It’s a long tradition to base superheroes off of animals, and you’d think all the good ones are taken. Wolverine, Spiderman, and Black Cat all have great animal powers. But there are quite a few animals out there which have incredible powers, and haven’t been immortalized in comics. Here’s five who Marvel and DC should jump on.
Honey Badger Man
“Honey badger” by en:User:Jaganath – This file was transferred from English Wikipedia. The original file description
page is (was) here.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Wolverine is named for a tough and scrappy animal, but the wolverine isn’t the toughest beast out there. Honey Badger Man would be tougher. Honey Badger Man has the power of honey badgers, making him extremely fearless and tough. His skin is loose and thick enough that bee stings, porcupine quills, and animal bites rarely penetrate his skin. Besides his incredible strength, he also has near limitless energy, allowing him to wear out much larger opponents.
Giant Tube Worm Woman
“Riftia tube worm colony Galapagos 2011” by NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program,
Galapagos Rift Expedition 2011 – Flickr NOAA Photo Library.
Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Aquaman rules the ocean in comics, but he wouldn’t be if Giant Tube Worm Woman was around. Giant Tube Worm Woman has the power of giant tube worms, marine invertebrates. Her power allows her to withstand pressure up to several miles deep, on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Like her animal namesake which lives near black smokers, she can tolerate extremely high hydrogen sulfide levels that would be lethal to most animals, and can survive without light or oxygen.
Dung Beetle Man
“Scarabaeus viettei 01” by Axel Strauß – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Spiderman is the ultimate insect superhero. He has the proportional strength and speed of a spider, which is pretty tough. But he’d be nothing against Dung Beetle Man. With the strength of the world’s strongest insect, Dung Beetle Man can pull 1,141 times his own body weight. That means he can drag six double-decker buses without even breaking a sweat. But his smell might keep him from becoming too popular.
Antarctic Midge Man
“Midge” by Tasteofcrayons – Own work. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Another powerful insect that just begs to be a superhero is the Antarctic midge. It’s the only insect capable of surviving in the harsh conditions of the Antarctic. Antarctic Midge Man would have the power to survive temperatures as low as five degrees Fahrenheit. He can even survive being completely encased in ice, and go without oxygen for four weeks straight.
Tardigrade Man
“Waterbear” by Bob Goldstein and Vicky Madden, UNC Chapel Hill – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Tardigrade Man has the power of tardigrades (also known as waterbears), water-dwelling, segmented micro-animals, with eight legs. Tardigrade Man can withstand temperatures near absolute zero to the boiling point of water, pressures about six times greater than those found in the deepest ocean trenches, lethal doses of ionizing radiation, and the vacuum of outer space. He can go without food or water for more than 10 years, drying out to the point where he’s 3% or less water, and can re-hydrate back to normal.
Which would be your favorite superhero? What other animal should have a superhero?
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="34188 ">5 Comments
I remember tardigrades from Cosmos. They survived every extinction event. Most of those have terrible names which is probably why no one has used them yet.
Tardigrade! Might not make a good superhero, but it made for a good base for the creatures featured in my next book.
Not sure Dung Beetle Man would catch on though…
Yes, but do any of them smoke a mean stogie?
Dung Beetle Man reminds me of Sewer Urchin from The Tick.
Definitely, Definitely Smell Bad!
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time to time. animals