Comic-book fans: looking for instances of superheroes being (humanly) selfish

[Skald the Rhymer]

Part of the utterly unrealistic rules of DC & Marvel superheroes is that the job always has to come before the personal life. If Lois Lane is in London being chased by Jack the Ripper at the same time that Brainiac is about to kill everybody in Secaucus, New Jersey, her husband always thinks in agony, "I want to save my wife--but I CAN'T. I have a duty to the world!"

I'm looking for examples of super-heroes who do the opposite. I'm sure Spider-Man has, for instance; I recall at least one story in which he abandoned a battle in the middle of it, uncaring that it made him look like a coward and would let the villain get away, because May had had a heart attack.

Any other examples?

[Hunter Hawk]

Speaking of Spider-Man, what about the incident that led to Uncle Ben's death?

[Skald the Rhymer]

Originally Posted by Hunter Hawk

Speaking of Spider-Man, what about the incident that led to Uncle Ben's death?

I wouldn't count that. He wasn't a super-hero then; he was a guy who happened to have super-powers.

[Push You Down]

Does making a deal with the devil - literally - to erase your marriage from all existence in order to save your elderly aunt from a regular old bullet wound count? I'm not sure if it totally fits. He did it for Noble reasons.. but COME ON! THE DEVIL!

[DocCathode]

I've got an issue where Man Bat (then a super hero instead of a wild marauding beast) captures a criminal and demands the bounty. Does that count?

[foolsguinea]

Pfft. What's that Luke Cage/Dr. Doom story?

I think you'll find the Marvel heroes do this a lot. Kind of a motif.

[drastic_quench]

Robert Kirkman's The Irredeemable Ant-Man fits the OP to a T. He's out for himself, completely opportunistic and selfish, but a superhero overall.

[Hunter Hawk]

Another example would be pretty much every Grimjack story ever written.

[Lumpy]

Booster Gold was a low-level custodian in the future, until he got the idea to come back to the 20th century in a time machine and use future tech to let him operate as a "super-hero", primarily to be a glory hound. Along the way he did learn some lessons about unselfishness, but he still loved acclaim and publicity.

[cmkeller]

There was a time during "Secret Wars II" that Spider-Man grabbed a gold notepad from a building that the Beyonder had turned entirely into gold. The government, with some help from the Kingpin's resources, covered up the existence of the gold building, cut it up into manageable chunks, and buried the pieces at sea so the global markets wouldn't be affected by the sudden existence of all that gold.

I was not a regular Spider-Man reader, so I don't know if he ever turned it into cash and used it, or returned/destroyed it out of a sense of guilt.

There was also an incident in the first Secret Wars - the super-heroes had defeated the villains, and only Galactus seemed to pose a threat. Reed Richards theorized that it might be better for the universe if they let Galactus kill and eat them all, because Galactus was likely to then ask the Beyonder to get rid of his hunger. Later on, he changes his mind to fight Galactus, because Sue was pregnant, and ultimately, as a father, wanted to see his baby born more than anything.

[mbh]

When Sue was having complications in her pregnancy (something radiation-related), Reed pulled strings to get Doctor Octopus furloughed from prison in order to do a medical consultation.

[Skald the Rhymer]

Originally Posted by mbh

When Sue was having complications in her pregnancy (something radiation-related), Reed pulled strings to get Doctor Octopus furloughed from prison in order to do a medical consultation.

I'm not sure that counts. He'd have done the same thing if it was, oh, Jennifer Walters having the same problem. But that issue does win for the most depressing end to a mainstream comic ever, as the requisite battle with ole Doc Ock turns out to be utterly pointless, as Sue loses the baby.

[RealityChuck]

There was a Superman issue about the time he and Lois Lane had become engaged where he took her off to Paris or somewhere for a getaway and didn't listen for any cries of help from Metropolis. Naturally, all hell broke loose while he was away.

[Skald the Rhymer]

Originally Posted by RealityChuck

There was a Superman issue about the time he and Lois Lane had become engaged where he took her off to Paris or somewhere for a getaway and didn't listen for any cries of help from Metropolis. Naturally, all hell broke loose while he was away.

If I recall aright, you refer to one of the issues after Kal had come back from the dead and was a bit overwhelmed with the joy of life. He had to live with Jimmy for a while after this, and Lois was stunned to see that their shared apartment was actually messy.

[RealityChuck]

No, it was before that. He had just proposed to Lois.

[E-Sabbath]

I liked that era, if only because we learned Superman likes Metallica. Apparently his favorite album is, of course, ...And Justice For All.

I have to chime in with the first five or so years of the post-Crisis Flash comics. Wally did stuff that even Booster didn't.

[batsto]

What about Hank Pym? He faked an attack on the Avengers just so he could save the day and look like the hero.

And Guy Gardner--does he count as selfish, or just a big jerk?

[Der Trihs]

Originally Posted by batsto

What about Hank Pym? He faked an attack on the Avengers just so he could save the day and look like the hero.

That reminded me of El Hombre, a Zorro-esque hero from Astro City who tried to revitalize his hero career by paying a villain to build a giant robot he could defeat. He was also pissed off that his action figures sold the worst of all the hero group he was a part of.

[YogSosoth]

This isnt from an American comic book but Goku from Dragonball Z has always bugged me with his stupid Saiyan desire to fight. I think during the Android-Cell story arc, someone suggested they kill Cell in the present/past so he won't grow up to be a menace in the future/present. Then Goku says something completely dipshitty and threatens one of his friends to not do that, just because he wants to fight him in the future, completely ignoring the deaths and destruction a fully grown Cell would bring. All because he wants to fight him.

Numerous examples abound of Goku letter other fighters get stronger or power up to their full potential before taking them out, with absolutely no thought for the people and planets he puts in danger. All because he wants to fight them. Ass

[batsto]

does drug and / or alcohol abuse count as selfish? I was just thinking about what a jerk Devil Slayer came off as.

Sunspot losing his temper with Cannonball, and then storming off to the Fallen Angels limited series seemed pretty selfish, too.

And Ken Connell in Star Brand--I'm not sure if he's really a super hero; he used the power mainly for selfish things a few times, but he did try to be a superhero a bit as well (saving that hijacked boat from terrorists). I seem to remember him being a real jerk to Debbi though, and I'm sure Barb would have been pissed to know how much time he was spending with Deb.

[Push You Down]

Originally Posted by Skald the Rhymer

as Sue loses the baby.

...OR DID SHE! DUN DUN DUN!

Years later...a retcon was born.

[Sealemon2.0]

In the JLA arc Tower Of Babel, Batman abandoned the JLA in the middle of a series of attacks on individual members because someone had robbed his parent's gravesites...

he launched a one man investigation to find the culprit, not realizing until too late that Rhas Al Ghul had taken the bodies for the express purpose of getting Batman out of the picture while he took out the other Leaguers...with Batman's own plans for taking out the League members if they ever turned heel.