Non-Indicative Name/Comic Books

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Examples of Non-Indicative Names in Comic Books include:

  • Marvel Comics:
    • The original Human Torch was not a human, but an android that burned on contact with air (which is at least like a torch somewhat). The Universe-X Human Torches were more like torches, but still but they weren't human.
    • There's also a Human Robot in Agents of Atlas who, to all appearances, is merely a robot and in no way human. For his revived version, this is because the scientist who built him transferred his own life force into it, making it accurate but not readily apparent to an outsider.
  • Spider-Man fought a villain called "The Living Brain". It was a robotic computer.
  • Doctor Doom is not actually a doctor, but Fan Wank says he might have given himself an honorary one as ruler of Latveria. Doom himself almost never calls himself "Doctor" Doom, but simply "Doom" (ALLCAPS optional). Of course, his archenemy, Mr. Fantastic, has several doctorates...
  • Iron Man:
    • While the hero's titular prototype suit was originally iron, the material of other versions has varied depending on continuity. In most of the comics, the suits have had iron in some form in the outer shell, usually enhanced in some way with forcefields. In some continuities, it's explained that Tony was inspired by the Black Sabbath song, though ironically the lyrics describe a Fallen Hero, and the comics hero himself predated the song by seven years.
    • The explanation is used in the novelization of the Iron Man film, and carried over to the movies proper with Tony wearing a Black Sabbath shirt in Avengers movie.
    • In the Dutch translation, he is known as "Steelman". His suit probably isn't steel either, though.
  • Warlock is not a male witch, but a robot alien, and Adam Warlock (or Magus) isn't one either. The word 'warlock' comes from the Old English 'waerloga', "oathbreaker", and originally referred to any practitioner of magic (who had thus broken faith with the church). Since the former Warlock defied his father and his home planet's traditions when joining the New Mutants, the moniker "oathbreaker" fits him rather nicely.
    • The Marvel Comics character now known as Wiccan (who is one of Scarlet Witch's reincarnated twins) was presented with "Warlock" as a possible codename. He immediately retorts with the "oathbreaker" argument, concluding "it is not a nice word".
  • Maybe one day we'll find out what The Avengers are supposed to be avenging.
    • Lampshaded in the movie, where as Agent Coulson lays dying, he says that he's okay with it, as the team "would never work without something to..." Later on, Iron Man states that if they can't save the world, they will avenge it.
    • The animated series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes has Iron Man talk about "avenging the wrongs caused by all these villains".
  • The X-Men's resident card-obsessed Badass is named Gambit, even though "gambit" is actually a chess term. Perhaps young Remy LeBeau was a fan of the blackjack-themed game show Gambit?
    • It's made all the more ironic by the fact that the X-Men's Rogues Gallery actually does include a chess-themed group of supervillains known as the Hellfire Club. Gambit, who's rather infamous for his checkered past, has fallen in with a few supervillain teams at various points,[1] but has never been a member of said group.
  • DC Comics:
    • The Silver Sorceress, a character introduced in 1971 as a deliberate Captain Ersatz of Marvel's Scarlet Witch, wore a costume that of course... consisted entirely of gold, brown, and red shades. When she became part of the Justice League over a decade later, she did have silver hair at least, though it was completely covered by her elaborate headgear and a Retcon in any event—in her first appearance, she was depicted with brown hair.
    • Another Justice Leaguer from the "International" era, the Crimson Fox, wore a costume consisting of brown and black shades, and no crimson whatsoever.
  • Black Canary dresses (partly) in black, but she doesn't exactly sing like a canary so much as screech like a banshee. And the original Black Canary didn't even have that power.
  • In Watchmen, despite his name, The Comedian never actually says or does anything funny. He understands what a joke society is, and becomes a parody of it. Granted, he originally wore a jester costume and had a smiley, happy-go-lucky attitude... once.
  • In the Great Ten:
    • Immortal Man in Darkness couldn't be a less accurate name if it tried because the technology of the plane he flies drains his life as he pilots it; there have been about seven Immortal Men in Darkness since the team was founded. The name is a publicity thing.
    • Similarly, the Seven Deadly Brothers: "I am seven. I am deadly. But I am a brother to no one." This is because the Seven Deadly Brothers are actually one man, an only child at that, who splits into seven people with different personalities due to a curse.
  • One story arc of The Flash is called "The Dastardly Death of the Rogues". There's only one death, and it's not a Rogue.
  • Invincible is vincible.
  • Hellboy isn't exactly a boy these days - Word of God is "You can't call him 'Hellman'. It's a mayonnaise." The name might still be appropriate, as we do not know his actual lifespan. He could still be 'just a boy', from the demon point of view.
  • In summer of 1989, Marvel ran a Red Skies Crossover through its Annuals called Atlantis Attacks. The title was misleading, as the residents of Atlantis and its then-leader Attuma were only minor antagonists and flunkies of the real masterminds, the Lemurians and their leaders Llyra and Ghuar.
  1. ↑ The Marauders and the Horsemen of Apocalypse to be exact
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