Comedian Richard Pryor once said, “We all carry around our own monsters.” Fans of horror, like myself, enjoy horror for many reasons. We get a thrill from experiencing creative, visual, and narrative horror in controlled settings. Still, the best horror films and stories are also tragedies. They contain narratives that achingly depict events that might have been different if certain characters had made different decisions. There are also a lot of tragic comic book characters with horror themes and origin stories.
The Hulk, Spawn, Hellboy, and many others are tragic comic book characters when you think about it. Their powers, origins, and backstories could easily be the plot of a horror film. Here are nine such characters.
1. Hulk
You may not know that Hulk ranks amongst the most tragic comic book characters. The character finds inspiration in 1886’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Hulk is also a psychological horror and body horror character when you think about it. For example, the Hulk is an allegory about how anger can destroy everything.
Imagine trying never to get angry again, or else an uncontrollable monster will appear. Bruce Banner must feel incredible physical pain as his body mass and bones increase during transformation. The slow dawning comprehension of the destruction he causes as Hulk when he reverts to human form must be psychological torture, too.
Considering buying Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus Vol. 1, a 1008-page hardcover. David made changes to Banner’s origin by making his father physically and psychologically abusive. Banner has mentally been caging a monster since childhood which was released by the Hulk.
Buy it for $39.99 on Kindle now. You can also buy a hardcover version for $240 at Amazon.
2. Spawn
Al Simmons, also known as Spawn, is another popular body horror character. Simmons was a mercenary who experienced betrayal at the hands of a colleague. Finding himself in hell, Simmons makes a deal with the Devil to return to his wife and child. Simmons returns horribly burned, with Hellspawn powers, and it is five years later. He moves on and becomes a vigilante.
Spawn Compendium Color Edition Volume 1 is a 1,136-page paperback that collects the first 50 issues of the long-running Spawn comic. Buy it now from Amazon for $39.79.
3. Deadman
Boston Brand, also known as Deadman, is a minor DC Comics character with a tragic backstory. He is an occult character; Brand is an acrobat and stuntman killed by an unknown executioner. Brand becomes a wandering spirit, like a sentient ghost with no body. He has the power to possess people in his quest to fight crime and solve his murder.
Justice League Dark the New 52 Omnibus is a 1,624-page hardcover. A team of occultists, including John Constantine, Zatanna, and Deadman, band together to fight the occult threats that the Justice League can’t. Buy this cult epic now for $104.98 at Amazon.
4. Hellstorm
Daimon Hellstrom and his sister, Satana, are the son and daughter of the Devil. Their human mother went insane and left them to the foster care system. While Satana embraces her dark side, Daimon becomes an occult investigator to help humanity. While the character’s family name is “Hellstrom,” the character goes by “Hellstorm.”
Hellstorm, the “Son of Satan,” made his debut in 1973 in Ghost Rider #1. The character was campy and was a product of the campy horror films of the 1970s. However, the character was remade into a darker and creepier horror character in 1993.
1993’s Hellstorm: Prince of Lies had modern and adult horror themes that were groundbreaking in 1993. It was very controversial and the series did not last long; many casual readers have never heard of this character.
Hellstorm by Warren Ellis Omnibus is a 424-page hardcover. It features the first American comic book work of a young Warren Ellis. Buy it for $82.55 at Amazon right now.
5. Dr. Doom
RDJ is portraying Dr. Doom after immortalizing Iron Man in the MCU. Everyone knows that. However, the best Dr. Doom stories are in the comic books. Doom’s face is horribly scarred during a test gone awry in the comics; Doom blames Reed Richards in the aftermath. In another version of Doom’s origin, he puts a red-hot iron mask on his face because he is too impatient to become the best version of himself.
His facial scarring destroys his aesthetic vanity and makes him the most dangerous man on the planet. And one of the most tragic comic book characters ever.
If you have never read a Dr. Doom story, start with Fantastic Four By Waid & Wieringo Omnibus, a 896-page hardcover. Doom becomes a horror film villain in this story. Doom errorizes the Fantastic Four with magic, something Mr. Fantastic doesn’t believe in, in the most disrespectful ways possible. Buy it now for $53.53.
6. Swamp Thing
The real poster child for tragic comic book characters in DC Comics is Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing made his debut in House of Secrets #92 in 1971. There are four Swamp Things in the comics, but the most famous one is Alec Holland. He was a scientist who dies in a swamp bog after creating a new chemical.
After being reborn as Swamp Thing he learns that he can never become human again; Alec Holland’s memories of consciousness transferred to the plant matter around him as he was dying in the swamp. Swamp Thing is a plant mass with the memories of a human but was never a human in plant form.
The Saga of the Swamp Thing is an omnibus that collects the entire 1980s run of the series including the early work of Alan Moore. Buy it for $58.60 at Amazon now.
7. Ghost Rider
There have been five or six Ghost Riders in the comic books, but Johnny Blaze is the most well-known and popular. The character made his debut in 1972 in Marvel Spotlight #5 during the motorcycle stunt daredevil craze of the era. Blaze makes a deal with the Devil to save a relative; however, every night his head blazes with hellfire and burns away his flesh, leaving a flaming skull.
Ghost Rider By Jason Aaron Omnibus is a 536-page hardcover collecting the run that reintroduces Johnny Blaze to a new generation of readers. Buy it for $39 at Amazon.
8. Hellboy
Most comic book film fans know Hellboy from his film adaptations. they see him as one of the most tragic comic book characters ever. Hellboy’s real name is Anung Un Rama. His mother was a human witch and his father a demon. After sending his mother’s soul to Hell, his demon father removed Hellboy’s hand when he was a baby and replaced it with a stone hand.
To fit in with humans, Hellboy shaves down his demon horns and works as an occult investigator. His very existence on Earth may cause its destruction through a dark prophecy no matter his good intentions.
The 1,600-page Hellboy Omnibus Boxed Set collects the best Hellboy stories. Get it now at Amazon for $54.64.
9. Blade
The Wesley Snipe Blade trilogy is part action and part horror. Blade, born Eric Brooks, is also one of the most tragic comic book character with a horror-film like origin story. His mother, a Black woman, was bitten by a white vampire, Deacon Frost, at the moment of his birth. As Eric’s mother is dying he is simultaneously being born as a human/vampire hybrid.
Blade is immune to vampire bites and can walk in sunlight. After learning about his origin, he dedicates his life to ridding the world of vampires. Also, while he is only half-vampire, he still has the urge to bite humans and suck blood. Blade must forever fight the urge to taste blood while also protecting humanity from vampires.
Blade Vol. 1: Mother Of Evil is a 128-page paperback that collects the first five issues of the 2023 Blade series. Buy it now for $15.30 at Amazon.
Tragic Comic Book Characters With Horror Themes
There are many other tragic comic book characters, like Spider-Man, Venom, or the Thing, characters who can’t control their bodies. However, those characters are always seen through the prism of superheroics. Some characters, like Deadman or Swamp Thing, are perfect for terror tropes in comics and are usually wrritten that way.
My point is there is a lot of sub-genres in comics books like fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and horror. So, never generalize comic books as one thing and try out several; you will never know what you’ll find when you do.
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