Creating a name and costumed identity shouldn’t be too difficult for a hero. Once they get a handle on their powers, they can just derive their name from what they can do. Peter Parker gets spider-powers and becomes Spider-Man. Tony Stark designs a suit of power armor and becomes Iron Man. When other elements come into play, things get complicated.
Age and rank can be included in superhero names, but those are subject to change. A superhero name can get passed from hero to hero, but that can lead to multiple heroes claiming that identity. If a hero’s power changes, they need a new identity to go along with it. As a result, some heroes just have too many aliases.
10/10 Bucky Barnes Can’t Escape His Nickname
James Buchanan Barnes’s nickname “Bucky” was the alias he used as Captain America’s sidekick. Bucky seemingly perished on an exploding plane, but the Russians recovered his body. They turned him into the Winter Soldier, their brainwashed assassin.
Soon after Bucky’s mind was restored, Steve Rogers was killed. Bucky took on the mantle of Captain America. When Steve returned, Bucky continued to be Captain America. He eventually returned to his Winter Soldier identity as a form of penance. Despite all the changes he’s gone through, he is still best known as Bucky.
9/10 Hank Pym Constantly Reinvents Himself
Hank Pym originally had the power to shrink and command ants, so he became the superhero Ant-Man. When he joined the Avengers, Hank needed to be stronger. He could use the Pym particles that once shrank him to grow, and he became Giant-Man. He later called himself Goliath.
Hank’s identity crisis caused him to be consumed by the Yellowjacket persona. He abandoned superheroing altogether and simply went by Dr. Hank Pym. When he became a hero again, he reused old aliases with new costumes. He was even the Wasp briefly.
8/10 Pepper Potts Isn’t A Fan Of Aliases In General
Pepper Potts has been an ally to Tony Stark for some time, but she never wanted to be on the front lines. She was more comfortable with a support role, and when she worked behind the scenes as part of the Fifty State Initiative, she called herself Hera.
Pepper found herself in increasingly dangerous situations, so Tony made her a suit of armor called “The Rescue Armor.” Pepper has more or less adopted the name “Rescue,” although she has also been called “Iron Woman” and even operated as “Iron Man.”
7/10 Kitty Pryde Creates A New Alias For Every New Stage In Her Life
When Kitty joined the X-Men, it took her a while to figure out her codename and costume. She tried out the names “Ariel” and “Sprite” in early adventures until she settled on the codename “Shadowcat.”
Kitty would work with and even lead versions of the X-Men teams, and while she was officially known as Shadowcat, many of her teammates would just call her Kitty. As she performed many roles, she was known by many names. She was known as Star-Lady to the Guardians, Professor K to her X-Men students, and Red Queen to the Hellfire Club.
6/10 It Took Carol Danvers Far Too Long To Become Captain Marvel
The original Captain Marvel was the Kree Mar-Vell. Carol Danvers was his ally and became Ms. Marvel when she discovered powers within her. She was Ms. Marvel until Rogue robbed her of her powers.
Carol encountered the Brood and was given a new set of cosmic powers. She became Binary and operated in space until she burned out her cosmic powers. She then went by Warbird until deciding to go back to being Ms. Marvel. Carol finally took over the Captain Marvel mantle after meeting a seemingly returned to life Mar-Vell.
5/10 Monica Rambeau Keeps Losing Aliases To Genis-Vell
Carol Danvers wasn’t the only one to struggle with the Captain Marvel legacy. After Mar-Vell died, there was no Captain Marvel. Monica Rambeau, whose powers enabled her to become different forms of light, decided to be the new Captain Marvel.
Mar-Vell’s son, Genis-Vell, decided that he wanted to be called Captain Marvel. After meeting him, Monica became Photon so that Genis could call himself Captain Marvel. She chose to operate as Photon until Genis wanted that name too. Monica next called herself Pulsar and then settled on the name Spectrum.
4/10 Every Version Of The Hulk Comes With Its Own Adjective
The Hulk only had one form that Bruce Banner transformed into. He began grey and then turned green, but aside from a change in color, there wasn’t much difference between these Hulk forms. Eventually, Hulk began developing different personalities, and those forms took on different names.
The Hulk has ranged from the rampaging Savage Hulk to the intelligent Professor Hulk to the warrior-like Worldbreaker Hulk and other versions of the Hulk in between. The Hulk’s aliases even have their own aliases, as the Grey Hulk was also called Joe Fixit.
3/10 Miles Morales Is Spider-Man Except When Peter Parker Is Around
Miles Morales originated in the Ultimate Universe. Peter Parker, the first Spider-Man, had been killed, so Miles became the new Spider-Man. The Ultimate Universe merged with the mainstream universe, which left two heroes called Spider-Man.
Behind the scenes, Miles can be called “Ultimate Spider-Man” or just “Miles” so as not to confuse him with Peter. Miles was given various aliases in other media. In the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, he is known as Kid Arachnid, the Spider-Man cartoon after that called him Spy-D, and Spidey and His Amazing Friends calls him Spin.
2/10 The Only Alias That Stuck With Jean Grey Was Her Actual Name
As one of the original X-Men, Jean Grey used the codename Marvel Girl until she retired. A new generation of X-Men emerged, and Jean aided them on a mission in space where she met the cosmic being The Phoenix. Phoenix then took Jean’s place for a time.
Jean’s daughter Rachel called herself Phoenix before Jean adopted “Phoenix” as her codename. Jean spent years in the future under the alias Redd Dayspring. Jean would always be associated with Phoenix, but given the name’s extensive history, Jean is commonly known as “Jean Grey.”
1/10 Franklin Richards Doesn’t Know Who He Wants To Be When He Grows Up
Reed Richards and Sue Richards had their DNA altered by cosmic rays, which made their son Franklin incredibly powerful. Franklin showed potential from a very young age, and his parents tried to protect him from his own power.
Franklin first created the identity Ego-Spawn as a manifestation of his subconscious. He would adventure with Power Pack as Tattletale, and an aged-up Franklin called himself Psi-Lord. Franklin has also toyed with the idea of calling himself Hyperstorm and taken on the name Powerhouse. Only time will tell if any name sticks.
