Some of the most interesting comic book stories feature conspiracy theories and secret societies. Comic book stories are more gripping when the hero realizes that they are in over their head. The threat that they face is much bigger than they thought; victory is not certain, and the path to it is unclear. Secret societies, conspiracy theories, and stories drenched in paranoia can take the enjoyment of typical superhero comics to another level.
For example, Batman still battles the Court of Owls, a secret society that existed before he was born. The super soldier serum that created Isaiah Bradley, Deadpool, and Wolverine was made by a clandestine organization that people still don’t know about.
Those are examples of canonical conspiracy theories. Some comic book stories, like Kraven’s Last Hunt, Emily Twilight, and The Clone Saga, are so polarizing and controversial, online fans make their own conspiracy theories to make sense of them
Here are nine of the strangest online conspiracy theories, canonical and non-canonical, and secret societies in comics.
1. Did Spider-Man Die During Kraven’s Last Hunt?
Kraven’s Last Hunt is an iconic 1987 storyline where Kraven the Hunter beats Spider-Man and replaces him. In the story, Kraven beats Spider-Man, shoots him with a strong tranquilizer, and buries him alive in a grave. Spider-Man remained dazed and immobile, buried alive, with a powerful tranquilizer coursing through his body for 14 days.
Kraven put on the black Spider-Man suit and took Peter’s place as a lethal vigilante for two weeks. Spider-Man slowly crawls out of his own grave, finds Kraven, and confronts him. Kraven won’t fight him and believes he already won. Kraven later takes his own life.
Some conspiracy theorists on Reddit and social media wonder if Spider-Man truly died in his grave in 1987. His superhero career to date could just be the hallucinations of his mind as he slowly smothered to death in his grave.
2. Batman is a God
In a recent Batman storyline, “Failsafe,” from Batman #130, Batman from Earth orbit, unprotected. In his Batman suit he fell through the atmosphere and slammed into the ground with no damage. It’s an impossible feat for someone with no superpowers. Some internet conspiracy theories posit that Batman is actually a God-like being with the power to make people believe he is human.
In 2015, during the Darkseid War storyline, Batman sat in a cosmic device known as the Mobius Chair. It is a device that can answer any question; however, a human who sits in the chair can be overwhelmed and go insane or die. Batman sat in the chair and almost became a God-like being.
However, Batman has performed so many impossible feats in the last few decades that the idea he might be a God is not too crazy.
3. The First Super Soldiers After Steve Rogers Were Black
Truth: Red, White & Black is one of the darkest canonical and true conspiracy theories in Marvel Comics. This 2003 comic takes real-life inspiration from the Tuskegee Experiments. After Steve Rogers became Captain America, the United Staes tried desperately to remake the super soldier serum. Over 300 black men are forced to become guinea pigs. 299 men die from mutations and death and only one survives, Isiah Bradley.
Most people don’t know about the experiments or Isiah Bradley. So, while it is a canonical event in the comics and MCU, it is treated like most conspiracy theories, with skepticism, to those who learn of it.
4. The Weapon Plus Program
The Weapons Plus Program in Marvel Comics is a clandestine government program for experimenting on humans. Scientists experiment on human subjects to give them superpowers. The application could be the super soldier serum or create soldiers to fight unknown future threats. So, the aim of each Weapon Plus program would depend on who was running it.
The first Weapon Plus programs saw the creation of Steve Rogers and later Isaiah Bradley. Man-Thing, Luke Cage, Typhoid Mary, Fantomex, Stepford Cuckoos, and others got their powers directly or indirectly from the Weapons Plus program. Wolverine got adamantium bonded to his skeleton via the Weapon “X” program, which was really the tenth iteration of the Weapons Plus program.
Deadpool got his powers from Weapon Plus, too. However, Deadpool is technically not seen as a success in the program. His healing factor, which keeps his incurable cancer in constant check, horribly scarred his body. Also, Deadpool is in constant chronic pain because his healing factor constantly checks his cancer.
Some members of the Weapons Plus program are still unknown. Most in the canonical Marvel Comics Universe don’t know it exists. Or, they believe it to be one of those wild, unprovable conspiracy theories.
5. Hal Jordan Used His Power To Create His Own Redemption
This is another of the non-canonical fan conspiracy theories that you may find on Reddit. To explain it, I need to briefly explain the 1994 story “Emerald Twilight.” The villain Mongul destroys Jordan’s hometown, Coast City, killing everyone he knows. Jordan goes insane. He even uses his power ring to create constructs of his loved ones, an act forbidden by his overseers, the Guardians.
Jordan loses his mind, attacks the central battery, and takes all the power. The Guardians die after re-energizing the central battery again. He murders several Green Lanterns and takes their rings like trophies. Jordan ceases to be a Green Lantern and becomes the villain Parallax. Jordan is defeated by various DC heroes. He later becomes the Spectre.
Jordan did not come back until 2004. DC said an alien parasite made Jordan evil, so he was not responsible for his actions. While fans were happy to have Jordan back, Jordan basically became a genocidal monster, and the explanation was too neat. Some conspiracy theorists believe that Jordan may have used his power to create his own redemption story in his own reality.
6. The Spider-Man Clone Saga
Conspiracy Theories seem ridiculous until you consider the Spider-Man Clone Saga debacle. It is one of the most divisive comic book stories ever. In the Amazing Spider-Man #149 from 1975, the villain, the Jackal, creates a clone of Spider-Man. A bomb kills the Jackal and the clone. Fast-forward to 1994. We learn that the clone, now operating under the name Ben Reilly, survived the bombing.
Readers learn that Ben Reilly was really Spider-Man all along, and Peter Parker was actually the clone. Marvel had plans to retire Peter and Mary Jane and have Ben Reilly take over as the real Spider-Man. Due to intense fan backlash, the decision was reversed. Ben Reilly still operates as Scarlet Spider. Conspiracy theories still linger about who the real Spider-Man is.
7. The Three Jokers
In 2015’s Darkseid War, Batman sat in the Mobius Chair and asked one question. He wanted to know the true name of the Joker. Unfortunately, the Mobius Chair told him that there were three Jokers. “The Criminal” is the Golden Age Joker. “The Clown” is the campy Silver Age Joker. Meanwhile, “The Comedian” is the Bronze and Modern Age Joker, a cynical, spiteful, and evil Joker who hates the world for making him as he is. The Black Label 2020 comic, Three Jokers, heavily implies that the Comedian is the true Joker and he cloned the others.
Fans never learn if this is true. Moreover, the writer, Geoff Johns, and artist, Jason Fabok, leave it up to fan interpretation if Three Jokers is canon. While it probably is not canon, many online conspiracy theories debate the issue.
8. Department of Truth
This is a brilliant 2020 ongoing comic book series about the power of conspiracy theories. Cole has been recruited into the Department of Truth, a shadowy government agency that must keep conspiracy theories secret or under control. In this reality, the more people believe a conspiracy theory, like a fake moon landing, Bigfoot, UFOs, Flat Earth, and so on, the more that cumulative belief makes the conspiracy theory real.
Then, reality and the past are rewritten to accommodate the now-real conspiracy theory. There are secret societies and enemy governments trying to weaponize conspiracies for their own ends as well. Also, the head of the Department of Truth is Lee Harvey Oswald.
The Department of Truth Volume 1: The End Of The World is a 144-page paperback. It collects the first five issues of the series. Get it now on Amazon for $9.18.
9. Court of Owls
The Court of Owls is a secret society, almost like the Illuminati in Marvel, but for Gotham City. They are a secret society that no one knows about, not even Batman. The Owls have been represented by the most powerful families in Gotham for centuries. Poverty and crime might be rampant in Gotham because of machinations and plots by the Owls.
There are conspiracy theories that the Court of Owls may have even manipulated the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents. The Owls completely control Gotham and even have immortal assassins known as Talons. Batman still struggles to eradicate them, a secret society that has been controlling Gotham since its founding.
The Power of Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories, secret societies, and powerful individuals in the shadows have always been an integral part of comic book storytelling. Events like Secret Invasion, the iconic Justice League story “Tower of Babel,” and more prove that having heroes and villains is not enough. Worldbuilding, conspiracies, and a sense that your favorite heroes have to fight against threats unknown and bigger than them always make their stories more compelling.
This post includes affiliate links. If you purchase anything through these affiliated links, the author/website may earn a commission.
You May Also Like…
- 7 Comic Book Antiheroes Who Are More Interesting Than the Main Heroes
- Powerful and Penniless: The 8 Brokest Comic Book Characters
- 10 Superhero Replicas, Memorabilia, and Masks for Hardcore Comic Book Fans
- 9 Superhero Omnibus Collections for New and Casual Readers
- 10 Marvel Movie Posters Every True Fan Should Frame Immediately
The post The 9 Strangest Comic Book Secret Societies and Conspiracy Theories appeared first on Personal Finance Advice.
