels which have become infamous due to either abysmal
00:30artwork, embarrassing typos, or hilarious continuity errors. And that's what we're here to look at
00:35today as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 hilariously bad comic book panels
00:40you won't believe exist. 10. Is She Decapitated? Dark Knight 3 Master Race No. 6
00:48At the end of Frank Miller's Dark Knight 3 No. 6, there's a side story where Batgirl and her sidekicks
00:53face off against Lara, the daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman. Like most of Miller's work,
00:59the issue is filled with over-sexualized art of female characters, and this is most notable in
01:04the opening image, which depicts Wonder Woman and Lara hunched over at an awkward angle to highlight
01:09their clenched buttcheeks. Amazingly, this isn't actually the worst aspect of this panel, because
01:14if you look at Lara's head, you'll notice that it's lobbed back at a 90-degree angle. I know that
01:19she has superpowers up the wazoo, but I'm pretty sure that Lara's certain skill set
01:23doesn't include being able to turn her spine into liquid. It's genuinely baffling how a
01:28professional illustrator could mess up this badly. Drawing dynamic action or authentic facial
01:33expressions is definitely tough, but on the other hand, drawing a person so that her head
01:37looks like it's attached to her bloody body shouldn't prove challenging to anyone over the
01:41age of six. And Lara's design is so distracting that readers probably didn't notice the other
01:45grotesque artwork on the page. 9. Captain America Screws Up His Own Quip
01:50Tales of Suspense 92
01:52Have you ever tried to say a clever comeback but just screwed it up? Although this can
01:56definitely be embarrassing, you probably shouldn't worry about it. After all, this sort of thing can
02:00happen to the best of us. I mean, Captain America is the leader of the bloomin' Avengers,
02:04and even he's been known to mess up a zinger every once in a while. You see, while on patrol,
02:09Cap discovered Nick Fury was being targeted by an android called the Mechno Assassin, which for the
02:14record is one of the worst supervillain names I've ever heard. But despite hitting the robotic hitman with
02:19everything he's got, the Mechno Assassin batters the super soldier senseless. Just as Captain America
02:25looks like he's about to give up, he says the line, only one of us is gonna walk out of here,
02:30and it won't be me! Right, okay, so instead of sounding like a badass, Cap apparently confesses
02:36to suffering from confidence issues mid-fight. Superheroes like Iron Man and Spider-Man have a
02:42knack for doing killer put-downs, but it's obvious that Captain America needs to work on his material
02:46based on this embarrassing exchange. 8. Lend Grim Reaper a Hand
02:51Avengers number 160 The Grim Reaper may not be a well-known supervillain,
02:55but he's easy to recognize since he's got a bloody scythe in place of his right hand. Now,
03:00if you met a guy with a reaping tool jutting out of his forearm, that seems like the type of thing
03:04that you definitely remember. Somehow, this detail escaped the attention of the creative team behind
03:09Avengers number 160. While the Grim Reaper battles Earth's mightiest heroes in this issue,
03:13he pulls off his mask to reveal that he's Eric Williams, the brother of the Avengers member
03:18Wonder Man. We then cut to a panel of the Reaper putting his mask back on with two regular hands,
03:24with his scythe nowhere to be seen. Wonder Man then batters the Reaper into submission,
03:28oblivious that his brother's hand has just magically grown back. If you really want to play devil's
03:33advocate, you could claim the penciler, the colorist, and the inker of this comic suddenly developed
03:38amnesia at this point, causing them to forget that the character was one-handed. However,
03:42this makes this flub all the more bewildering, since the Grim Reaper is drawn with one hand
03:46on the same page.
03:487. That Face
03:50Countdown number 36
03:52Countdown is regarded as one of the worst DC events in history. The dialogue is shoddy,
03:58the characterization is unforgivable, and the story is impossible to follow unless you've read 40
04:02spin-offs, which are all equally as dire. And Countdown also contains so much woeful artwork that
04:08could have easily filled this entire list with entries from that series alone. But if we had to
04:12choose one example, it would have to be the legendarily awful panel from Countdown number 36.
04:18In this issue, Mary Marvel has become corrupted by Black Adam's power, which encourages her to seek
04:23guidance from magic wielder Zatanna. But after she enters Zatanna's domain, Mary becomes unhinged and
04:29grabs at a magic rod, hoping that it will amplify her magical properties. As the rod's energy surges
04:34through her body, Mary's face is filled with a… well, I don't know what, to be honest. Although
04:39Mary is meant to appear elated, she looks as if she's gotten a little too excited, if you know what
04:43I mean. And that she's following that with a side of bath salts. Because her goofy smile and the lack
04:48of features across her face, this artwork doesn't look bad, just looks incomplete, and really weird
04:53as a result.
04:546. What's Spider-Man's Name Again?
04:56Amazing Spider-Man number 3
04:58After creating or co-creating over 600 comic books, you may wonder how Stan Lee was able to keep track of
05:04them all. Well, the simple answer is, he didn't. Despite his influence on the comic world, Stan
05:08the man has made it clear that he wasn't blessed with a good memory. In Amazing Spider-Man number
05:131, Lee referred to our titular hero as Peter Palmer at one point. In another issue, he called
05:18Bruce Banner Bob, forcing him to retcon the character's name. However, you have to cut Stan
05:23Lee some slack. If you had to devise a new character every week for decades at a time, he'd
05:27likely slip up as well. However, it's hard to justify the blunder in Amazing Spider-Man number
05:323. This issue is iconic since it debuted one of Spider-Man's greatest foes, Dr. Octopus. But
05:37unfortunately, Otto Octavius' grand reveal is ruined due to a small but unmistakable spelling
05:43mistake. When Spider-Man confronts Doc Ock for the first time, the tentacled supervillain refers
05:47to our hero as Superman. What makes this gaff funnier is the fact that Stan Lee placed a hyphen
05:53in Spider-Man's name so readers wouldn't mix his name up with Superman. How embarrassing and
05:58deeply ironic. Number 5, Stephen Hawking, JLA number 38. After a part of the Justice League's
06:04watchtower blows up, Batman and the other members do everything they can to stop the entire facility
06:09from exploding. While making his way through the watchtower, Bats discovers that he's been
06:13infiltrated by a supervillain called Prometheus. Prometheus' helmet is designed so it can download
06:17information directly into his brain with the flick of a switch. And since Prometheus has loaded the
06:22device with data on the world's best martial artists and gymnasts, not even Batman can match his
06:27physical skills. Fortunately, the Dark Knight prepared for this eventuality, and had the
06:32helmet's program overwritten the instant Prometheus activated it. So instead of being endowed with the
06:37powers of the world's greatest fighters, Prometheus took on the physical abilities of ALS sufferer
06:42Stephen Hawking. Unable to move, Prometheus was defeated in a single punch. Although Batman's strategy
06:48is really clever on paper, it looks unintentionally hilarious to watch the caped crusader punching a
06:54supervillain whilst yelling, Professor Stephen Hawking, at the top of his lungs. The panel seemed
06:59so random out of context that many would assume it was a piece of fan art or indeed photoshopped.
07:03But alas, that is not the case.
07:054. Doom Just Can't Stop Jamming
07:08Spidey Super Stories No. 53
07:10In Spidey Super Stories No. 53, Dr. Doom tries to form an alliance with Namor the Submariner,
07:16hoping to use his Atlantean army to take over the world. When Namor refuses to help,
07:21Doom becomes enraged and places a slave collar on him. Unable to break free from his restraints,
07:26Namor is left with no choice but to bring the metal-clad dictator to his kingdom.
07:30And five seconds after the pair arrive at the throne, Doom notices a sea horn on the ground
07:35and immediately becomes transfixed by it. Although Namor orders Doom to leave it be,
07:39the maniacal monarch ignores his plea and begins tooting the horn, which summons a sea monster.
07:45Now just to reiterate, Dr. Doom was ready to take over Atlantis, but stopped because he wanted
07:49to have a go on a musical instrument he just found lying on the floor. Why would anyone do that?
07:54Why would Dr. Doom of all people do that? Also, how is Doom able to play that thing underwater and
08:00also without lips? Although many entries on this list seem silly out of context,
08:04this is among the few comic book panels that's more ridiculous in context.
08:083. Injustice Gods Among Us No. 17
08:11It's no surprise comic book series that are released weekly instead of monthly are more
08:15likely to suffer from poor art, since the artists have far less time to finalise their work. So if
08:20you've found some of the art in a weekly series a little off-putting, it's fair to just accept it
08:24for what it is. But not always, because in the case of Injustice Gods Among Us, there's a panel of
08:30Batman punching a wooden log while a concerned Catwoman looks on from behind. As far as comic
08:35art goes, this set-up sounds pretty straightforward, right? Unfortunately, every aspect of this panel is
08:40a bit wonky. Batman's teeth bulge out so much that it looks like he's wearing a set of dentures ready
08:45to pop out. His welling tears look like the eyes of a subterranean alien, and because of the angle,
08:51it's not clear exactly what Batman is doing. It looks like he's mildly annoyed that his shoulder
08:55just spontaneously combusted. Even though Injustice has its fair share of bad artwork, this panel was
09:01so awful the artist was compelled to redraw it when the issue was republished.
09:052. What's Going On With Her Spine?
09:08Ultimates 3 No. 3 Joe Maderera has made a name for himself in the comic world. Over the years,
09:13he's illustrated some defining stories in the Uncanny X-Men series and the Age of Apocalypse
09:18saga. But even though fans of Big Joe expected great things when he was hired to illustrate
09:23Ultimates 3, all of his creations, well, they came out a bit ugly. Nearly every character is drawn with
09:28such disproportionate muscle structures that they barely resemble human beings. Despite the fact that
09:33there are many, many examples of bad art in this five-part miniseries, there's one moment in
09:37Ultimates No. 3 that really takes the cake. While Wolverine recants the time that he met
09:42Magneto's wife, we cut to a shot of the pair getting down to business. Although we only see
09:46the silhouette of the two, next to nothing is left to the imagination here. Not only is this panel
09:51borderline pornographic, it doesn't actually make anatomical sense. Magda's back is arched so
09:55obtusely it's like she's attempting to win a limbo competition. Her spine is angled at such an
10:00impossible angle. Well, you'd swear that she was made out of rubber.
10:041. What on earth is Sandman doing? Amazing Spider-Man No. 215
10:09I mean, just look at this image. There's really nothing to say here. This image
10:13speaks for itself. If you thought a bit of context would help justify this infamous panel,
10:18it doesn't. Amazing Spider-Man No. 215 opens with Spidey and Namor the Submariner facing off
10:23against Sandman, the Wizard, Trapster, and Liara. And after the Wizard blasts the duo with a
10:28disorientating laser, the corrupt quartet easily make light work of the superhero duo. As Spider-Man
10:33attempts to rise to his feet, Sandman punches him in the back, knocking his nemesis to the ground.
10:38Yes, that's meant to be his back that he's punching right there, not his, uh, well, let's
10:43just say what it is, his web hole. But that's what it looks like, and it will go down forever
10:47in infamy. Thank you.
10:50And there we go, my friends. Those were 10 hilariously bad comic book panels you won't
10:53believe exist. I hope you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down
10:57in the comments section below. As always, I've been Jules. You can go follow me over on
11:00Twitter at RetroJ, but the O is a zero, or Instagram, where it's the same handle. Hope
11:04to see you over there, my friends. As always, I've been Jules. You have been awesome. Never
11:08forget that, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.