Some superheroes fromMarvelandDC Comicsdon’t get the respect they deserve from readers.. Whether it’s because they have unconventional superhero names, gross origin stories, or just questionable moments, a certain sect of heroes remains in heavy rotation for being considered"the worst.“These same heroes tend to be the ones who often get unfairly shafted by fans.

However, in most cases,these heroes are pulled into these"worst"conversations because of surface-level things like a name. For example, someone witha silly name like Kite-Manused to be pegged into such"worst"conversations because his title made people think he was a joke. Then, readers learned that his origin story was much more tragic than fans realized. The same can be said for multiple heroes under the DC and Marvel rosters. Some of the best heroes are misjudged.

10Bouncing Boy

Secret Identity: Charles Foster"Chuck"Taine

On paper, someone having the power to inflate themselves to the shape of a round ball isn’t very exciting. However,one useless power makes him all-powerful. Not only does his invulnerability and size grow exponentially in Bouncing Boy’s bouncing shape, buthe’s confirmed to be a level-eight metahuman during Brian Michael Bendis' run ofLegion of Super-Heroes.

For Marvel readers,that is almost the equivalent to being an Omega-level mutant, so best believe Bouncing Boy is far more powerful than meets the eye, perhaps even stronger than the comics have detailed. DC readers are still waiting to see his strongest feat.

9Matter-Eater Lad

Secret Identity: Tenzil Kem

Matter-Eater Lad is another Legionnaire with powers that may sound silly on paper. As an alien from the planet Bismoll, all food imaginable is inedible to him and his people, and so they survive by turning matter into their form of nourishment.Readers have seen him eat all solids, liquids, and gases possible, even eating through chains.

This new evaluation of his powers basically repositioned Matter-Eater Lad as some sort of cannibal.

It’s a goofy sight, until hispowers are turned into nightmare-fuelto combat a villain who transforms an entire space station into zombies. To stop the infection from spreading, Kem must devour every living corpse in sight within seconds. This new evaluation of his powers basically repositioned Matter-Eater Lad as some sort of cannibal.His powers have always been resourceful, but now, Matter-Eater Lad’s abilities can be just as horrifying.

8Big Bertha

Secret Identity: Ashley"Bertha"Crawford

There’s no doubt that Big Bertha is a satirical character, but there’s more to her than just satire. At the end of the day, she’s still superstrong, super-durable, and surprisingly super-smart when it comes to strategic crime-fighting. Honestly, she’s super in almost every possible regard, putting emphasis on the"super"of superheroism.

Ashley Crawford has legally had her name changed to Bertha Crawford.

It’s easy to make fun of her ability to increase her body fat at will, but in-universe, she’s considered essential for any super-team. She’s often assigned to the Great Lakes Avengers, the more comedic version of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, which hasn’t helped her reputation. Still, Big Bertha’s effectiveness in combat is a key reason theGreat Lakes Avengers are often seen as underrated.

7Squirrel Girl

Secret Identity: Doreen Green

Squirrel Girl has been underestimated since her first appearance. When the 14-year-old would-be heroine approached Iron Man about wanting to become his sidekick,Tony Stark might as well have laughed in her face the way that he dismissed her.Then, he admitted to being pleasantly proven wrong when she handedDoctor Doom one of his most shocking losses.

Squirrel Girl debuts in"The Coming of … Squirrel Girl"by Steve Ditko and Will Murray inMarvel Super-Heroes#8.

Squirrel Girl continues to prove heroes and villains wrong to this day. While her name and her own allegiances to the Great Lakes Avengers make readers and characters doubt her ability, they can’t doubt the results she brings to the table. In-universe,Squirrel Girl has earned the nickname Unbeatableby handing unexpected losses to the likes of Thanos. She’s also reasoned with Galactus to leave the planet Earth alone and even defeated Wolverine in combat.

6Jack of Hearts

Secret Identity: Jack Hart

With a name and secret identity that’s far too on the nose and a costume that is just the biggest eyesore, it’s hard for fans to fall in love with Jack of Hearts. That being said,there’s far more to Jack than meets the eye, namely when it comes to his power.

His ugly suit serves a purpose in containing his grandiose powers, which are explosive enough to force him into a containment room for 14 hours a day to avoid self-destruction, decimate Scott Lang’s Ant-Man, and shake She-Hulk to her core.There’s a reason why Jack of Hearts was once a member of the mainline Avengers team.His power is undeniable.

5Mister Immortal

Secret Identity: Craig Hollis

It’s surprising to think that Mister Immortal has pretty exclusively been attached to the Great Lakes Avengers for his entire Marvel career.On paper, his power is actually incredibly impressive and just as tragic.

Mister Immortal, true to his name, can never die, neither by his own hand nor anyone else’s. He appears to havefinally joined the official Avengers, but as long as the Great Lakes Avengers are seen as a joke by the public, their leader will be too. Still, that does not make his powers any less useful or his status as a tragic hero any less clear.

4Maggott

Secret Identity: Japheth

For several years, Maggott was considered to be nothing more than an obscure mutant with a bizarre mutation. Japheth’s powers manifest through two slugs who can eat through any and everything one could think of.He gets a power boost whenever the slugs reenter his system.

Now, he’s achieved far greater power than ever imaginable after Storm uses her abilities totransform Japheth into her Omega Maggott. In the past, within theX-Menfranchise, Maggott has been forgotten at best and considered laughable at worst, but after beingre-established as an Omega-level mutant, his greatness cannot be denied any longer.

3Lifeguard

Secret Identity: Heather Cameron

For some reason, X-Men fans truly could not stand the sight of Lifeguard upon her introduction. Crafted during the tail-end of the Chris Claremont era,Lifeguard has the ability to acquire whatever ability or means she needs to save lives.

Given how useful a power like that is,Lifeguard is actually underrated, yet hated for the fact that her powers are so vague on paper.It makes for a character that’s hard to write(hence why she’s only sporadically appeared over the years) and even harder to understand from a reader’s perspective. Hopefully, one day, Lifeguard starts connecting with fans.

23-D Man

Secret Identity: Delroy Garrett

Even though 3-D Man has a silly design and name, the Olympic athlete has proven himself on more than one occasion, most recently byhelping the heroes take down the anti-mutant hate groupknown as Orchis as an undercover agent.

The outing earned Black Panther’s respectand exposed him as one ofthe Avengers' most underrated heroes. That doesn’t even take into account his actual powers, which include super strength and seeing through a Skrull’s disguise.

1Whizzer

Secret Identity: Robert Frank

His name is meant to reflect just how fast his super-speed ability is, to the point that he whizzes past everyone in sight. However, with a bright yellow costume, the name Whizzer implies something else entirely.Needless to say, he’s a little hard to take seriously. Even stranger, he has anorigin story that involves mongoose blood.

There’s no denying his weirdness, but Whizzer’s actual powers are unquestionably rad. He’s a fixture of the Golden Age for a reason, and it’s because his powers were always cool to see drawn in motion. Even without his powers, he’s taught himself hand-to-hand combat, earning himself an Avengers membership. Out of all theMarvelandDC Comicsheroes cursed with the"worst"moniker, Whizzer ranks as one of the more exciting options.