the other Captain Marvel , whose super-power was the ability to make his own limbs fall off.
And he could only do it if he said the word “split”.
Well, he could make you El Elvis Verde!
Or, he could make everything yellow, beat the crap out of Green Lantern, steal his ring, and become super powered, until they send the Green Lantern that had the weakness for wood instead of Yellow after him
Yeah, but if you needed to deal with something in the sewers…watch out! He’s…SEWER URCHIN!
I think it’s Aquaman. Sure, he can talk to sea creatures, but they do most of the hard work. Big wimp!
Barbara Gordon, formerly the first Batgirl, now Oracle. Considering that she’s paraplegic and has only her guru-level hacking skills to work with, she’s still a major player. Oh, and she can still beat the crap out of anyone who comes within nunchaku range of her wheelchair. Few have ever done more with less.
Ummm… Has John Constantine ever actually used the powers he claims to have? I mean, I haven’t read all of Hellblazer or anything, but I’ve only ever seen him talk his way out of things…
Wizard: Constantine used them on at least one occasion in the Rick Veitch Swamp Thing. He conjures, in the presence of Abigail Arcane, a former enemy up from hell to get some information. I think this issue is in the late '70’s or the early '80’s. An earlier issue (I believe 51) of Swamp Thing implied he can teleport.
I was always quite fond of Fabian Stanckowicz – the Mechano-Marauder.
He was a pathetic loser with a knack for building clunky powered armor. He attacked the Avengers on two separate occasions in a misguided bid to become famous. On one of these, everyone simply ignored him until he became enraged and charged them, and then they kicked his silly ass all over the place. The second time, the Wasp stompled him flat inside thirty seconds.
He was hilarious. He may well have been one of the few supervillians that could have been handled by the likes of Air Wave and the Red Bee…
In his defense, he always kept a monkey nearby. When you need a monkey, who do you turn to? Linka? Wheeler? I don’t think so.
Not that he’s significantly less powered than some of the heroes mentioned here, but the Swordsman got his ass kicked so many times he might as well have been one of the weakest. Heck, give me a sword that shoots lightning and I could be a better hero than this schmoe.
I’ll second Angel from the X-Men, completely useless until he became Archangel, and now useless again. Why doesn’t Apocolypse or someone just get someone to shoot him in the head already?
Aquaman isn’t as useless now as he was in Superfriends - he’s pretty strong, quite durable (granted, in the first issue of his latest series, crabs are a serious threat to his life), and can take out white martians with his mental powers when writers feel like it.
How about the Golden Age Sandman? Sure, he’s one of my favorite characters, but this guy wasn’t even in good physical shape! And he hung out on a team with the wrath of God, one of the most powerful sorcerers on Earth, and the wielder of one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. Granted, he was still more useful than the Atom.
Aw, shucks. (blushes)
I was going to mention Mr. Furious. His power: “Boundless Rage”.
I would say 'Mazing Man or Forbush Man.
Weakest character in a mainstream comic mag? I’d have to go with Arm Fall Off Boy. That was it… he could make his arms fall off. Real name Floyd Belkin. He auditioned for LOSH membership and didn’t get in.
Character who has done the most with least? I’m tempted to go with Batman, who isn’t ‘super’ at all and would seem vulnerable to anyone with a gun (one bullet to the part of his face that isn’t masked… bye bye). But Reed Richards has a very high place in the Marvel pantheon given that all he can do is stretch.
The kid with heart on Captain Planet doesn’t count. The OP stipulated no TV shows. My nomination for doing the most with the least would have to be Oracle.
I was being won over by the votes for Oracle, but Wesley Dodds is exactly the kind of character I was envisioning. Kind of appropriate that one of the earliest modern heroes in DC chronology is perhaps the least powerful. (And longest-lived.)
Did his spiritual connection to Morpheus translate into any kind of superhuman abilities for him, or was he really just a clever, beefy guy in a gas mask?
Another point in his favor: sexy girlfriend.
(I loved Sandman Mystery Theater!)
Hawkman has the same limitations as Angel mentioned above. His power of flight would be of little use in a confined space. Weapons. He has a mace, I have a shotgun. Fight over. Strength: normal human. Still he has been around in various forms since 1940. So I nominate HAWKMAN as the hero who has done the most with least.
Madame Web was a minor supporting character for Spider-Man. She had impressive psychic abilities, but was otherwise blind, completely paralyzed, and dependent on her special chair for life-support.
Library paste
paper clips
boogers (when very young)
octopus
snake
plastic army guy
tack
artificial diamond
pop tarts
generic pop tarts
rubber bands
bugs
dirt
etc…
Hey! Look mom, I’m a super-hero! I’m Matter-Eater Lad!
I always loved his name;)
Brian (Tatterde)Malion
Oh, good lord. While we’re at it we may as well nominate every member of the Night Shift. I mean Digger just has a big shovel and Gypsy Moth has the power to telekenetically manipulate cloth. What a bunch of lameos.
For the record, I’m a big fan of Ambush Bug.
There’s also The Heckler.
Of course, depending on your definition, consider Snapper Carr. Snapping your fingers is the ultimate useless power. 