Random Most Depressing Future Versions Of Superheroes (12 items)

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  (#1) 'Hulk: The End' Sees A Lonely Hulk As The Last Living Being On Earth

  Every story has an end - even the Incredible Hulk's. In this future wasteland, the majority of life on Earth has been wiped out in an atomic conflict. Bruce Banner is one of the few survivors, and he wanders around the wasteland struggling to accept that all the people he loves are gone. An alien robot helps him come to terms with the reality of his situation, warning him that he, too, will want to perish sooner or later.

  Eventually, Banner is attacked by a group of giant, radioactive cockroaches. He transforms into the Hulk, but is overwhelmed as the cockroaches eat him alive. He survives the ordeal thanks to his incredible healing, and Banner later watches the video of Hulk being eaten. He comes to the conclusion that he does want to end it all, but Hulk always prevents him from offing himself.

  Eventually, the human part of Banner succeeds in perishing, leaving only the Hulk. At first, the green behemoth is relieved to be rid of the puny Banner, but then he says, "Hulk... strongest one there is. Hulk is... only one there is. Only one... there... is. Hulk feels... cold."
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  (#2) Wolverine

  • X-Men: First Class, Superhero Movie, Hulk Vs, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Wolverine, X-Men, X-Men: The Last Stand, X2, Marvel Universe

  Wolverine is a fighter, but even the best fighter can get beaten down by time. In Old Man Logan, Wolverine exists in a future where most heroes are gone and villains rule the Earth. Logan himself has renounced his life as a hero and no longer calls himself Wolverine. When the story begins, he hasn't used his claws in decades and is living a quiet life with his family until they are slain by the Hulk. He's eventually brought back into action by Hawkeye, and we learn how he became so miserable in the first place.

  As it turns out, Logan played a critical yet horrifying part in the event that wiped out the heroes. While defending Xavier's academy, he was brainwashed into thinking his fellow mutants were actually enemy combatants. He mercilessly eradicated all his fellow X-Men before realizing his mistake. 
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  (#3) Silver Surfer

  • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Marvel Universe

  The Silver Surfer has often lived in a gray area, acting as a hero or villain depending on the story. The Surfer plays a very different role in the Old Man Quill series, however, as he is effectively turned into a battery.

  We learn that the Surfer has been captured by the Universal Church of Truth, who have pledged themselves to aiding the all-consuming Galactus. The Church proceeds to leech the Silver Surfer's cosmic energy and feed it to Galactus, which makes him extremely powerful. The Silver Surfer is trapped in his inert form, unable to do anything other than communicate mentally with Mantis. 
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  (#4) Star-Lord

  • Guardians of the Galaxy

  Peter Quill is best known as a wise-cracking, high-spirited space cowboy, but Old Man Quill is anything but plucky. In the future, most of the universe's heroes have been eliminated, but Quill is one of the few survivors. Though we do see him fighting alongside his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy in the beginning of the series, it is revealed that Quill is actually hallucinating, and all his fellow Guardians have perished.

  We learn that Drax was slain by Imperial Guards, while Mantis and Rocket were taken out by Gladiator. Groot was slain in an earlier mission, and many of the Guardians held Quill responsible. 
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  (#5) Tim Drake

  • DC Universe

  In the DC Animated Universe, Tim Drake has a pretty rough time as Robin. In Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, we see an older Drake who has severed all ties with his Robin alter ego. He also loathes Batman, largely because of an encounter with the Joker that left him mentally scarred.

  When Drake was still Batman's young partner, he was taken by the Joker and twisted into "Joker Junior" - a brainwashed minion of the Clown Prince of Crime. After freeing Drake and getting him physical and psychogical help, Batman believed his young ward had been rehabilitated. Unfortunately, the Joker secretly installed a microchip in Drake's brain that restructured Drake on a physical and mental level. 

  As the new Joker, Drake tries to slay the new Batman, Terry McGinnis. Eventually, McGinnis is able to save him, but the older man is deeply traumatized by the ordeal. It is suggested that he may never get over the side effects of Joker's plot, but he does congratulate the hero on his fine work as the new Batman. 
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  (#6) Punisher

  • Punisher: War Zone, The Punisher, Iron Man: Rise of Technovore, The Punisher, The Punisher: Dirty Laundry, Marvel Universe

  In the aftermath of WWIII, the Punisher is one of the few people to have survived the atomic devices that scorched the Earth, and continues to vanquish wrongdoers in this post-apocalyptic world. This eventually lands him behind bars, where he proceeds to slay a good majority of his fellow inmates.

  The Punisher eventually escapes and eliminates the people responsible for the apocalypse, but only after denying their pleas to allow them to fix the world. He decides to let the world end with them, as he has deemed humanity not worthy of living. Frank succumbs to fatal radiation exposure shortly afterwards.

  We last see the vigilante making his way to Central Park, where his family was taken from him decades earlier. He's consumed by fire before we see whether he makes it.
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  (#7) Flash

  • Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Daddy Day Care, DC Universe

  About 20 years in the future, the Flash is a very different person than we know today. After the demise of Wally West, Barry Allen becomes an unhinged slayer that starts offing villains in a misguided attempt to save Wally.

  Flash believes that slaying villains will allow him to gain the energy to travel back in time and prevent West's demise, but the plan backfires. While he succeeds in going back in time, his actions lead him into conflict with his past self. Future Flash ends up not only slaying his past self, but Wally West, as well. 
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  (#8) Juggernaut

  • X-Men: The Last Stand, Marvel Universe

  The Juggernaut isn't a friendly guy, but it's not like he wants everyone in the world to perish. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happens after he slays the X-Men and leaves the world vulnerable to a Sentinel attack. Years in the future, Juggernaut has successfully terminated every last Sentinel, but finds himself alone in the world. He eventually stumbles upon Magneto, who blames Juggernaut for the state of the world before he, too, meets his end. 

  Juggernaut then breaks into an underground facility where the last mutants are hiding out. He begins to apologize to the survivors, but Quicksilver interrupts him to point out that he's doomed them all. He reminds Juggernaut that the atmosphere has been poisoned by the Sentinels, and now they are all being exposed to toxic gases. As they all perish, Juggernaut realizes he has once again slain everyone alive and truly is the last person on Earth. 
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  (#9) Dick Grayson

  • Young Justice, The Batman, Batman & Robin, Batman, DC Universe

  In The Dark Knight Strikes Again, a new Joker has arisen after the demise of the original. This Joker targets superheroes without mercy. He manages to slay Martian Manhunter, the Guardian, and the Creeper before revealing himself to Batman as none other than Dick Grayson, his former Robin.

  Grayson was obsessed with Batman, but he succumbed to madness after the Dark Knight rejected him as his Robin. Now having genetically modified himself to be nearly indestructible, he engages in combat with Batman. He is ultimately slain when he is thrown into a pit of lava by Batman. 
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  (#10) Superman

  • Smallville, Superboy, Adventures of Superman, Justice League Unlimited, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Superman Returns, Superman, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, Superman: Brainiac Attacks, The Bulleteers, Hindsight Is 20/20, A Uniform Used to Mean Something..., Justice League: Doom, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2, The Lego Movie, Superman III, Superman: Doomsday, Volcano, Superman vs. The Elite, Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, Justice League: New Frontier, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Superman, Superman and the Mole Men, Hot Shots!, Batman vs. Superman, Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics, A Man Who Was Superman, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, Man of Steel, Superman II, Superman

  While there are quite a few timelines where Superman goes bad, this one stands out for how powerless the strongest man in the universe feels. In The Dark Knight Returns, Superman has been co-opted by the United States government and turned into a government agent.

  Superman performs covert operations against the Soviet Union, suppresses communist ideologies in developing nations, and assists in fighting against Soviet-allied countries. On government orders, he ends up going head to head against Batman. Weakened by a previous encounter with a nuke and a well-aimed Kryptonite arrow, he is brought to his knees by the geriatric Batman - only to be heartbroken when he believes Bruce has perished of a heart attack. 
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  (#11) Captain Marvel

  • Justice League, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection, Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, DC Universe

  Back when Shazam was known as Captain Marvel, he appeared in the Kingdom Come miniseries as a brainwashed and twisted version of himself. He is presented as one of the only real threats to Superman, as their strength levels are similar and Marvel's powers are magical in nature - a particular weakness of the Kryptonian's.

  In this timeline, Billy Batson grows up manipulated by Lex Luthor. Using brainwashing worms created by Marvel's nemesis, Dr. Sivana, Luthor convinces Batson that all superheroes are actually villains, including his Captain Marvel alter ego. Batson joins Luthor's crusade against superheroes, committing all sorts of atrocities due to his twisted new mindset. He is eventually brought back into the light by Superman as they duke it out, but he ends up sacrificing himself shortly afterward. 
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  (#12) Hulk

  • The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Ultimate Avengers 2, Hulk Vs, Ultimate Avengers, Planet Hulk, The Incredible Hulk, The Death of the Incredible Hulk, The Avengers, Hulk, The Incredible Hulk Returns, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Marvel Universe

  The Hulk is one of the most dangerous beings in the Marvel Universe, and that's when he's being a good guy. In the comic series Future Imperfect, set roughly a century in the future, Hulk is one of the few survivors of an atomic conflict that nearly wiped out humanity.

  The intense barrage of radiation makes the Hulk even more powerful and intelligent, but it also drives him mad. He takes on a new persona, Maestro, and sets about building and ruling his own empire, Dystopia. When a Hulk from the past is sent forward to battle Maestro, Maestro breaks his neck.

  Maestro keeps his past self alive for days, taunting him for his powerlessness. However, his younger self heals quicker than expected, and the two once again battle. Though weaker than his older, post-apocalyptic doppelganger, the younger Hulk is able to lure Maestro into a time machine and send him hurtling back to the moment they were first transformed into the Hulk. Maestro is atomized by the blast of gamma radiation.

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