While comic books haven't consistently been recognized for featuring various characters, amputee superheroes appear in abundance. However, it's unlikely that the trend of missing limbs in comic books is a result of inclusion; instead, it's almost probably a result of how vividly amputation appears on the page.
When a writer wants to give his superhero a dark and depressing moment, they may always select something that costs that character an arm and a leg. Because of the nature of comic books, unlike in the real world, any such injury can always be reversed if required - and high-tech robotic prostheses are easily accessible to anybody who wants one.
Barnes was brutally injured when defusing a booby-trapped jet aiming for America, and his left arm was entirely blasted off his body. He saw it all, only to be kidnapped by the Soviets.
They resurrected and fitted him with a new metal limb, but they also put him in suspended animation and brainwashed him into acting as their assassin for the Cold War.
Baby Nathan, born to Scott Summers and Madelyne Pryor, a clone of Jean Grey, is much sought after because of his genetic abilities, resulting in his abduction by Apocalypse. After failing to gain control of the youngster, the would-be mutant messiah infects Nathan with a techno-organic virus that gradually replaces all of his flesh with sophisticated equipment.
Cyclops has no choice but to send his son into the future to be nurtured at a time when his disease can be healed. Nathan returns as Cable, a seasoned fighter and powerful mutant, but he must expend much of his strength to keep the techno-organic virus under control.
The virus has changed vast areas of Cable's anatomy, including his entire left arm, by the time he reaches maturity.
Thor faces Malekith the Accursed during a moment when he believes he is unworthy and has been supplanted as the wielder of Mjolnir by Jane Foster, and it does not go well. Malekith obtains Thor's new weapon, the mighty ax Jarnbjorn, and removes the god of thunder's left arm in a single swoop at the bicep.
Thor is soon fitted with an Uru prosthesis, which he may be seen wearing thousands of years later, implying that he will never get his hands on the real piece.
Aquaman first replaces his magical water hand with a big and scary hook, but this only lasts until Aquaman Vol. 6 #1, when he acquires a new magical water hand from the Lady of the Lake. He maintains that one until he dies and is resurrected years later, at which point he reclaims his extremity.
This only lasts until Brightest Day #19, when Black Manta cuts off his hand once more. This time, Aquaman returns to the hook and stays there until his continuity, along with all of his body parts and the rest of the DC Universe, is entirely reset.
The character of John Walker, a renowned Captain America replacement now known as the USAgent, didn't become a familiar name until The Falcon and the Winter Soldier brought him into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he's a long-established veteran in the pages of Marvel Comics.
Walker changes and joins many superheroic teams, including the Mighty Avengers, after a long spell as one of Steve Rogers' main opponents. USAgent fights Norman Osborn's evil troops and their attempted Siege of Asgard as a member of that squad in Thunderbolts #142, which leads him straight into a confrontation with the super-soldier Nuke.
Nuke grabs Gungnir, Odin's fabled spear, and uses it to slash Walker's head off halfway through their fight.
Harper meets Prometheus, who is essentially an evil Batman while working with the Justice League. Prometheus rips Arsenal's right arm off at the bicep during the brawl, aiming to kill him, but he lives owing to the medical help of his fellow heroes.
To make matters worse, Prometheus detonates a bomb in Star City at the same time, killing Harper's little daughter, Lian. Nothing could ever replace the death of his child, and the character proceeds down a dark path for many years following this catastrophe.
Angel tries his hardest to protect the Morlocks, but he gets "crucified" and has his wings forcibly pinned to a wall due to his efforts.
Angel's life is only saved by Thor's intervention, and he desperately needs medical help. Unfortunately, Worthington's buddy, Cameron Hodge, proves himself to be an anti-mutant bigot by fabricating proof of a significant infection in Warren's wings, which leads to surgeons amputating them.
Angel is depressed after losing his most distinctive feature, which is also the root of his mutant identity. He eventually obtains enhanced wings and skills, but at a horrible cost: he becomes Death, the Apocalypse's Horseman!
When Flash returns from the war, he joins Spider-Man as a sidekick, but it's not long until he gets his opportunity to play the costumed crusader.
Thompson is enlisted by a government organization to test a drugged version of the extraterrestrial symbiote that Parker previously wore, and the result is Agent Venom, a new persona that grants Flash the use of his legs as well as the ability to continue fighting the good fight.
Grimes has been enormous and powerful up until that point in the novel, but the Governor soon humbles him by outnumbering and then overwhelming him in their first encounter. When Rick refuses to bow down to this self-proclaimed post-apocalyptic tyrant, the Governor raises the stakes by chomping off Rick's hand.
Rick is saved by prompt medical attention and is finally equipped with a smart prosthetic after the Governor's gory demise, but he will have to live out the remainder of the zombie apocalypse with a handicap, compounding his already risky lifestyle.
The long-time Arkham Asylum guard lost his left hand during a riot when he came a little too near to Killer Croc, although that incident isn't featured on page until Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #4.
As if that wasn't bad enough, it's later discovered that Croc and other convicts used Cash's severed hand to escape the asylum. Unlike most other injured characters, Cash has kept his hook hand even after DC Comics' whole continuity was reset.
Galactus' missing right arm turns revealed to be the consequence of cosmic frostbite, owing to a run-in with the Black Winter, an apocalyptic storm that threatens to wipe out the whole universe.
Galactus is so weak due to the flash-freeze that Thor can knock off a few fingers on his left hand a few issues later, further hurting the Devourer - albeit the two have now made up and resolved to take on the Black Winter together.
Charles Xavier is retroactively removed from the chronology of the Age of Apocalypse, placing the world on a much bleak course. Part of that gory past includes a fight between Logan and Scott Summers, the despotic Apocalypse's right-hand man, in which Cyclops loses an eye but blasts away Wolverine's left hand so horribly that it never grows back, as shown in Factor X #3.
Wolverine can at the very least snap his claws out of the stump, as he demonstrates spectacularly later in the issue. Then he becomes Apocalypse's heir and a tyrant in his own right, but that's another story.
The genesis tale of her missing arm was revealed long after she'd proven herself a true hero - for pay or not - and concerns a failed effort to disable a bomb planted in a bank. Knight protected citizens from harm, but he suffered injuries as a result.
Tony Stark, who heard Misty's story and was pleased by her bravery, developed her bionic prosthesis, initially displayed in Iron Fist #4 and then explained later. She's now embraced the prosthetic leg and accepted several enhancements, putting it to good use in her ongoing quest for justice.
Minoru's old Runaways comrade Chase Stein is taken over by the perverted Apex, who orders him to remove her arm and hurl her down a cliff in Avengers Arena #10. Nico succumbs to her injuries so quickly that she dies soon after, but not before casting one more spell with her Staff of One, resurrecting her with a brand-new limb.
Samantha Even though Eve Wilkins is known as Atom Eve and is the primary love interest of series protagonist Mark Grayson, she is not immune to danger. Robot, the couple's erstwhile buddy, slashes Eve's leg off during one particularly vicious attack.
Eve might regrow the limb under normal conditions since she can control matter; however, employing her skills in any substantial way could damage her pregnant child. Mark can bring Eve to safety in time, saving both her and their daughter's life, and Eve is subsequently equipped with a prosthetic limb.
When a writer wants to give his superhero a dark and depressing moment, they may always select something that costs that character an arm and a leg. Because of the nature of comic books, unlike in the real world, any such injury can always be reversed if required - and high-tech robotic prostheses are easily accessible to anybody who wants one.
1. The Winter Soldier
Source: Marvel Studio
Barnes was brutally injured when defusing a booby-trapped jet aiming for America, and his left arm was entirely blasted off his body. He saw it all, only to be kidnapped by the Soviets.
They resurrected and fitted him with a new metal limb, but they also put him in suspended animation and brainwashed him into acting as their assassin for the Cold War.
2. Cable
Source: Marvel Studio
Baby Nathan, born to Scott Summers and Madelyne Pryor, a clone of Jean Grey, is much sought after because of his genetic abilities, resulting in his abduction by Apocalypse. After failing to gain control of the youngster, the would-be mutant messiah infects Nathan with a techno-organic virus that gradually replaces all of his flesh with sophisticated equipment.
Cyclops has no choice but to send his son into the future to be nurtured at a time when his disease can be healed. Nathan returns as Cable, a seasoned fighter and powerful mutant, but he must expend much of his strength to keep the techno-organic virus under control.
The virus has changed vast areas of Cable's anatomy, including his entire left arm, by the time he reaches maturity.
3. Thor
Source: Marvel Studio
Thor faces Malekith the Accursed during a moment when he believes he is unworthy and has been supplanted as the wielder of Mjolnir by Jane Foster, and it does not go well. Malekith obtains Thor's new weapon, the mighty ax Jarnbjorn, and removes the god of thunder's left arm in a single swoop at the bicep.
Thor is soon fitted with an Uru prosthesis, which he may be seen wearing thousands of years later, implying that he will never get his hands on the real piece.
4. Aquaman
Source: DC
Aquaman first replaces his magical water hand with a big and scary hook, but this only lasts until Aquaman Vol. 6 #1, when he acquires a new magical water hand from the Lady of the Lake. He maintains that one until he dies and is resurrected years later, at which point he reclaims his extremity.
This only lasts until Brightest Day #19, when Black Manta cuts off his hand once more. This time, Aquaman returns to the hook and stays there until his continuity, along with all of his body parts and the rest of the DC Universe, is entirely reset.
5. USAgent
Source: Marvel Studio
The character of John Walker, a renowned Captain America replacement now known as the USAgent, didn't become a familiar name until The Falcon and the Winter Soldier brought him into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he's a long-established veteran in the pages of Marvel Comics.
Walker changes and joins many superheroic teams, including the Mighty Avengers, after a long spell as one of Steve Rogers' main opponents. USAgent fights Norman Osborn's evil troops and their attempted Siege of Asgard as a member of that squad in Thunderbolts #142, which leads him straight into a confrontation with the super-soldier Nuke.
Nuke grabs Gungnir, Odin's fabled spear, and uses it to slash Walker's head off halfway through their fight.
6. Arsenal
Source: Image Comic
Harper meets Prometheus, who is essentially an evil Batman while working with the Justice League. Prometheus rips Arsenal's right arm off at the bicep during the brawl, aiming to kill him, but he lives owing to the medical help of his fellow heroes.
To make matters worse, Prometheus detonates a bomb in Star City at the same time, killing Harper's little daughter, Lian. Nothing could ever replace the death of his child, and the character proceeds down a dark path for many years following this catastrophe.
7. Angel
Source: Marvel Studio
Angel tries his hardest to protect the Morlocks, but he gets "crucified" and has his wings forcibly pinned to a wall due to his efforts.
Angel's life is only saved by Thor's intervention, and he desperately needs medical help. Unfortunately, Worthington's buddy, Cameron Hodge, proves himself to be an anti-mutant bigot by fabricating proof of a significant infection in Warren's wings, which leads to surgeons amputating them.
Angel is depressed after losing his most distinctive feature, which is also the root of his mutant identity. He eventually obtains enhanced wings and skills, but at a horrible cost: he becomes Death, the Apocalypse's Horseman!
8. Agent Venom
Source: Marvel Studio
When Flash returns from the war, he joins Spider-Man as a sidekick, but it's not long until he gets his opportunity to play the costumed crusader.
Thompson is enlisted by a government organization to test a drugged version of the extraterrestrial symbiote that Parker previously wore, and the result is Agent Venom, a new persona that grants Flash the use of his legs as well as the ability to continue fighting the good fight.
9. Rick Grimes
Source: Image Comic
Grimes has been enormous and powerful up until that point in the novel, but the Governor soon humbles him by outnumbering and then overwhelming him in their first encounter. When Rick refuses to bow down to this self-proclaimed post-apocalyptic tyrant, the Governor raises the stakes by chomping off Rick's hand.
Rick is saved by prompt medical attention and is finally equipped with a smart prosthetic after the Governor's gory demise, but he will have to live out the remainder of the zombie apocalypse with a handicap, compounding his already risky lifestyle.
10. Aaron Cash
Source: DC
The long-time Arkham Asylum guard lost his left hand during a riot when he came a little too near to Killer Croc, although that incident isn't featured on page until Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #4.
As if that wasn't bad enough, it's later discovered that Croc and other convicts used Cash's severed hand to escape the asylum. Unlike most other injured characters, Cash has kept his hook hand even after DC Comics' whole continuity was reset.
11. Galactus
Source: Marvel Studio
Galactus' missing right arm turns revealed to be the consequence of cosmic frostbite, owing to a run-in with the Black Winter, an apocalyptic storm that threatens to wipe out the whole universe.
Galactus is so weak due to the flash-freeze that Thor can knock off a few fingers on his left hand a few issues later, further hurting the Devourer - albeit the two have now made up and resolved to take on the Black Winter together.
12. Wolverine ('Age of Apocalypse')
Source: Marvel Studio
Charles Xavier is retroactively removed from the chronology of the Age of Apocalypse, placing the world on a much bleak course. Part of that gory past includes a fight between Logan and Scott Summers, the despotic Apocalypse's right-hand man, in which Cyclops loses an eye but blasts away Wolverine's left hand so horribly that it never grows back, as shown in Factor X #3.
Wolverine can at the very least snap his claws out of the stump, as he demonstrates spectacularly later in the issue. Then he becomes Apocalypse's heir and a tyrant in his own right, but that's another story.
13. Misty Knight
Source: Marvel Studio
The genesis tale of her missing arm was revealed long after she'd proven herself a true hero - for pay or not - and concerns a failed effort to disable a bomb planted in a bank. Knight protected citizens from harm, but he suffered injuries as a result.
Tony Stark, who heard Misty's story and was pleased by her bravery, developed her bionic prosthesis, initially displayed in Iron Fist #4 and then explained later. She's now embraced the prosthetic leg and accepted several enhancements, putting it to good use in her ongoing quest for justice.
14. Nico Minoru
Source: Marvel Studio
Minoru's old Runaways comrade Chase Stein is taken over by the perverted Apex, who orders him to remove her arm and hurl her down a cliff in Avengers Arena #10. Nico succumbs to her injuries so quickly that she dies soon after, but not before casting one more spell with her Staff of One, resurrecting her with a brand-new limb.
15. Atom Eve
Source: Image Comic
Samantha Even though Eve Wilkins is known as Atom Eve and is the primary love interest of series protagonist Mark Grayson, she is not immune to danger. Robot, the couple's erstwhile buddy, slashes Eve's leg off during one particularly vicious attack.
Eve might regrow the limb under normal conditions since she can control matter; however, employing her skills in any substantial way could damage her pregnant child. Mark can bring Eve to safety in time, saving both her and their daughter's life, and Eve is subsequently equipped with a prosthetic limb.