Top 10 Superheroes Who Shouldn’t Be Trusted (Marvel and DC)

It’s been said that nothing is more difficult than repairing bridges that have been burned. This is why we as humans must do everything in our power to maintain and keep the relationships that we treasure. I mean, if we somehow screw up a relationship, it’s near impossible to have that relationship ever be how it was. The world of comic book superheroes is no different. Heroes innately trust one another because, well, without trust in each other the villains will always win. Think about it.

If the members of the Avengers or the Justice League didn’t trust one another each team could not function as a team. Right? Can you imagine what would happen if Nick Fury betrayed Captain America or Batman betrayed Superman? Well, we can and we’d like to show it to you. Here are the 10 most untrustworthy superheroes of all time!

10. Deadpool

Deadpool deserves to be here simply because he’s killed and maimed more people than almost everybody on this list combined. In fact, there’s even a story titled “Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe”. But it wasn’t just the Marvel Universe he killed. 

In the story, Deadpool found a way to bridge the gap between the creations and their creators. Once on the other side of the pen, he made quick work of any and all who have spent the previous years bringing him to life. Above what I said in my very first sentence about Deadpool, he was an easy choice for this superheroes who shouldn’t be trusted list because very few, if any characters can claim to have laid waste to those responsible for their stories. 

9. Gambit

One of the most shocking twists in X-Men history involved the mutant Gambit. The Mutant Massacre saw the Marauders viscously attack and kill the sewer-dwelling Morlocks. At the time of its writing, Gambit had not yet been introduced as a Marvel character. This, however, didn’t stop him from playing an integral role in the event. 

In 1997, more than 10 years after the event, it was revealed that the mutant responsible for leading the Marauders to the Morlocks was Gambit. As a result, many of the X-Men, Rogue included, felt betrayed by him and forever looked at him in a different light. 

8. Zatanna

In the 2004 story arc, Identity Crisis the Justice League learns that Dr. Light is responsible for the rape and murder of Sue Dibny. When they find him, the group must decide exactly what to do with him. Their discussions lead to having Zatanna wipe his mind. After being mind-wiped, Dr. Light’s actions were erased from his memory and his personality was changed. This did two important things.

First, by erasing his memory and changing his personality Dr. Light’s intelligence was left a shadow of itself. Basically, by having Zatanna mind wipe him, the Justice League lobotomized Dr. Light…a step some considered to have gone too far. Second, and arguably more important, seeing and disagreeing with what was happening, Batman tried to intervene. Not wanting to stop Zatanna from lobotomizing Dr. Light, the Justice League asked that she erase Batman’s memories of the event. So she did. And the trust in her has never been the same. 

7. Rogue

Rogue deserves to be on this list because, well, she can’t be trusted. Just ask Carol Danvers. In one of the most character-defining stories ever written, Rogue absorbs the memories and powers of Carol. Worse yet, not only does she absorb them, but she also permanently takes them. If thieves can’t be trusted, which in my opinion they can’t, then Rogue is the ultimate thief.

Think about it. Rather than temporarily stealing powers like she usually does, she holds on too tightly and steals Carol’s powers leaving her powerless. 

6. Hal Jordan

During the events of Emerald Twilight (which saw the destruction of Coast City) Hal Jordan falls into utter madness. As a consequence, he destroyed the Green Lantern Corps and killed many of his Lantern friends. This series led Jordan to assume the role of Parallax. As Parallax, he attempted to use the combined power of all the Green Lantern Rings now in his possession to bring back Coast City.

For the next many years, Parallax reigned down blood on the DC Universe. Eventually, Hal sacrificed himself to reignite the Earth’s Sun. Now at rest, he returns as The Spectre and begins atoning for what he had done. 

5. Wally West

2018 saw the DC Universe attempt to address Mental Health issues within the superhero genre. At the heart of their work stood Heroes In Crisis. The book saw Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman come together to create Sanctuary or a rehabilitation center for heroes suffering from mental health problems. 

The story quickly took a turn for the worse when a few Sanctuary residents were shot dead. Even though the entirety of the story leads the reader to believe that Booster Gold and Harley Quinn were responsible, it was revealed that the triggerman was actually Wally West. And why?

After his entire family had been erased from existence, Wally had long suffered from PTSD. This, coupled with the stories of the characters in Sanctuary, caused Wally to travel through time, commit heinous acts, and kill himself as a cover-up.

4. Namor

Namor has a long history of trust issues. Aside from flipping back and forth between hero and villain more than IHOP flips pancakes, Namor also flips between hatred and love for humanity. Namor has sent tidal waves toward the shore, crushed buildings with tsunamis, and brought entire civilizations to their knees. His hatred of humanity is rooted in their thirst for power, their love of pollution, and the way in which they extinct entire species without blinking an eye. 

Then, without a moment’s notice, he can be found defending their very existence. Simply put, Namor is the spouse that nobody wants. He’s the kind whose partner wakes up every day not knowing what they’re in for. 

3. Nick Fury

Being in charge of the most secretive organization in the world should be enough to convince you that Nick Fury can’t be trusted. If it isn’t, perhaps learning that he killed Uatu The Watcher convinces you? If it still isn’t enough, understand that not only did he kill Uatu, but he also led most of Marvel’s superheroes on a wild goose chase to find the murderer.

Nick Fury is one of the deadliest men in all of Marvel Comics. He’s more trained in explosives, guns, espionage, and the like than anybody not named Frank Castle. Most impressively, he has the world’s politicians and leaders at his fingertips. When it comes to superheroes who shouldn’t be trusted, Nick Fury was an easy choice. 

2. Batman

The early 2000s were marred with average Justice League stories. However, in the pile of mediocrity stood Mark Waid’s “Tower of Babel”. 

The story revealed that Batman had created a contingency plan for each member of the League. That is, he created a plan to defeat every member of the League should they ever decide to go rogue. This probably would’ve been ok had Ra’s al Ghul not gotten a hold of the plans and used them to systematically dismantle the team.

The book came to an explosive head when it was revealed that Batman was the reason each had been so easily defeated. For the first time in a long time, the conclusion of the Tower of Babel made it so that Batman wasn’t trusted by those around him and not the other way around.

1. Scarlet Witch

When you have the ability to decimate the mutant population from over a million to just 198, it’s easy to put you on this list. Scarlet Witch has a long history of being one of the more difficult-to-write characters. Not only is her mutant ability only loosely defined, but also the extent of her power is even less defined.

Everything about her came to a crashing halt during the House of M story. The story saw the most important heroes in comics come together to decide how to handle her ever-increasing power set. Rather than let them lock her away, Quicksilver gets her to create a parallel universe in which mutants rule. By the end of the story, she had a meltdown and permanently changed the Marvel landscape.

Bonus – Cyclops

Of all the characters to have been a member of the X-Men, none are as divisive as Cyclops. 

Cyclops is the longtime leader, instructor, and captain of the team. He has been there from the beginning and is the person that Charles Xavier trusts most. Unfortunately, he’s also the most hated character among fans of the group. While other characters have carved out an interesting backstory and are as dimensional as the world you and I live in, Cyclops just isn’t. He’s boring, predictable, and the quintessential do-gooder of the X-Men world.

This is why when he bonded with the Phoenix Force, killed Charles Xavier, and created a mutant Utopia the comic book world took notice. In a few quick months, Cyclops went from a boring character to a must-read character. However, his change came at a cost. His change propelled him into becoming one of the superheroes who shouldn’t be trusted.

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