Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Alphabetizing example(s), General clarification on work content, Cleaning up Word Cruft, Fixing formatting
Changed line(s) 2 (click to see context) from:
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's ArchEnemy the ComicBook/RedSkull started his life as a poor starving orphan named Johann Schmidt. Growing up in post WWI Germany as a petty thief, he eventually landed a job as a bellhop in a classy hotel. One day, he was performing his duties as a bellhop when he happened to be in the same room as Hitler himself while the latter was berating an officer. After seeing Schmidt, Hitler exclaimed he could turn the bellhop into a better Nazi than the officer. [[GoneHorriblyRight He did]].
to:
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's ArchEnemy ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'':
** ComicBook/{{Ultron}} started out as Hank Pym just tinkering around in his lab. Flashbacks revealed his original appearance looked about as threatening as [[WesternAnimation/WallE WALL-E]]. Then he rebuilt himself a skull face and glowing red eyes...
** Nobody AIM scientist plus hideous experimentation equals ComicBook/{{MODOK}}.
* ''ComicBook/BlackWidow'': Natasha Romanoff by most accounts was just a little orphan girl found as a baby, the fact she went from that to TheDreaded super spy assassin turned superhero who fights alongside gods is pretty amazing. Though it's implied given her surname of Romanoff, that Natasha may come from Russian royalty and another comic has the Asgardain goddess Enchantress give Nat her blessing when she was a girl, so it's equally possible Natasha was actually always meant to be someone very important.
* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'':
** The ComicBook/RedSkull started his life as a poor starving orphan named Johann Schmidt. Growing up in post WWI Germany as a petty thief, he eventually landed a job as a bellhop in a classy hotel. One day, he was performing his duties as a bellhop when he happened to be in the same room as Hitler himself while the latter was berating an officer. After seeing Schmidt, Hitler exclaimed he could turn the bellhop into a better Nazi than the officer. [[GoneHorriblyRight He did]].
** ComicBook/{{Ultron}} started out as Hank Pym just tinkering around in his lab. Flashbacks revealed his original appearance looked about as threatening as [[WesternAnimation/WallE WALL-E]]. Then he rebuilt himself a skull face and glowing red eyes...
** Nobody AIM scientist plus hideous experimentation equals ComicBook/{{MODOK}}.
* ''ComicBook/BlackWidow'': Natasha Romanoff by most accounts was just a little orphan girl found as a baby, the fact she went from that to TheDreaded super spy assassin turned superhero who fights alongside gods is pretty amazing. Though it's implied given her surname of Romanoff, that Natasha may come from Russian royalty and another comic has the Asgardain goddess Enchantress give Nat her blessing when she was a girl, so it's equally possible Natasha was actually always meant to be someone very important.
* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'':
** The ComicBook/RedSkull started his life as a poor starving orphan named Johann Schmidt. Growing up in post WWI Germany as a petty thief, he eventually landed a job as a bellhop in a classy hotel. One day, he was performing his duties as a bellhop when he happened to be in the same room as Hitler himself while the latter was berating an officer. After seeing Schmidt, Hitler exclaimed he could turn the bellhop into a better Nazi than the officer. [[GoneHorriblyRight He did]].
Changed line(s) 4,10 (click to see context) from:
* Speaking of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]]]].
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMystique Mystique]] were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could have guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
* In his first appearance in ''Captain Britain,'' Mad Jim Jaspers was a gimmicky HarmlessVillain who ended up effortlessly trounced by the Captain and completely forgotten about. A few issues later, he reappears and unleashes his [[RealityWarper reality-warping powers]], conquering first Earth and then the entire universe, bending it to his twisted will and reducing its inhabitants to utter insanity. [[DownerEnding And Captain Britain is powerless to stop him.]]
* Victor von Doom was the son of a Romani couple, though they were related to deposed former royalty. Things went awry when his mother sold her soul to the Devil and died when he was young, and he was raised by his father and a group of Roma. But the local barony demanded his father to use his intelligence to cure his dying wife's incurable disease. The fact his father wasn't able to save her, caused his father to go on the lam with Victor, and severe frostbite cost him his life. From that point onward, Victor von Doom used his intelligence to get a leg up in life, and when someone proved just as smart as he was ... he became ''ComicBook/DoctorDoom''. [[spoiler:Then he breaks the multiverse as Rabum Alal.]]
* Characters/ScarletWitch and ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} much like Doom were just poor Romani children drifting around with no place to call home. The fact they became such powerful individuals given their humble origins is incredible. Though averted later as it was retconned that they were predestined to be that way with their mother Natalya being the Scarlet Witch from a long line of Scarlet Witches.
* ComicBook/BlackWidow by most accounts was just a little orphan girl found as a baby, the fact she went from that to TheDreaded super spy assassin turned superhero who fights alongside gods is pretty amazing. Though it's implied given her surname of Romanoff Natasha may come from Russian royalty and another comic has the Asgardain goddess Enchantress give Nat her blessing when she was a girl, so it's equally possible Natasha was actually always meant to be someone very important.
* One of the biggest examples from Marvel Comics is ComicBook/{{Galactus}}, the [[PlanetEater Devourer of Worlds]], who began his life as a simple mortal explorer trying to figure out what was going on as his universe ends around him... after merging with the cosmic egg, he is reborn in the [[EternalRecurrence new universe]] as one of the nigh-omnipotent embodiments of existence, feared throughout the entire universe by every civilization that knows he exists.
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMystique Mystique]] were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could have guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
* In his first appearance in ''Captain Britain,'' Mad Jim Jaspers was a gimmicky HarmlessVillain who ended up effortlessly trounced by the Captain and completely forgotten about. A few issues later, he reappears and unleashes his [[RealityWarper reality-warping powers]], conquering first Earth and then the entire universe, bending it to his twisted will and reducing its inhabitants to utter insanity. [[DownerEnding And Captain Britain is powerless to stop him.]]
* Victor von Doom was the son of a Romani couple, though they were related to deposed former royalty. Things went awry when his mother sold her soul to the Devil and died when he was young, and he was raised by his father and a group of Roma. But the local barony demanded his father to use his intelligence to cure his dying wife's incurable disease. The fact his father wasn't able to save her, caused his father to go on the lam with Victor, and severe frostbite cost him his life. From that point onward, Victor von Doom used his intelligence to get a leg up in life, and when someone proved just as smart as he was ... he became ''ComicBook/DoctorDoom''. [[spoiler:Then he breaks the multiverse as Rabum Alal.]]
* Characters/ScarletWitch and ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} much like Doom were just poor Romani children drifting around with no place to call home. The fact they became such powerful individuals given their humble origins is incredible. Though averted later as it was retconned that they were predestined to be that way with their mother Natalya being the Scarlet Witch from a long line of Scarlet Witches.
* ComicBook/BlackWidow by most accounts was just a little orphan girl found as a baby, the fact she went from that to TheDreaded super spy assassin turned superhero who fights alongside gods is pretty amazing. Though it's implied given her surname of Romanoff Natasha may come from Russian royalty and another comic has the Asgardain goddess Enchantress give Nat her blessing when she was a girl, so it's equally possible Natasha was actually always meant to be someone very important.
* One of the biggest examples from Marvel Comics is ComicBook/{{Galactus}}, the [[PlanetEater Devourer of Worlds]], who began his life as a simple mortal explorer trying to figure out what was going on as his universe ends around him... after merging with the cosmic egg, he is reborn in the [[EternalRecurrence new universe]] as one of the nigh-omnipotent embodiments of existence, feared throughout the entire universe by every civilization that knows he exists.
to:
* Speaking of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]]]].
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMystique Mystique]] were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could have guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
*''ComicBook/CaptainBritain'': In his first appearance in ''Captain Britain,'' appearance, Mad Jim Jaspers was a gimmicky HarmlessVillain who ended up effortlessly trounced by the Captain and completely forgotten about. A few issues later, he reappears and unleashes his [[RealityWarper reality-warping powers]], conquering first Earth and then the entire universe, bending it to his twisted will and reducing its inhabitants to utter insanity. [[DownerEnding And Captain Britain is powerless to stop him.]]
* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'':
** Victor von Doom was the son of a Romani couple, though they were related to deposed former royalty. Things went awry when his mother sold her soul to the Devil and died when he was young, and he was raised by his father and a group of Roma. But the local barony demanded his father to use his intelligence to cure his dying wife's incurable disease. The fact his father wasn't able to save her, caused his father to go on the lam with Victor, and severe frostbite cost him his life. From that point onward, Victor von Doom used his intelligence to get a leg up in life, and when someone proved just as smart as he was ... he became ''ComicBook/DoctorDoom''. [[spoiler:Then he breaks the multiverse as Rabum Alal.]]
* Characters/ScarletWitch and ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} much like Doom were just poor Romani children drifting around with no place to call home. The fact they became such powerful individuals given their humble origins is incredible. Though averted later as it was retconned that they were predestined to be that way with their mother Natalya being the Scarlet Witch from a long line of Scarlet Witches.
* ComicBook/BlackWidow by most accounts was just a little orphan girl found as a baby, the fact she went from that to TheDreaded super spy assassin turned superhero who fights alongside gods is pretty amazing. Though it's implied given her surname of Romanoff Natasha may come from Russian royalty and another comic has the Asgardain goddess Enchantress give Nat her blessing when she was a girl, so it's equally possible Natasha was actually always meant to be someone very important.
*** One of the biggest examples from Marvel Comics is ComicBook/{{Galactus}}, the [[PlanetEater Devourer of Worlds]], who began his life as a simple mortal explorer trying to figure out what was going on as his universe ends around him... after merging with the cosmic egg, he is reborn in the [[EternalRecurrence new universe]] as one of the nigh-omnipotent embodiments of existence, feared throughout the entire universe by every civilization that knows he exists.exists.
* ''ComicBook/TheHood'': Parker Robbins was a loser and small-time crook, until he stole a magic cloak and boots. As the Hood, he quickly rose in rank in the criminal world, until turning into the leader of a gang strong enough to butt heads with ComicBook/TheAvengers and live to tell the tale, gaining himself a place in the [[ComicBook/DarkReign Cabal]].
** At one point other supervillains wonder why exactly they follow him and his cousin calls this trope - they all started as nobodies before becoming superpowered crooks, but they had normal lives, while Parker was the only one to start from the bottom and knew what to do to crawl his way to the top.
** Unfortunately, this ultimately got Robbins addicted to power for its own sake. When he lost the cloak and boots, he desperately scrambled for new super powers since he can't bear going back to being a nobody.
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMystique Mystique]] were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could have guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
*
* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'':
** Victor von Doom was the son of a Romani couple, though they were related to deposed former royalty. Things went awry when his mother sold her soul to the Devil and died when he was young, and he was raised by his father and a group of Roma. But the local barony demanded his father to use his intelligence to cure his dying wife's incurable disease. The fact his father wasn't able to save her, caused his father to go on the lam with Victor, and severe frostbite cost him his life. From that point onward, Victor von Doom used his intelligence to get a leg up in life, and when someone proved just as smart as he was ... he became ''ComicBook/DoctorDoom''. [[spoiler:Then he breaks the multiverse as Rabum Alal.]]
* ComicBook/BlackWidow by most accounts was just a little orphan girl found as a baby, the fact she went from that to TheDreaded super spy assassin turned superhero who fights alongside gods is pretty amazing. Though it's implied given her surname of Romanoff Natasha may come from Russian royalty and another comic has the Asgardain goddess Enchantress give Nat her blessing when she was a girl, so it's equally possible Natasha was actually always meant to be someone very important.
*
* ''ComicBook/TheHood'': Parker Robbins was a loser and small-time crook, until he stole a magic cloak and boots. As the Hood, he quickly rose in rank in the criminal world, until turning into the leader of a gang strong enough to butt heads with ComicBook/TheAvengers and live to tell the tale, gaining himself a place in the [[ComicBook/DarkReign Cabal]].
** At one point other supervillains wonder why exactly they follow him and his cousin calls this trope - they all started as nobodies before becoming superpowered crooks, but they had normal lives, while Parker was the only one to start from the bottom and knew what to do to crawl his way to the top.
** Unfortunately, this ultimately got Robbins addicted to power for its own sake. When he lost the cloak and boots, he desperately scrambled for new super powers since he can't bear going back to being a nobody.
Changed line(s) 14,27 (click to see context) from:
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is a more heroic example: he started his life a DelicateAndSickly little boy whose caretakers believed wouldn't last long in the world. Yet that meek and fragile child became one of the biggest grizzled badasses in Marvel; he lost his sweet innocent nature but being the [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[TheBerserker berserker]] certainly made up for it. Worth noting Logan wasn't technically a total nobody, being the heir to a wealthy family; if his life hadn't taken a cruel swerve towards the uncanny, he theoretically could've had a cozy life, if his father hadn't been killed and he didn't pop those claws.
* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Multiple X-Men count as this, excluding certain members like Angel and Emma Frost who come from wealth and fame.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] is another more heroic example of this, he started off as just a pampered little boy bullied by his stepbrother and abused by his drunken stepfather. It's incredible to think that boy would became one of the most powerful beings in existence and the figurehead of mutantkind or the leader of his own nation.
*** His son David aka Legion is an even better example, going from abandoned mentally addled little boy to multiversal RealityWarper PersonOfMassDestruction in the span of a couple decades.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]]: Suburban girl with Carrie problems to mutant messiah.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]]: Foster home kid to mutant Captain America.
** ComicBook/{{Beast|MarvelComics}}: Illinois bumpkin to ScienceHero.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]]: Unwanted child thrown away by Mystique to mutant saint who left Heaven to keep being a hero.
** ComicBook/{{Colossus}}: Simple Russian farm boy to one of the strongest mutants alive.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]]: Shy Jewish girl to X-Men leader and The Red Queen of the Hellfire club.
** ComicBook/{{Rogue}}: Mississippi hick tomboy to TheCape.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsGambit Gambit]]: DoorstepBaby to one of the most baddass mutants ever (and would become ''the'' most powerful mutant if Mister Sinister didn't limit his abilities through surgery).
** Subverted with [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], she was this originally being an orphan street urchin in Africa who became worshipped as a goddess in Kenya for her WeatherManipulation mutation. But similar to Scarlet Witch, later comics retcon that Ororo was predestined to be this way, being descended from an actual godhood on her mother's side.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Quite a few ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villains follow this.
* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Multiple X-Men count as this, excluding certain members like Angel and Emma Frost who come from wealth and fame.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] is another more heroic example of this, he started off as just a pampered little boy bullied by his stepbrother and abused by his drunken stepfather. It's incredible to think that boy would became one of the most powerful beings in existence and the figurehead of mutantkind or the leader of his own nation.
*** His son David aka Legion is an even better example, going from abandoned mentally addled little boy to multiversal RealityWarper PersonOfMassDestruction in the span of a couple decades.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]]: Suburban girl with Carrie problems to mutant messiah.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]]: Foster home kid to mutant Captain America.
** ComicBook/{{Beast|MarvelComics}}: Illinois bumpkin to ScienceHero.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]]: Unwanted child thrown away by Mystique to mutant saint who left Heaven to keep being a hero.
** ComicBook/{{Colossus}}: Simple Russian farm boy to one of the strongest mutants alive.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]]: Shy Jewish girl to X-Men leader and The Red Queen of the Hellfire club.
** ComicBook/{{Rogue}}: Mississippi hick tomboy to TheCape.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsGambit Gambit]]: DoorstepBaby to one of the most baddass mutants ever (and would become ''the'' most powerful mutant if Mister Sinister didn't limit his abilities through surgery).
** Subverted with [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], she was this originally being an orphan street urchin in Africa who became worshipped as a goddess in Kenya for her WeatherManipulation mutation. But similar to Scarlet Witch, later comics retcon that Ororo was predestined to be this way, being descended from an actual godhood on her mother's side.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Quite a few ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villains follow this.
to:
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'': Gorr the God Butcher used to be a poor starving mortal. After acquiring All Black the Necrosword, he became a god-killing abomination who singlehandedly wiped out entire pantheons across the cosmos.
* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'':
** In at least one alternate future, Victor Mancha is destined to become Victorious, amore heroic example: he started his life a DelicateAndSickly little boy whose caretakers believed wouldn't last long dreaded, mass-murdering super-villain who slaughters the Avengers. But in the world. Yet present, he's pretty much the designated ButtMonkey of his team.
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization thatmeek and fragile child became one of controlled underground activities on the biggest grizzled badasses West Coast yet managed to stay undercover in Marvel; he lost his sweet innocent nature but being the [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[TheBerserker berserker]] certainly made up Marvel Universe for it. Worth noting Logan wasn't technically a total nobody, being years, were respected by such powerhouses of crime as the heir to a wealthy family; if his life hadn't taken a cruel swerve towards the uncanny, he theoretically could've had a cozy life, if his father hadn't been killed and he didn't pop those claws.
* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Multiple X-Men count as this, excluding certain members like Angel and Emma Frost who come from wealth and fame.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] is another more heroic example of this, he started off as just a pampered little boy bullied by his stepbrother and abused by his drunken stepfather. It's incredible to think that boy would became one of the most powerful beings in existence and the figurehead of mutantkind[[ComicBook/SpiderMan Kingpin]] or the leader of his own nation.
*** His son David aka Legion is an even better example, going from abandoned mentally addled little boy to multiversal RealityWarper PersonOfMassDestruction in the span of a couple decades.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]]: Suburban girl with Carrie problems to mutant messiah.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]]: Foster home kid to mutant Captain America.
** ComicBook/{{Beast|MarvelComics}}: Illinois bumpkin to ScienceHero.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]]: Unwanted child thrown away by Mystique to mutant saint who left Heaven to keep being a hero.
** ComicBook/{{Colossus}}: Simple Russian farm boy to one of the strongest mutants alive.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]]: Shy Jewish girl to X-Men leader and The Red Queen of the[[ComicBook/XMen Hellfire club.
** ComicBook/{{Rogue}}: Mississippi hick tomboy to TheCape.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsGambit Gambit]]: DoorstepBaby toClub]], and at one of point gave [[ComicBook/NewAvengers the most baddass mutants ever (and would become ''the'' most powerful mutant if Mister Sinister didn't limit his abilities through surgery).
** Subverted with [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], she was this originally being an orphan street urchin in Africa who became worshipped asMarvel Illuminati]] -- a goddess in Kenya group composed of ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], ComicBook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner -- a run for her WeatherManipulation mutation. But similar to Scarlet Witch, later comics retcon that Ororo was predestined to be this way, being descended from an actual godhood on her mother's side.
their money.
*''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Quite a few ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villains follow this.''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'':
** In at least one alternate future, Victor Mancha is destined to become Victorious, a
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization that
* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Multiple X-Men count as this, excluding certain members like Angel and Emma Frost who come from wealth and fame.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] is another more heroic example of this, he started off as just a pampered little boy bullied by his stepbrother and abused by his drunken stepfather. It's incredible to think that boy would became one of the most powerful beings in existence and the figurehead of mutantkind
*** His son David aka Legion is an even better example, going from abandoned mentally addled little boy to multiversal RealityWarper PersonOfMassDestruction in the span of a couple decades.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]]: Suburban girl with Carrie problems to mutant messiah.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]]: Foster home kid to mutant Captain America.
** ComicBook/{{Beast|MarvelComics}}: Illinois bumpkin to ScienceHero.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]]: Unwanted child thrown away by Mystique to mutant saint who left Heaven to keep being a hero.
** ComicBook/{{Colossus}}: Simple Russian farm boy to one of the strongest mutants alive.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]]: Shy Jewish girl to X-Men leader and The Red Queen of the
** ComicBook/{{Rogue}}: Mississippi hick tomboy to TheCape.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsGambit Gambit]]: DoorstepBaby to
** Subverted with [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], she was this originally being an orphan street urchin in Africa who became worshipped as
*
Changed line(s) 41,50 (click to see context) from:
* Gorr the God Butcher from ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' used to be a poor starving mortal. After acquiring All Black the Necrosword, he became a god-killing abomination who singlehandedly wiped out entire pantheons across the cosmos.
* Nobody AIM scientist plus hideous experimentation equals ComicBook/{{MODOK}}.
* Parker Robbins was a loser and small-time crook, until he stole a magic cloak and boots. As ComicBook/TheHood, he quickly rose in rank in the criminal world, until turning into the leader of a gang strong enough to butt heads with ComicBook/TheAvengers and live to tell the tale, gaining himself a place in the [[ComicBook/DarkReign Cabal]].
** At one point other supervillains wonder why exactly they follow him and his cousin calls this trope - they all started as nobodies before becoming superpowered crooks, but they had normal lives, while Parker was the only one to start from the bottom and knew what to do to crawl his way to the top.
** Unfortunately, this ultimately got Robbins addicted to power for its own sake. When he lost the cloak and boots, he desperately scrambled for new super powers since he can't bear going back to being a nobody.
* In at least one alternate future, Victor Mancha of the ComicBook/{{Runaways}} is destined to become Victorious, a dreaded, mass-murdering super-villain who slaughters the Avengers. But in the present, he's pretty much the designated ButtMonkey of his team.
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization that controlled underground activities on the West Coast yet managed to stay undercover in the Marvel Universe for years, were respected by such powerhouses of crime as the [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Kingpin]] or the [[ComicBook/XMen Hellfire Club]], and at one point gave [[ComicBook/NewAvengers the Marvel Illuminati]] -- a group composed of ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], ComicBook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner -- a run for their money.
* Reed Richards from ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'' started out as a bullied teenager mocked for his intelligence, became a superhero, but after growing out of favor with the way the world is run, decided to take over the world, and now he's The Maker.
* ComicBook/{{Ultron}} started out as Hank Pym just tinkering around in his lab. Flashbacks revealed his original appearance looked about as threatening as [[WesternAnimation/WallE WALL-E]]. Then he rebuilt himself a skull face and glowing red eyes...
* Eli Bard from ''ComicBook/XForce'' went from a soldier to a respected Roman senator -- until his wife stabbed him in the back. After that he went from a destitute ex-senator to vampiric monstrosity who not only commits mass murder but manages to overpower some other genuinely badass individuals.
* Nobody AIM scientist plus hideous experimentation equals ComicBook/{{MODOK}}.
* Parker Robbins was a loser and small-time crook, until he stole a magic cloak and boots. As ComicBook/TheHood, he quickly rose in rank in the criminal world, until turning into the leader of a gang strong enough to butt heads with ComicBook/TheAvengers and live to tell the tale, gaining himself a place in the [[ComicBook/DarkReign Cabal]].
** At one point other supervillains wonder why exactly they follow him and his cousin calls this trope - they all started as nobodies before becoming superpowered crooks, but they had normal lives, while Parker was the only one to start from the bottom and knew what to do to crawl his way to the top.
** Unfortunately, this ultimately got Robbins addicted to power for its own sake. When he lost the cloak and boots, he desperately scrambled for new super powers since he can't bear going back to being a nobody.
* In at least one alternate future, Victor Mancha of the ComicBook/{{Runaways}} is destined to become Victorious, a dreaded, mass-murdering super-villain who slaughters the Avengers. But in the present, he's pretty much the designated ButtMonkey of his team.
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization that controlled underground activities on the West Coast yet managed to stay undercover in the Marvel Universe for years, were respected by such powerhouses of crime as the [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Kingpin]] or the [[ComicBook/XMen Hellfire Club]], and at one point gave [[ComicBook/NewAvengers the Marvel Illuminati]] -- a group composed of ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], ComicBook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner -- a run for their money.
* Reed Richards from ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'' started out as a bullied teenager mocked for his intelligence, became a superhero, but after growing out of favor with the way the world is run, decided to take over the world, and now he's The Maker.
* ComicBook/{{Ultron}} started out as Hank Pym just tinkering around in his lab. Flashbacks revealed his original appearance looked about as threatening as [[WesternAnimation/WallE WALL-E]]. Then he rebuilt himself a skull face and glowing red eyes...
* Eli Bard from ''ComicBook/XForce'' went from a soldier to a respected Roman senator -- until his wife stabbed him in the back. After that he went from a destitute ex-senator to vampiric monstrosity who not only commits mass murder but manages to overpower some other genuinely badass individuals.
to:
* Gorr the God Butcher from ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' used to be a poor starving mortal. After acquiring All Black the Necrosword, he became a god-killing abomination who singlehandedly wiped out entire pantheons across the cosmos.
* Nobody AIM scientist plus hideous experimentation equals ComicBook/{{MODOK}}.
* Parker Robbins was a loser and small-time crook, until he stole a magic cloak and boots. As ComicBook/TheHood, he quickly rose in rank in the criminal world, until turning into the leader of a gang strong enough to butt heads with ComicBook/TheAvengers and live to tell the tale, gaining himself a place in the [[ComicBook/DarkReign Cabal]].
** At one point other supervillains wonder why exactly they follow him and his cousin calls this trope - they all started as nobodies before becoming superpowered crooks, but they had normal lives, while Parker was the only one to start from the bottom and knew what to do to crawl his way to the top.
** Unfortunately, this ultimately got Robbins addicted to power for its own sake. When he lost the cloak and boots, he desperately scrambled for new super powers since he can't bear going back to being a nobody.
* In at least one alternate future, Victor Mancha of the ComicBook/{{Runaways}} is destined to become Victorious, a dreaded, mass-murdering super-villain who slaughters the Avengers. But in the present, he's pretty much the designated ButtMonkey of his team.
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization that controlled underground activities on the West Coast yet managed to stay undercover in the Marvel Universe for years, were respected by such powerhouses of crime as the [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Kingpin]] or the [[ComicBook/XMen Hellfire Club]], and at one point gave [[ComicBook/NewAvengers the Marvel Illuminati]] -- a group composed of ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], ComicBook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner -- a run for their money.
*''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'': Reed Richards from ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'' started out as a bullied teenager mocked for his intelligence, became a superhero, but after growing out of favor with the way the world is run, decided to take over the world, and now he's The Maker.
*ComicBook/{{Ultron}} ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'': Wolverine is a more heroic example: he started out as Hank Pym just tinkering around in his lab. Flashbacks revealed life a DelicateAndSickly little boy whose caretakers believed wouldn't last long in the world. Yet that meek and fragile child became one of the biggest grizzled badasses in Marvel; he lost his original appearance looked about as threatening as [[WesternAnimation/WallE WALL-E]]. Then sweet innocent nature but being the [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[TheBerserker berserker]] certainly made up for it. Worth noting Logan wasn't technically a total nobody, being the heir to a wealthy family; if his life hadn't taken a cruel swerve towards the uncanny, he rebuilt himself theoretically could've had a skull face cozy life, if his father hadn't been killed and glowing red eyes...
he didn't pop those claws.
* ''ComicBook/XForce'': Eli Bardfrom ''ComicBook/XForce'' went from a soldier to a respected Roman senator -- until his wife stabbed him in the back. After that he went from a destitute ex-senator to vampiric monstrosity who not only commits mass murder but manages to overpower some other genuinely badass individuals.individuals.
* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] is another more heroic example of this, he started off as just a pampered little boy bullied by his stepbrother and abused by his drunken stepfather. It's incredible to think that boy would became one of the most powerful beings in existence and the figurehead of mutantkind or the leader of his own nation.
*** His son David aka Legion is an even better example, going from abandoned mentally addled little boy to multiversal RealityWarper PersonOfMassDestruction in the span of a couple decades.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]]: Suburban girl with Carrie problems to mutant messiah.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]]: Foster home kid to mutant Captain America.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsBeast Beast]]: Illinois bumpkin to ScienceHero.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]]: Unwanted child thrown away by Mystique to mutant saint who left Heaven to keep being a hero.
** ComicBook/{{Colossus}}: Simple Russian farm boy to one of the strongest mutants alive.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]]: Shy Jewish girl to X-Men leader and The Red Queen of the Hellfire club.
** ComicBook/{{Rogue}}: Mississippi hick tomboy to TheCape.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsGambit Gambit]]: DoorstepBaby to one of the most baddass mutants ever (and would become ''the'' most powerful mutant if Mister Sinister didn't limit his abilities through surgery).
** Subverted with [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], she was this originally being an orphan street urchin in Africa who became worshipped as a goddess in Kenya for her WeatherManipulation mutation. But similar to Scarlet Witch, later comics retcon that Ororo was predestined to be this way, being descended from an actual godhood on her mother's side.
** ComicBook/ScarletWitch and ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} were just poor Romani children drifting around with no place to call home. The fact they became such powerful individuals given their humble origins is incredible. Though averted later as it was retconned that they were predestined to be that way with their mother Natalya being the Scarlet Witch from a long line of Scarlet Witches.
** Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]]]].
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMystique Mystique]] were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could have guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
----
* Nobody AIM scientist plus hideous experimentation equals ComicBook/{{MODOK}}.
* Parker Robbins was a loser and small-time crook, until he stole a magic cloak and boots. As ComicBook/TheHood, he quickly rose in rank in the criminal world, until turning into the leader of a gang strong enough to butt heads with ComicBook/TheAvengers and live to tell the tale, gaining himself a place in the [[ComicBook/DarkReign Cabal]].
** At one point other supervillains wonder why exactly they follow him and his cousin calls this trope - they all started as nobodies before becoming superpowered crooks, but they had normal lives, while Parker was the only one to start from the bottom and knew what to do to crawl his way to the top.
** Unfortunately, this ultimately got Robbins addicted to power for its own sake. When he lost the cloak and boots, he desperately scrambled for new super powers since he can't bear going back to being a nobody.
* In at least one alternate future, Victor Mancha of the ComicBook/{{Runaways}} is destined to become Victorious, a dreaded, mass-murdering super-villain who slaughters the Avengers. But in the present, he's pretty much the designated ButtMonkey of his team.
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization that controlled underground activities on the West Coast yet managed to stay undercover in the Marvel Universe for years, were respected by such powerhouses of crime as the [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Kingpin]] or the [[ComicBook/XMen Hellfire Club]], and at one point gave [[ComicBook/NewAvengers the Marvel Illuminati]] -- a group composed of ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], ComicBook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner -- a run for their money.
*
*
* ''ComicBook/XForce'': Eli Bard
* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] is another more heroic example of this, he started off as just a pampered little boy bullied by his stepbrother and abused by his drunken stepfather. It's incredible to think that boy would became one of the most powerful beings in existence and the figurehead of mutantkind or the leader of his own nation.
*** His son David aka Legion is an even better example, going from abandoned mentally addled little boy to multiversal RealityWarper PersonOfMassDestruction in the span of a couple decades.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]]: Suburban girl with Carrie problems to mutant messiah.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]]: Foster home kid to mutant Captain America.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsBeast Beast]]: Illinois bumpkin to ScienceHero.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]]: Unwanted child thrown away by Mystique to mutant saint who left Heaven to keep being a hero.
** ComicBook/{{Colossus}}: Simple Russian farm boy to one of the strongest mutants alive.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]]: Shy Jewish girl to X-Men leader and The Red Queen of the Hellfire club.
** ComicBook/{{Rogue}}: Mississippi hick tomboy to TheCape.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsGambit Gambit]]: DoorstepBaby to one of the most baddass mutants ever (and would become ''the'' most powerful mutant if Mister Sinister didn't limit his abilities through surgery).
** Subverted with [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], she was this originally being an orphan street urchin in Africa who became worshipped as a goddess in Kenya for her WeatherManipulation mutation. But similar to Scarlet Witch, later comics retcon that Ororo was predestined to be this way, being descended from an actual godhood on her mother's side.
** ComicBook/ScarletWitch and ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} were just poor Romani children drifting around with no place to call home. The fact they became such powerful individuals given their humble origins is incredible. Though averted later as it was retconned that they were predestined to be that way with their mother Natalya being the Scarlet Witch from a long line of Scarlet Witches.
** Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]]]].
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMystique Mystique]] were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could have guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
----
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 15,17 (click to see context) from:
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] is another more heroic example of this, he started off as just a pampered little boy bullied by his stepbrother and abused by his drunken stepfather. It’s incredible to think that boy would became one of the most powerful beings in existence and the figurehead of mutantkind or the leader of his own nation.
** His son David aka Legion is an even better example, going from abandoned mentally addled little boy to multiversal RealityWarper PersonOfMassDestruction in the span of a couple decades.
* Multiple of the ''ComicBook/XMen'' count as this, excluding certain members like Angel and Emma Frost who come from wealth and fame.
** His son David aka Legion is an even better example, going from abandoned mentally addled little boy to multiversal RealityWarper PersonOfMassDestruction in the span of a couple decades.
* Multiple of the ''ComicBook/XMen'' count as this, excluding certain members like Angel and Emma Frost who come from wealth and fame.
to:
* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Multiple X-Men count as this, excluding certain members like Angel and Emma Frost who come from wealth and fame.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] is another more heroic example of this, he started off as just a pampered little boy bullied by his stepbrother and abused by his drunken stepfather. It’s incredible to think that boy would became one of the most powerful beings in existence and the figurehead of mutantkind or the leader of his own nation.
** *** His son David aka Legion is an even better example, going from abandoned mentally addled little boy to multiversal RealityWarper PersonOfMassDestruction in the span of a couple decades.
* Multiple of the ''ComicBook/XMen'' count as this, excluding certain members like Angel and Emma Frost who come from wealth and fame.decades.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] is another more heroic example of this, he started off as just a pampered little boy bullied by his stepbrother and abused by his drunken stepfather. It’s incredible to think that boy would became one of the most powerful beings in existence and the figurehead of mutantkind or the leader of his own nation.
* Multiple of the ''ComicBook/XMen'' count as this, excluding certain members like Angel and Emma Frost who come from wealth and fame.
Changed line(s) 27,28 (click to see context) from:
* When [[HarmlessVillain the Spot]] returns in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #589, he has been driven insane after being trapped too long in his spotted dimension and starts killing mobsters for shooting his son. He uses his powers in surprisingly ruthless ways, [[http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6366/spotjpg100.jpg makes Spider-Man punch himself in the face]], and almost succeeds in killing a Russian mob boss. He only fails because Spidey [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talks him out of it]].
* Quite a few ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villains follow this.
* Quite a few ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villains follow this.
to:
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Quite a few ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villains follow this.
** When [[HarmlessVillain the Spot]] returns in''Amazing Spider-Man'' ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan1999'' #589, he has been driven insane after being trapped too long in his spotted dimension and starts killing mobsters for shooting his son. He uses his powers in surprisingly ruthless ways, [[http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6366/spotjpg100.jpg makes Spider-Man punch himself in the face]], and almost succeeds in killing a Russian mob boss. He only fails because Spidey [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talks him out of it]].
* Quite a few ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villains follow this.it]].
** When [[HarmlessVillain the Spot]] returns in
* Quite a few ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villains follow this.
Changed line(s) 30 (click to see context) from:
** Mysterio: Special effects expert.
to:
** Mysterio: ComicBook/{{Mysterio}}: Special effects expert.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Updating Links
Changed line(s) 41 (click to see context) from:
* Gorr the God Butcher from ''Comicbook/TheMightyThor'' used to be a poor starving mortal. After acquiring All Black the Necrosword, he became a god-killing abomination who singlehandedly wiped out entire pantheons across the cosmos.
to:
* Gorr the God Butcher from ''Comicbook/TheMightyThor'' ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' used to be a poor starving mortal. After acquiring All Black the Necrosword, he became a god-killing abomination who singlehandedly wiped out entire pantheons across the cosmos.
Changed line(s) 43 (click to see context) from:
* Parker Robbins was a loser and small-time crook, until he stole a magic cloak and boots. As ComicBook/TheHood, he quickly rose in rank in the criminal world, until turning into the leader of a gang strong enough to butt heads with Franchise/TheAvengers and live to tell the tale, gaining himself a place in the [[ComicBook/DarkReign Cabal]].
to:
* Parker Robbins was a loser and small-time crook, until he stole a magic cloak and boots. As ComicBook/TheHood, he quickly rose in rank in the criminal world, until turning into the leader of a gang strong enough to butt heads with Franchise/TheAvengers ComicBook/TheAvengers and live to tell the tale, gaining himself a place in the [[ComicBook/DarkReign Cabal]].
Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization that controlled underground activities on the West Coast yet managed to stay undercover in the Marvel Universe for years, were respected by such powerhouses of crime as the [[Comicbook/SpiderMan Kingpin]] or the [[Comicbook/XMen Hellfire Club]], and at one point gave [[Comicbook/NewAvengers the Marvel Illuminati]] -- a group composed of ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], Comicbook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner -- a run for their money.
to:
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization that controlled underground activities on the West Coast yet managed to stay undercover in the Marvel Universe for years, were respected by such powerhouses of crime as the [[Comicbook/SpiderMan [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Kingpin]] or the [[Comicbook/XMen [[ComicBook/XMen Hellfire Club]], and at one point gave [[Comicbook/NewAvengers [[ComicBook/NewAvengers the Marvel Illuminati]] -- a group composed of ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], Comicbook/DoctorStrange, ComicBook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner -- a run for their money.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization that controlled underground activities on the West Coast yet managed to stay undercover in the MarvelUniverse for years, were respected by such powerhouses of crime as the [[Comicbook/SpiderMan Kingpin]] or the [[Comicbook/XMen Hellfire Club]], and at one point gave [[Comicbook/NewAvengers the Marvel Illuminati]] -- a group composed of ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], Comicbook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner -- a run for their money.
to:
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization that controlled underground activities on the West Coast yet managed to stay undercover in the MarvelUniverse Marvel Universe for years, were respected by such powerhouses of crime as the [[Comicbook/SpiderMan Kingpin]] or the [[Comicbook/XMen Hellfire Club]], and at one point gave [[Comicbook/NewAvengers the Marvel Illuminati]] -- a group composed of ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], Comicbook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner -- a run for their money.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is a more heroic example, he started his life a DelicateAndSickly little boy whose caretakers believed wouldn’t last long in the world. Yet that little weak crybaby became one of the biggest grizzled badasses in Marvel, he may of lost his sweet innocence nature but being the [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[TheBerserker berserker]] certainly made up for it. Worth noting Logan wasn’t technically a total nobody being the heir to a wealthy family, if his life hadn’t taken a cruel swerve towards the uncanny, he theoretically could’ve had a cozy life, if his father hadn’t been killed and he didn’t pop those claws.
to:
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is a more heroic example, example: he started his life a DelicateAndSickly little boy whose caretakers believed wouldn’t last long in the world. Yet that little weak crybaby meek and fragile child became one of the biggest grizzled badasses in Marvel, Marvel; he may of lost his sweet innocence innocent nature but being the [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[TheBerserker berserker]] certainly made up for it. Worth noting Logan wasn’t technically a total nobody nobody, being the heir to a wealthy family, family; if his life hadn’t taken a cruel swerve towards the uncanny, he theoretically could’ve had a cozy life, if his father hadn’t been killed and he didn’t pop those claws.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 4 (click to see context) from:
* Speaking of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]].
to:
* Speaking of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]].Magneto]]]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Updating Link
Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
** ComicBook/JeanGrey: Suburban girl with Carrie problems to mutant messiah.
to:
** ComicBook/JeanGrey: [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]]: Suburban girl with Carrie problems to mutant messiah.
Changed line(s) 20 (click to see context) from:
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsBeast Beast]]: Illinois bumpkin to ScienceHero.
to:
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsBeast Beast]]: ComicBook/{{Beast|MarvelComics}}: Illinois bumpkin to ScienceHero.
Changed line(s) 22 (click to see context) from:
** Colossus: Simple Russian farm boy to one of the strongest mutants alive.
to:
** Colossus: ComicBook/{{Colossus}}: Simple Russian farm boy to one of the strongest mutants alive.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Updating Link
Changed line(s) 4,5 (click to see context) from:
* Speaking of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. Characters/{{Magneto}}]].
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and Characters/{{Mystique}} were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could have guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and Characters/{{Mystique}} were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could have guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
to:
* Speaking of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. Characters/{{Magneto}}]].
[[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]].
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] andCharacters/{{Mystique}} [[Characters/MarvelComicsMystique Mystique]] were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could have guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is a more heroic example, he started his life a DelicateAndSickly little boy whose caretakers believed wouldn’t last long in the world. Yet that little weak crybaby became one of the biggest grizzled badasses in Marvel, he may of lost his sweet innocence nature but being the [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[TheBerserker berserker]] certainly made up for it. Worth noting Logan wasn’t technically a total nobody being the heir to a wealthy family, if his life hadn’t taken a cruel serve to the uncanny, he theoretically could’ve had a cozy life, if his father hadn’t been killed and he didn’t pop those claws.
to:
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is a more heroic example, he started his life a DelicateAndSickly little boy whose caretakers believed wouldn’t last long in the world. Yet that little weak crybaby became one of the biggest grizzled badasses in Marvel, he may of lost his sweet innocence nature but being the [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[TheBerserker berserker]] certainly made up for it. Worth noting Logan wasn’t technically a total nobody being the heir to a wealthy family, if his life hadn’t taken a cruel serve to swerve towards the uncanny, he theoretically could’ve had a cozy life, if his father hadn’t been killed and he didn’t pop those claws.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 36 (click to see context) :
*** And mild-mannered alien symbiote.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Could HAVE, not could of.
Changed line(s) 5 (click to see context) from:
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and Characters/{{Mystique}} were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could of guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
to:
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and Characters/{{Mystique}} were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could of have guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
Changed line(s) 41 (click to see context) from:
** Spidey himself is a heroic example. Like the aforementioned Bruce Banner, few could of guessed that pathetic geek from Queens would take such a level in badass and be a hero that other heroes (even Captain America) praise and be inspired by nor that he’d be someone who willingly fights powerful aliens and gods when needed, which is quite a step up from getting pushed around by Flash Thompson.
to:
** Spidey himself is a heroic example. Like the aforementioned Bruce Banner, few could of have guessed that pathetic geek from Queens would take such a level in badass and be a hero that other heroes (even Captain America) praise and be inspired by nor that he’d be someone who willingly fights powerful aliens and gods when needed, which is quite a step up from getting pushed around by Flash Thompson.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 4 (click to see context) :
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is a more heroic example, he started his life a DelicateAndSickly little boy whose caretakers believed wouldn’t last long in the world. Yet that little weak crybaby became one of the biggest grizzled badasses in Marvel, he may of lost his sweet innocence nature but being [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[TheBerserker berserker]] certainly made up for it. Worth noting Logan wasn’t technically a total nobody being the heir to a wealthy family, if his life hadn’t taken a cruel serve to the uncanny, he theoretically could’ve had a cozy life, if his father hadn’t been killed and he didn’t pop those claws.
to:
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is a more heroic example, he started his life a DelicateAndSickly little boy whose caretakers believed wouldn’t last long in the world. Yet that little weak crybaby became one of the biggest grizzled badasses in Marvel, he may of lost his sweet innocence nature but being the [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[TheBerserker berserker]] certainly made up for it. Worth noting Logan wasn’t technically a total nobody being the heir to a wealthy family, if his life hadn’t taken a cruel serve to the uncanny, he theoretically could’ve had a cozy life, if his father hadn’t been killed and he didn’t pop those claws.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* Speaking of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. Characters/{{Magneto}}]].
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] and Characters/{{Mystique}} were even bigger nothings than Magneto who at least came from a middle-class family, Sabretooth was a Tom Sawyer-esque Canadian hick and Mystique was an abused runaway child. Few could of guessed they both grow up to be two of the most dangerous mutants in existence.
* Characters/ScarletWitch and ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} much like Doom were just poor Romani children drifting around with no place to call home. The fact they became such powerful individuals given their humble origins is incredible. Though averted later as it was retconned that they were predestined to be that way with their mother Natalya being the Scarlet Witch from a long line of Scarlet Witches.
* ComicBook/BlackWidow by most accounts was just a little orphan girl found as a baby, the fact she went from that to TheDreaded super spy assassin turned superhero who fights alongside gods is pretty amazing. Though it’s implied given her surname of Romanoff Natasha may come from Russian royalty and another comic has the Asgardain goddess Enchantress give Nat her blessing when she was a girl, so it’s equally possible Natasha was actually always meant to be someone very important.
* ComicBook/BlackWidow by most accounts was just a little orphan girl found as a baby, the fact she went from that to TheDreaded super spy assassin turned superhero who fights alongside gods is pretty amazing. Though it’s implied given her surname of Romanoff Natasha may come from Russian royalty and another comic has the Asgardain goddess Enchantress give Nat her blessing when she was a girl, so it’s equally possible Natasha was actually always meant to be someone very important.
Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': The Leader was originally a mentally handicapped janitor at a deserted army base.
* Speaking of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. ComicBook/{{Magneto}}]].
* Speaking of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. ComicBook/{{Magneto}}]].
to:
* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'':
** The Leader was originally a mentally handicapped janitor at a deserted army base.
* Speaking ** The Hulk himself is an example of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just this, though a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that more heroic and sympathetic one. Bruce Banner started his life a bullied and dogged weakling overlooked by everyone (save for a couple of people like his mother Rebecca, cousin Jennifer and Betty) even when becoming a accomplished scientist Bruce was still considered a pen pushing waste of space. After being bombarded with Gamma Rays and HulkingOut, very soon “Puny Banner” became the strongest being in the Death Camps multiverse who can throw down with gods and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max smash time itself. PlayedWith though, as according to the One Above All, Bruce was always meant to be a big green badass force of nature.
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} isno longer a more heroic example, he started his life a DelicateAndSickly little boy but a ''very'' angry man who not whose caretakers believed wouldn’t last long ago discovered in the world. Yet that little weak crybaby became one of the biggest grizzled badasses in Marvel, he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery may of lost his sweet innocence nature but being [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[TheBerserker berserker]] certainly made up for it. Worth noting Logan wasn’t technically a total nobody being the heir to a wealthy family, if his life hadn’t taken a cruel serve to the uncanny, he theoretically could’ve had a cozy life, if his father hadn’t been killed and he didn’t pop those claws.
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] is another more heroic example of this, he started off as just a pampered little boy bullied by his stepbrother and abused by his drunken stepfather. It’s incrediblepowers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along to think that boy would became one of the way; most powerful beings in existence and the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. ComicBook/{{Magneto}}]].figurehead of mutantkind or the leader of his own nation.
** His son David aka Legion is an even better example, going from abandoned mentally addled little boy to multiversal RealityWarper PersonOfMassDestruction in the span of a couple decades.
* Multiple of the ''ComicBook/XMen'' count as this, excluding certain members like Angel and Emma Frost who come from wealth and fame.
** ComicBook/JeanGrey: Suburban girl with Carrie problems to mutant messiah.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]]: Foster home kid to mutant Captain America.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsBeast Beast]]: Illinois bumpkin to ScienceHero.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]]: Unwanted child thrown away by Mystique to mutant saint who left Heaven to keep being a hero.
** Colossus: Simple Russian farm boy to one of the strongest mutants alive.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]]: Shy Jewish girl to X-Men leader and The Red Queen of the Hellfire club.
** ComicBook/{{Rogue}}: Mississippi hick tomboy to TheCape.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsGambit Gambit]]: DoorstepBaby to one of the most baddass mutants ever (and would become ''the'' most powerful mutant if Mister Sinister didn’t limit his abilities through surgery).
** Subverted with [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], she was this originally being an orphan street urchin in Africa who became worshipped as a goddess in Kenya for her WeatherManipulation mutation. But similar to Scarlet Witch, later comics retcon that Ororo was predestined to be this way, being descended from an actual godhood on her mother’s side.
** The Leader was originally a mentally handicapped janitor at a deserted army base.
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]] is another more heroic example of this, he started off as just a pampered little boy bullied by his stepbrother and abused by his drunken stepfather. It’s incredible
** His son David aka Legion is an even better example, going from abandoned mentally addled little boy to multiversal RealityWarper PersonOfMassDestruction in the span of a couple decades.
* Multiple of the ''ComicBook/XMen'' count as this, excluding certain members like Angel and Emma Frost who come from wealth and fame.
** ComicBook/JeanGrey: Suburban girl with Carrie problems to mutant messiah.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]]: Foster home kid to mutant Captain America.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsBeast Beast]]: Illinois bumpkin to ScienceHero.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]]: Unwanted child thrown away by Mystique to mutant saint who left Heaven to keep being a hero.
** Colossus: Simple Russian farm boy to one of the strongest mutants alive.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]]: Shy Jewish girl to X-Men leader and The Red Queen of the Hellfire club.
** ComicBook/{{Rogue}}: Mississippi hick tomboy to TheCape.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsGambit Gambit]]: DoorstepBaby to one of the most baddass mutants ever (and would become ''the'' most powerful mutant if Mister Sinister didn’t limit his abilities through surgery).
** Subverted with [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], she was this originally being an orphan street urchin in Africa who became worshipped as a goddess in Kenya for her WeatherManipulation mutation. But similar to Scarlet Witch, later comics retcon that Ororo was predestined to be this way, being descended from an actual godhood on her mother’s side.
Added DiffLines:
** Spidey himself is a heroic example. Like the aforementioned Bruce Banner, few could of guessed that pathetic geek from Queens would take such a level in badass and be a hero that other heroes (even Captain America) praise and be inspired by nor that he’d be someone who willingly fights powerful aliens and gods when needed, which is quite a step up from getting pushed around by Flash Thompson.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Updating Link
Changed line(s) 7 (click to see context) from:
* ''Comicbook/IncredibleHulk'': The Leader was originally a mentally handicapped janitor at a deserted army base.
to:
* ''Comicbook/IncredibleHulk'': ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': The Leader was originally a mentally handicapped janitor at a deserted army base.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 2 (click to see context) from:
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's ArchEnemy the ComicBook/RedSkull started his life as a poor starving orphan named Johann Schmidt. Growing up in post WWI Germany as a petty thief, he eventually landed a job as a bellhop in a classy hotel. One day, he was performing his duties as a bellhop when he happened to be in the same room as Hitler himself while the latter was berating an officer. After seeing Schmidt, Hitler exclaimed he could turn the bellhop into a better Nazi than the officer.
to:
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's ArchEnemy the ComicBook/RedSkull started his life as a poor starving orphan named Johann Schmidt. Growing up in post WWI Germany as a petty thief, he eventually landed a job as a bellhop in a classy hotel. One day, he was performing his duties as a bellhop when he happened to be in the same room as Hitler himself while the latter was berating an officer. After seeing Schmidt, Hitler exclaimed he could turn the bellhop into a better Nazi than the officer. [[GoneHorriblyRight He did]].
Deleted line(s) 4 (click to see context) :
[[GoneHorriblyRight He did]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 2 (click to see context) from:
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's ArchEnemy the ComicBook/RedSkull started his life as a poor starving orphan named Johann Schmidt. Growing up in post WWI Germany as a petty thief, he eventually landed a job as a bellhop in a classy hotel. One day, he was performing his duties as a bellhop when he happened to be in the same room as Hitler himself while the latter was berating an officer. After seeing Schmidt, Hitler exclaimed he could turn the bellhop into a better Nazi than the officer. [[GoneHorriblyRight He did]].
to:
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's ArchEnemy the ComicBook/RedSkull started his life as a poor starving orphan named Johann Schmidt. Growing up in post WWI Germany as a petty thief, he eventually landed a job as a bellhop in a classy hotel. One day, he was performing his duties as a bellhop when he happened to be in the same room as Hitler himself while the latter was berating an officer. After seeing Schmidt, Hitler exclaimed he could turn the bellhop into a better Nazi than the officer.
** Captain America himself would qualify as a heroic example. Born to poor Irish immigrants in the Lower East Side, Steve Rogers was but a humble, scrawny fine arts student when he volunteered for a SuperSoldier project that turned him into the ultimate weapon against the Axis Powers. Today, he is the most respected hero in the Marvel Universe and the bane of Nazis everywhere.
[[GoneHorriblyRight He did]].
** Captain America himself would qualify as a heroic example. Born to poor Irish immigrants in the Lower East Side, Steve Rogers was but a humble, scrawny fine arts student when he volunteered for a SuperSoldier project that turned him into the ultimate weapon against the Axis Powers. Today, he is the most respected hero in the Marvel Universe and the bane of Nazis everywhere.
[[GoneHorriblyRight He did]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
* Reed Richards from ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'' started out as a bullied teenager mocked for his intelligence, became a superhero, but after growing out of favor with the way the world is run, decided to take over the world, and now he's ComicBook/TheMaker.
to:
* Reed Richards from ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'' started out as a bullied teenager mocked for his intelligence, became a superhero, but after growing out of favor with the way the world is run, decided to take over the world, and now he's ComicBook/TheMaker.The Maker.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
!!Franchise/MarvelUniverse
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's ArchEnemy the ComicBook/RedSkull started his life as a poor starving orphan named Johann Schmidt. Growing up in post WWI Germany as a petty thief, he eventually landed a job as a bellhop in a classy hotel. One day, he was performing his duties as a bellhop when he happened to be in the same room as Hitler himself while the latter was berating an officer. After seeing Schmidt, Hitler exclaimed he could turn the bellhop into a better Nazi than the officer. [[GoneHorriblyRight He did]].
* In his first appearance in ''Captain Britain,'' Mad Jim Jaspers was a gimmicky HarmlessVillain who ended up effortlessly trounced by the Captain and completely forgotten about. A few issues later, he reappears and unleashes his [[RealityWarper reality-warping powers]], conquering first Earth and then the entire universe, bending it to his twisted will and reducing its inhabitants to utter insanity. [[DownerEnding And Captain Britain is powerless to stop him.]]
* Victor von Doom was the son of a Romani couple, though they were related to deposed former royalty. Things went awry when his mother sold her soul to the Devil and died when he was young, and he was raised by his father and a group of Roma. But the local barony demanded his father to use his intelligence to cure his dying wife's incurable disease. The fact his father wasn't able to save her, caused his father to go on the lam with Victor, and severe frostbite cost him his life. From that point onward, Victor von Doom used his intelligence to get a leg up in life, and when someone proved just as smart as he was ... he became ''ComicBook/DoctorDoom''. [[spoiler:Then he breaks the multiverse as Rabum Alal.]]
* One of the biggest examples from Marvel Comics is ComicBook/{{Galactus}}, the [[PlanetEater Devourer of Worlds]], who began his life as a simple mortal explorer trying to figure out what was going on as his universe ends around him... after merging with the cosmic egg, he is reborn in the [[EternalRecurrence new universe]] as one of the nigh-omnipotent embodiments of existence, feared throughout the entire universe by every civilization that knows he exists.
* ''Comicbook/IncredibleHulk'': The Leader was originally a mentally handicapped janitor at a deserted army base.
* Speaking of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. ComicBook/{{Magneto}}]].
* When [[HarmlessVillain the Spot]] returns in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #589, he has been driven insane after being trapped too long in his spotted dimension and starts killing mobsters for shooting his son. He uses his powers in surprisingly ruthless ways, [[http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6366/spotjpg100.jpg makes Spider-Man punch himself in the face]], and almost succeeds in killing a Russian mob boss. He only fails because Spidey [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talks him out of it]].
* Quite a few ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villains follow this.
** ComicBook/DoctorOctopus: "Timid Researcher"
** Mysterio: Special effects expert.
** Vulture: 70-year-old failed inventor.
** Electro: Electrician.
** Sandman: Small time thief.
** ComicBook/TheKingpin: Bullied, overweight child
** ComicBook/{{Venom}}: Mild-mannered reporter.
*** And mild-mannered alien symbiote.
** Shocker: ''Utter'' failure of a small-time crook.
** The Jackal: Biology professor who fancied Gwen Stacy.
** Green Goblin: There have been three villains with this name -- an [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn inventor and businessman]], a college student, and a psychiatrist. The third, however, did prove to be ineffectual.
** The first Hobgoblin, a villain modeled after the Green Goblin, was a fashion designer. For a while, he had a mild-mannered reporter brainwashed to pose as the Hobgoblin as well. This trope was averted with the second Hobgoblin, however, who was a previous mercenary and supervillain Jack O' Lantern.
* Gorr the God Butcher from ''Comicbook/TheMightyThor'' used to be a poor starving mortal. After acquiring All Black the Necrosword, he became a god-killing abomination who singlehandedly wiped out entire pantheons across the cosmos.
* Nobody AIM scientist plus hideous experimentation equals ComicBook/{{MODOK}}.
* Parker Robbins was a loser and small-time crook, until he stole a magic cloak and boots. As ComicBook/TheHood, he quickly rose in rank in the criminal world, until turning into the leader of a gang strong enough to butt heads with Franchise/TheAvengers and live to tell the tale, gaining himself a place in the [[ComicBook/DarkReign Cabal]].
** At one point other supervillains wonder why exactly they follow him and his cousin calls this trope - they all started as nobodies before becoming superpowered crooks, but they had normal lives, while Parker was the only one to start from the bottom and knew what to do to crawl his way to the top.
** Unfortunately, this ultimately got Robbins addicted to power for its own sake. When he lost the cloak and boots, he desperately scrambled for new super powers since he can't bear going back to being a nobody.
* In at least one alternate future, Victor Mancha of the ComicBook/{{Runaways}} is destined to become Victorious, a dreaded, mass-murdering super-villain who slaughters the Avengers. But in the present, he's pretty much the designated ButtMonkey of his team.
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization that controlled underground activities on the West Coast yet managed to stay undercover in the MarvelUniverse for years, were respected by such powerhouses of crime as the [[Comicbook/SpiderMan Kingpin]] or the [[Comicbook/XMen Hellfire Club]], and at one point gave [[Comicbook/NewAvengers the Marvel Illuminati]] -- a group composed of ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], Comicbook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner -- a run for their money.
* Reed Richards from ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'' started out as a bullied teenager mocked for his intelligence, became a superhero, but after growing out of favor with the way the world is run, decided to take over the world, and now he's ComicBook/TheMaker.
* ComicBook/{{Ultron}} started out as Hank Pym just tinkering around in his lab. Flashbacks revealed his original appearance looked about as threatening as [[WesternAnimation/WallE WALL-E]]. Then he rebuilt himself a skull face and glowing red eyes...
* Eli Bard from ''ComicBook/XForce'' went from a soldier to a respected Roman senator -- until his wife stabbed him in the back. After that he went from a destitute ex-senator to vampiric monstrosity who not only commits mass murder but manages to overpower some other genuinely badass individuals.
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's ArchEnemy the ComicBook/RedSkull started his life as a poor starving orphan named Johann Schmidt. Growing up in post WWI Germany as a petty thief, he eventually landed a job as a bellhop in a classy hotel. One day, he was performing his duties as a bellhop when he happened to be in the same room as Hitler himself while the latter was berating an officer. After seeing Schmidt, Hitler exclaimed he could turn the bellhop into a better Nazi than the officer. [[GoneHorriblyRight He did]].
* In his first appearance in ''Captain Britain,'' Mad Jim Jaspers was a gimmicky HarmlessVillain who ended up effortlessly trounced by the Captain and completely forgotten about. A few issues later, he reappears and unleashes his [[RealityWarper reality-warping powers]], conquering first Earth and then the entire universe, bending it to his twisted will and reducing its inhabitants to utter insanity. [[DownerEnding And Captain Britain is powerless to stop him.]]
* Victor von Doom was the son of a Romani couple, though they were related to deposed former royalty. Things went awry when his mother sold her soul to the Devil and died when he was young, and he was raised by his father and a group of Roma. But the local barony demanded his father to use his intelligence to cure his dying wife's incurable disease. The fact his father wasn't able to save her, caused his father to go on the lam with Victor, and severe frostbite cost him his life. From that point onward, Victor von Doom used his intelligence to get a leg up in life, and when someone proved just as smart as he was ... he became ''ComicBook/DoctorDoom''. [[spoiler:Then he breaks the multiverse as Rabum Alal.]]
* One of the biggest examples from Marvel Comics is ComicBook/{{Galactus}}, the [[PlanetEater Devourer of Worlds]], who began his life as a simple mortal explorer trying to figure out what was going on as his universe ends around him... after merging with the cosmic egg, he is reborn in the [[EternalRecurrence new universe]] as one of the nigh-omnipotent embodiments of existence, feared throughout the entire universe by every civilization that knows he exists.
* ''Comicbook/IncredibleHulk'': The Leader was originally a mentally handicapped janitor at a deserted army base.
* Speaking of Nazis, Max Eisenhardt was just a poor boy who had the terrible luck of being born into a Jewish family in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. After a truly tragic StartOfDarkness that started in the Death Camps and ended in an America entrenched in [[FantasticRacism racism]], Max is no longer a boy but a ''very'' angry man who not long ago discovered he possesses [[SuperpowerLottery incredible powers]]. He's also assumed a few aliases along the way; the latest one? [[spoiler:Erik Magnus Lensherr, a.k.a. ComicBook/{{Magneto}}]].
* When [[HarmlessVillain the Spot]] returns in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #589, he has been driven insane after being trapped too long in his spotted dimension and starts killing mobsters for shooting his son. He uses his powers in surprisingly ruthless ways, [[http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6366/spotjpg100.jpg makes Spider-Man punch himself in the face]], and almost succeeds in killing a Russian mob boss. He only fails because Spidey [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talks him out of it]].
* Quite a few ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villains follow this.
** ComicBook/DoctorOctopus: "Timid Researcher"
** Mysterio: Special effects expert.
** Vulture: 70-year-old failed inventor.
** Electro: Electrician.
** Sandman: Small time thief.
** ComicBook/TheKingpin: Bullied, overweight child
** ComicBook/{{Venom}}: Mild-mannered reporter.
*** And mild-mannered alien symbiote.
** Shocker: ''Utter'' failure of a small-time crook.
** The Jackal: Biology professor who fancied Gwen Stacy.
** Green Goblin: There have been three villains with this name -- an [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn inventor and businessman]], a college student, and a psychiatrist. The third, however, did prove to be ineffectual.
** The first Hobgoblin, a villain modeled after the Green Goblin, was a fashion designer. For a while, he had a mild-mannered reporter brainwashed to pose as the Hobgoblin as well. This trope was averted with the second Hobgoblin, however, who was a previous mercenary and supervillain Jack O' Lantern.
* Gorr the God Butcher from ''Comicbook/TheMightyThor'' used to be a poor starving mortal. After acquiring All Black the Necrosword, he became a god-killing abomination who singlehandedly wiped out entire pantheons across the cosmos.
* Nobody AIM scientist plus hideous experimentation equals ComicBook/{{MODOK}}.
* Parker Robbins was a loser and small-time crook, until he stole a magic cloak and boots. As ComicBook/TheHood, he quickly rose in rank in the criminal world, until turning into the leader of a gang strong enough to butt heads with Franchise/TheAvengers and live to tell the tale, gaining himself a place in the [[ComicBook/DarkReign Cabal]].
** At one point other supervillains wonder why exactly they follow him and his cousin calls this trope - they all started as nobodies before becoming superpowered crooks, but they had normal lives, while Parker was the only one to start from the bottom and knew what to do to crawl his way to the top.
** Unfortunately, this ultimately got Robbins addicted to power for its own sake. When he lost the cloak and boots, he desperately scrambled for new super powers since he can't bear going back to being a nobody.
* In at least one alternate future, Victor Mancha of the ComicBook/{{Runaways}} is destined to become Victorious, a dreaded, mass-murdering super-villain who slaughters the Avengers. But in the present, he's pretty much the designated ButtMonkey of his team.
** The Runaways' original enemies, The Pride, were all a bunch of nobodies and small-time crooks, until they were [[spoiler: summoned by a trio of monstrous descendants of fallen angels]] who offered them work. Since then they have been a criminal organization that controlled underground activities on the West Coast yet managed to stay undercover in the MarvelUniverse for years, were respected by such powerhouses of crime as the [[Comicbook/SpiderMan Kingpin]] or the [[Comicbook/XMen Hellfire Club]], and at one point gave [[Comicbook/NewAvengers the Marvel Illuminati]] -- a group composed of ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], Comicbook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]] and Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner -- a run for their money.
* Reed Richards from ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'' started out as a bullied teenager mocked for his intelligence, became a superhero, but after growing out of favor with the way the world is run, decided to take over the world, and now he's ComicBook/TheMaker.
* ComicBook/{{Ultron}} started out as Hank Pym just tinkering around in his lab. Flashbacks revealed his original appearance looked about as threatening as [[WesternAnimation/WallE WALL-E]]. Then he rebuilt himself a skull face and glowing red eyes...
* Eli Bard from ''ComicBook/XForce'' went from a soldier to a respected Roman senator -- until his wife stabbed him in the back. After that he went from a destitute ex-senator to vampiric monstrosity who not only commits mass murder but manages to overpower some other genuinely badass individuals.
