Superheroes have something of a permanent identity crisis. They deal with at least two (and sometimes more) distinct personalities, one of whom regularly risks their lives and the other of lying to their loved ones about where the stain actually came from or why they are the new clown for the third time in a month. Themed restaurants had to cancel a date. Putting everything in the right box all the time can be stressful – and deadly, if they make noise.
In other words, the last thing a superhero does is some joker with a magical duhiki who transplants one person’s brain into another person’s body. But we are here.
Most of the time, a hero is transformed into the body of a supervillain who wants the body of the hero for bad intentions. It’s a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” situation, without the laser sight of the sheep and the pass code in the Avengers’ locker room. Rarely will one hero end up in another hero’s body, sometimes by accident and sometimes through design. These aren’t necessarily more fun than swaps with villains, but they’re usually less immediately dangerous.
So what does a brain-switched superhero have to do? Hopefully, this mini-list will give you some ideas!
Kick your own butt
1960s Flash The comics were so weird that they couldn’t even tell the story of the usual body swap. Inside Flash # 146, The Mirror Master invents a mirror that allows him to switch legs with a flash. That’s right, just legs. That’s all it takes to get past the fastest living people, right?
Yes and no. Flash tries to overcome his obstacle by running too fast with his hand, but the Mirror Master knocks him over and shuffles their legs to cover his tracks. Yet in a complex twist, our villain can’t resist the hypnosis of Flash (yes, he can too) and Flash can’t boast of his victory while unable to move or remember anything. This gives Flash the opening that he must defeat the Mirror Master before switching any more appendages.
Start an international event
Inside Daredevil # 37, Dr. Doom invents a body transfer ray, as one does, and tests it on himself and the daredevil. The result: Doom, as Daredevil, runs to defeat Fantastic Four, while Daredevil, as Doom, is locked in Doom’s dungeon.
After escaping, Daredevil fails to stop Doom in the old fashioned way – that is, with fistics. He then cleverly summoned all the ministers of Doom and instructed them to declare war on all Latvian neighbors. The real Doom, who thinks more about his race than destroying the FF, quickly returns their bodies so he can stop fighting.
Wait for help
Sometimes, even a superhero needs help from a sticky situation. This is what happened Power Girl # 10, when Ultra-Humanit secretly swaps the brains with Power Girl’s super-friend Terra. Usually a brazen and anxious young woman, “Terra” tends to start a heated discussion about how the superheroes are just misunderstood heroes – and trying to destroy New York.
Meanwhile, the original Terra Ultra-Humanite was badly trapped in the ape’s body. She was shocked to see the whole thing so logically and could do nothing to save herself. Instead, he waited for the Power Girl to show up and save him.
Inspire others
One of the more spectacular examples of body-swapping began in recent years Amazing Spider-Man # 698, when a critically ill doctor replaces an octopus with a young, healthy Spider-Man. Spidey is not able to reverse the effects before his death, but with his death memories and words he inspires Oak to be the hero of his body.
Well, sorta. It’s still Oak that we’re talking about, and his version of heroism includes crawling on women, talking about how great she is and almost killing an opponent. Fortunately, Peter’s ghost clings to him until Oak learns the true meaning of heroism – and sacrifices himself to bring Peter back, ending the reign of the self-described Superior Spider-Man.
Punk Your Enemy
Batman # 293 was part of a larger story where every villain in Gotham tried to take credit for Batman’s alleged recent death. Even Lex Luthor shows up with his own story, which involves wiping out Batman’s mind and then zaping Superman’s consciousness into Batman’s body. Thus, Lex could kill Supes with his bare hands.
But of course, the story was too good to be true. Batman infiltrates Lex’s team and hatches his plan in time to warn Superman. They defended themselves from mind-swap machines and even wore Superman costumes as Batman during Lex’s “deadly” beatings. Lex is exposed as a greedy, arrogant champ in front of his fellow criminals. I just love a happy ending.
Previous # superhero problem
So your family has been removed from reality
So you have been reconnected into a fraud
So you have been de-aged against your will
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