5 Dark Marvel Storylines Where the Heroes Lose

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Marvel comics aren’t afraid to let their heroes fail. Many storylines are genuinely dark, with heroes ultimately losing. Life is hard for these characters – they face incredibly powerful enemies and sometimes even turn on each other. Despite their efforts to protect others, things often go wrong, and sometimes a victory was never possible. While some defeats are surprising, others feel inevitable, showing that even heroes can’t always win.

Here are five grim Marvel stories where the good guys didn’t win—from a hero’s tragic death to the potential destruction of the entire universe.

5) Amazing Spider-Man #700

The ending of Amazing Spider-Man #700 truly surprised everyone. Spider-Man faced off against his arch-enemy, Doctor Octopus, but the story took an unexpected turn. Doctor Octopus was terminally ill with cancer and rapidly weakening. Many anticipated a somber conclusion where Doc Ock would die, and Spider-Man would feel remorse. However, that’s not what actually happened.

Doctor Octopus did die, but not before swapping minds with Spider-Man. He transferred his consciousness into Peter Parker’s body, while Peter’s went into Doc Ock, and Peter ultimately died while trapped in Doc Ock’s body. This surprising event launched one of Spider-Man’s most popular storylines of the 21st century, The Superior Spider-Man. Although Peter’s consciousness wasn’t completely gone, allowing him to eventually return, it was a huge shock to see him die while inhabiting Doc Ock’s body.

4) The Incursion

The recent crisis was a complete disaster for everyone involved – heroes, villains, and ordinary people alike. Different realities from across the multiverse crashed into each other, and when these worlds collided, both of them were destroyed. The Illuminati foresaw this happening and tried to prevent it, but their efforts repeatedly failed. Even as their world faced total annihilation, the heroes were still locked in conflict, with Captain America and Iron Man fighting until the very end.

Only two versions of Earth remained: Earth-616 and the world of the Ultimates. As Doctor Doom and Molecule Man built a new world called Battleworld – based on Doom’s own vision – a small group of heroes managed to escape on a life raft. Doom then declared himself Emperor. This story arc ultimately failed, and Marvel’s greatest heroes suffered a devastating loss, facing internal conflict and ultimately witnessing the destruction of everything in a final, catastrophic event.

3) The Dark Phoenix Saga

The Dark Phoenix Saga marked a first for Marvel Comics – the death of a major hero in battle. While it’s common now, this was incredibly shocking for a main character at the time. Jean Grey has died and been brought back to life more often than almost any other Marvel character, but her initial death was particularly impactful for readers.

Jean Grey had been taken over by a powerful, corrupting force called the Phoenix Force. Weakened by attacks from the Hellfire Club, she traveled into space and accidentally destroyed a planet, killing millions of its inhabitants. This led the Shi’ar Empire to bring her to Earth for a trial, where she was found guilty of mass murder and sentenced to death. A battle erupted between the X-Men and the Shi’ar Imperial Guard, but ultimately, Jean Grey sacrificed herself to save her teammates, bringing the entire story to a close.

2) Onslaught

The event called Onslaught was a devastating attack, but unlike other major crises where worlds collided, it involved a single, incredibly powerful villain defeating many of Marvel’s strongest heroes. This villain, Onslaught, was created from the combined psychic energies of Professor X and Magneto after Professor X unintentionally suppressed Magneto’s mind.

The Onslaught event forced all of Marvel’s heroes to unite against an incredibly powerful foe. The battle was devastating, and the Avengers and Fantastic Four were seemingly killed in action. Ultimately, it was the Hulk, after having his mind suppressed, who defeated Onslaught – but this also caused him to split into two separate beings. Later, it was revealed that Franklin Richards had secretly created a new reality to save the fallen heroes, though the story initially concluded with their deaths, making it appear Earth had lost its greatest champions.

1) Civil War

The Marvel Comics event, Civil War, was always destined for a sad outcome. It proved to be quite divisive, as heroes spent months battling each other instead of focusing on common enemies. The conflict pitted Iron Man, who championed government control and required everyone to comply with its authority, against Captain America, who fought to preserve the heroes’ freedom and independence.

During the Civil War storyline, Iron Man acted as the government’s representative, which meant anyone who disagreed with him was labeled a criminal – either arrested or forced to go into hiding. This was a dark period for Marvel’s heroes, culminating in Captain America’s surrender to prevent further violence, though it ultimately led to his death. In the end, there were no winners, and the entire conflict damaged the reputations of all involved.

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2025-11-22 19:45