5 Marvel Facts That Sound Fake But Are Totally True

In thousands of stories told across more than 70 years, Marvel has had all kinds of characters, storylines, and plot points play out in a myriad of different ways. However, some of the ideas that have seen print are hard to believe, even years after they first appeared in the pages of the comics.

Some of the zaniest Marvel facts that have become common knowledge among comic book fans include the Hulk turning green due to technological issues that made it difficult for the hero to be printed as gray, Captain America not being a founding member of the Avengers, and siblings Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver having an ... inappropriate relationship in the Ultimate Universe.

Over the decades, Marvel Comics has made story decisions that simply don't seem like they could be real. From a character gaining his powers via poop to the true parentage of the mutant Nightcrawler and the publisher sidelining a character due to legal threats from DC Comics only to have them later become a major member of the Avengers, there is no shortage of strange facts in the Marvel Universe. Here are five that stand out as sounding fake but are totally legit.

In "Foolkiller" #2 (by Max Bemis, Dalibor Talajic, Jose Marzan Jr., Miroslav Mrva, and VC's Travis Lanham), the titular hero tries to find balance in his bloody life as a vigilante and becomes a S.H.I.E.L.D. psychologist. He's stunned to learn one of his patients goes by the name of S***-King — and the moniker was chosen by the hero himself. Yes, Marvel has a character whose powers are connected to poop and smell.

S***-King explains he was once an ordinary man with a loving family, but an attack by Fin Fang Foom included the massive, dragon-like creature killing his son and wife by defecating on them. S***-King barely survived the encounter, and as a result of being bathed in the gargantuan poop, he gained stench powers, capable of making anyone near him pass out due to the horrendous smell he emits. Believing he has no reason to live anymore, S***-King asks Fool-Killer to kill him, a request the crimefighting therapist obliges.

While S***-King's origin story plays like a joke, it's easy to see that tragedy impacted and ruined his life. Not only did he have to live with the image of his family dying playing over in his head, but his powers were directly related to getting covered in the super-sized feces that caused his wife and child's demise. He lived in pain and anger, unable to find peace, while everyone saw his existence as a joke. His single appearance is one of Marvel's most bizarre and heartbreaking moments.

In "New Avengers" #9 (by Al Ewing, Marcus To, Dono Sanchez Almara, and VC's Joe Caramagna), Marvel reveals how one of its strangest heroes, American Kaiju, came to be.

When General Robert Maverick attempts to recreate the Super-Soldier Serum that gave Captain America his powers using several sciences, including gamma enhancement, Pym Particles, and Dr. Curtis Connor's Lizard formula, it turns Corporal Todd Ziller into a literal monster. As is evident by his real name, Ziller is clearly a parody of Godzilla. However, unlike his famous Kaiju counterpart, Ziller fights in the name of patriotism, screaming "U.S.A." during his attacks with an American flag tattooed on his forehead.

Ziller takes on the Red Hulk and proves his fighting prowess, but his career is short-lived. During the "King in Black" event, Ziller's Kaiju form helps take down Knull's army of symbiote dragons before being given a cure for his monstrous transformation. American Kaiju might be somewhat of a joke character, as highlighted by his name and overly-patriotic mindset. However, he's still a powerhouse who played a key role in fending off the God of Symbiotes and his army. In just a few appearances, Marvel's Godzilla parody proved to be a solid — albeit bizarre and temporary — addition to the Marvel Universe.

At first glance, Wonder Man doesn't appear to be a particularly controversial or unusual Marvel character. Debuting in "Avengers" #9 (by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Don Heck, Dick Ayres, Stan Goldberg, and Artie Simek), Simon Williams ran a weapons business in direct competition with Tony Stark. However, after being found guilty of embezzling money, he's recruited by the Masters of Evil to get revenge on Iron Man. Williams is given powers via Baron Zemo's ionic ray, granting him super-strength and other abilities. In his first appearance, he dies after going against Zemo, leading to more than a decade-long absence before returning. This gap between his first and second appearances is mostly due to his name.

In an interview with The Comic Journal, Stan Lee explained that DC Comics filed a suit against Marvel over the use of "Wonder" in the name, claiming it was too close to one of its flagship heroes, Wonder Woman. "You know, years ago we brought out Wonder Man, and [DC] sued us because they had Wonder Woman, and me, being a gentleman [Laughter], I said okay, I'll discontinue Wonder Man. And all of a sudden they've got Power Girl. Oh boy. How unfair. Yeah, I'll remember to check into that one. [Jokingly] Heads'll roll."

Despite Wonder Man being sidelined until his resurrection in "Avengers" #131 (by Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema, Joe Staton, Phil Rachelson, and Tom Orzechowski), the hero still ended up being a major player, joining the Avengers and starring in his own stories. Next up, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is set to portray Williams in Disney+'s "Wonder Man" series. In the end, despite Marvel being forced to hit the brakes on Wonder Man, he remains an important Avenger to this day.

While Marvel readers are used to seeing Thanos cause chaos on a universal scale, a funny comic once showed how the Mad Titan could make one man's life a living hell.

In "Thanos Annual" #1 (by Chris Hastings, Flaviano, Federico Blee, and VC's Clayton Cowles), Marvel reveals Thanos as a major menace to just one person's existence. In the story, the supervillain interferes with David's life, visiting him on his birthday from when he was a child up until he's an adult. From stealing the toddler's blankets to killing his father by smashing his car and sending mean texts that make David's girlfriend break up with him, burning down the grad school he was going to attend, getting David fired from his job, and flooding his apartment, Thanos wreaks havoc on the poor human year after year. Even after 40-plus years of torment, Thanos never stops his annual crusade of cruelty.

While the comic's canonical nature is up for dispute, the humorous short story shows how many problems Thanos could cause in an average person's life if he really wanted to be that petty. The Mad Titan's evil doesn't always need to be on a galactic level; no matter his target, Thanos is a bad person who enjoys making others miserable.

Despite Chris Claremont's original intention of making the shapeshifting Mystique the biological father of the mutant Nightcrawler, Marvel ultimately shifted course from the legendary X-Men writer's plans. As a result of former Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter passing on Claremont's storyline, Nightcrawler's father was eventually revealed to be the demon Azazel – until 2023, when Marvel finally decided to make Nightcrawler's intended origin a reality.

In "X-Men Blue: Origins" #1 (by Si Spurrier, Wilton Santos, Oren Junior, Marcus To, Ceci De La Cruz, and VC's Joe Caramagna), Mystique is revealed to have fathered Nightcrawler. She used her shapeshifting powers to transform into a male body to impregnate her partner, Destiny. Knowing that she has the reproductive capabilities of a male after transforming adds a new wrinkle to Mystique's abilities, showing that her shapeshifting goes deeper than outward appearances. Biologically, she was male when she and Destiny were conceiving their son. In order to keep this a secret, Mystique faked her own pregnancy to hide the truth from the public, explaining why she was seen as pregnant in past stories.

Mystique is both Nightcrawler's father and mother. While that fact might seem odd, it makes perfect sense when you know the history of Mystique, Destiny, and the X-Men, none of whom are strangers to groundbreaking origin stories and convoluted retcons.