According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American aged in their 20s and 30s makes about $1,196 weekly. However, a statistical government average does not necessarily match the cold financial reality of the average American worker. The cost of living is impossibly high, and everyone is struggling financially. If it makes you feel any better, you’re probably doing a lot better than the brokest comic book characters.
When some people think of comic book characters, they think of Batman, Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Black Panther, Mr. Terrific, or Lex Luthor. These characters are multimillionaires and billionaires in the comic books. However, most comic book characters, like Spider-Man, Hulk, and Wolverine, for example, are barely paying their bills or making rent.
Many characters are technically poor and homeless and live off the grace of richer characters. In the MCU films and DCEU films, Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne would provide housing, stipends, and even costumes to other heroes. Broke superheroes barely making ends meet was a major plot point on the Disney+ show The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. It’s no different in the comic books.
Here are eight of the brokest comic book characters.
1. Spider-Man
The poster child for the brokest comic book characters has always been Spider-Man. In his cartoons, 1970s TV show, video games, films, and comics, Peter Parker is always broke. Parker was always trying to sell pics of himself as Spider-Man to make ends meet. Still, Parker is a scientific genius and inventor, so his perpetual poverty does not make much narrative sense.
Yet, always being broke defines Peter Parker, even in live-action. Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker’s real arch nemesis was his landlord, who was always asking for rent. Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker fared no better. Tom Holland’s Parker lived with his aunt, had no money, and had his entire vigilante career sponsored by Tony Stark until No Way Home.
In the most recent Zeb Wells run of The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter lost Mary Jane in another dimension. Instead of buying his own equipment, he stole it from the Fantastic Four, alienating them. Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin and Peter’s archenemy, hires Peter to help him out. It’s like being broke is Spider-Man’s main power set.
Amazing Spider-Man By Zeb Wells Omnibus Vol. 1 is a 896-page hardcover. It collects the first 26 issues of Wells’ run. Get it on Amazon now for $93.
2. Captain America
Captain America was one of the brokest comic book characters when he took the Super Soldier serum in the 1940s. He got trapped and frozen in ice for decades, re-emerging into the present day. That fact did not make him richer. Steve Rogers’ activities as Captain America and an Avenger are usually subsidized by the government, S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, or Tony Stark.
Rogers usually lives simply when he does not have a sponsor for his activities. He is a soldier who does what he believes is right, but typically follows his government’s orders. At his core, Steve Rogers is a working-class Brooklynite who never had a lot of money. Any luxury he enjoys is on the dime of the government or his allies.
Captain America Lives! Omnibus is a 560-page hardcover. It collects the 2005 Ed Brubaker run when Winter Soldier became Cap, and right before Steve Rogers returns. Buy it on Amazon for $38.75.
3. Wolverine
One of Wolverine’s defining characteristics is that he is usually broke. He likes getting drunk, looks like he sleeps in his clothes, and is notorious for living a minimalist lifestyle. When Anna Paquin’s Rogue sneaks into Hugh Jackman’s camper in 2000’s X-Men, she is shocked by his poverty-stricken, nomadic lifestyle. Rogue even quips that her life doesn’t look too bad after seeing his lifestyle.
Wolverine’s chronic lack of money is the same in the comic books. Logan is not materialistic and unashamed of how he lives. He is an antihero and a killer with a samurai-like code of ethics who does not worry about the amount of money in his pocket. Logan has no problem getting money if he wants, but he is more interested in doing what is right on his terms.
Return of Wolverine Omnibus John Cassaday Cover is a 1,232-page hardcover. It collects the first 20 issues of Wolverine and over two dozen tie-in issues from the 2018 “Death of Wolverine” storyline. Buy the John Cassaday variant cover for $99 at Amazon.
4. Hulk
One of the brokest comic book characters out there is Bruce Banner. The 1970s and 1980s Incredible Hulk TV show was infamous for its haunting theme song and title credit sequence. Bill Bixby, as Bruce Banner, was a broke, wandering vagabond, hitchhiking from town to town. He was always on the run from the government, nosy reporters, and trying to minimize his Hulk outbursts. Meanwhile, he was always accepting odd jobs for a few bucks.
It’s pretty much the same in the comics. Bruce Banner waking up penniless, naked or in torn pants, dazed and confused in the aftermath of a Hulk rampage is a well-worn trope now. We’ve seen it in the Bixby show, in the MCU films, and the comics. Banner is always hitchhiking somewhere, or hiding, and brainstorming how to make another dollar without hulking out.
Immortal Hulk Vol. 1: Or Is He Both? is a 136-page paperback. It collects the first five issues of this epic, surreal, psychological, and horror-themed reimagining of the Hulk mythos. Get it now at Amazon for $13.
5. Luke Cage
Luke Cage was created in the 1970s during the blaxploitation era of films like Shaft and Super Fly. Carl Lucas was a poor Black man from the inner city who was falsely accused of a crime and put in prison. After being forcibly experimented on in prison, Lucas gains superhuman strength and bulletproof skin. He then becomes Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.
Luke Cage becomes a local vigilante for hire. Still, he was always struggling to pay his bills. Cage would later team up with billionaire Danny Rand, Iron Fist. They would become Power Man and Iron Fist, Heroes for Hire. However, Cage would still be one of the brokest comic book characters, even though his partner was a literal billionaire.
Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 1: The Boys Are Back In Town is a 110-page paperback. It collects the first five issues of the 2016 reimagining of the Power Man and Iron Fist comic. Get it for $11 on Amazon now.
6. Rorschach
In 1986’s Watchmen, most of the Watchmen worked for the government, were independently wealthy, or were the children of wealthy parents. Walter Kovacs, or Rorschach, was the only antihero working on his own in this 1980s parallel universe on the verge of nuclear war. Kovacs, the son of a sex worker, grew up enduring grim poverty and physical abuse. He spent his formative teen years in group homes and working in sweatshops as a garment worker.
Kovacs didn’t know any other lifestyle besides poverty. As Rorschach, Kovacs would routinely break into a suspect’s or an ally’s house and eat their food. Kovacs would routinely refuse the help or resources of allies in his investigations, seeing them as sellouts, even though he was penniless. He would wear the same clothing and mask for days on end. Kovacs was never worried about money or impressing others, only about fighting evil on his terms.
Rorschach is a 312-page hardcover. It collects all 12 issues of the 2020 miniseries. 35 years after Watchmen, an assassin wearing Rorschach’s mask causes chaos during a presidential election. Buy it on Amazon now for $20.99.
7. Squirrel Girl
Doreen Green, also known as Squirrel Girl, has the power to communicate with squirrels. She has a bushy, squirrel-like tail, knuckle spikes, claws, and superhuman strength. Squirrel Girl has beaten Dr. Doom and Thanos in the comic books, but she is a light-hearted character. Green is usually written as a broke college student balancing her school life with her superheroics. She is usually broke and makes money as the personal nanny for the Avengers.
8. Superman
If you really think about it, Superman is really one of the brokest comic book characters out there. What’s even crazier is that he voluntarily chooses to live a poor-adjacent, working-class life due to his conservative upbringing by his adoptive farmer parents. Superman can crush coal into diamonds. Or, he could mine celestial objects for rare metals. Superman could find lots of legal and non-criminal ways to become rich. Yet, he doesn’t. He chooses to be a working-class man barely getting by financially when he is an alien with the powers of a God.
From the Christopher Reeve era to the DCU, Clark Kent is characterized as a humble man from Smallville. He may go to the Fortress of Solitude now and then, but he usually wears off-the-rack suits and lives frugally in a small apartment. In 2016’s Justice League, Ben Affleck’s Batman bought the bank that was going to foreclose on the Kent estate. Even in 2025’s Superman, Clark’s parents live humbly in a trailer park-like existence.
in the 2023 run of Superman comics written by Joshua Williamson, Lex Luthor gave his company, LexCorp, and operational capital to Superman. LexCorp was temporarily renamed SuperCorp. Superman is literally a God who could rule the Earth if he wanted to, but he chooses to live his life as if he were a poor and financially struggling human.
Superman Vol. 1: Supercorp is a 185-page hardcover that collects the first five issues of Williamson’s run. Buy it now at Amazon for $17.69.
Brokest Comic Book Characters
Should this trope of the perpetually broke superhero still exist in the 21st century? Is it realistic to believe that Peter Parker, Logan, or Clark Kent can’t find legal and lucrative ways to become rich? They have powers that could help them find legal ways to at least live more comfortably than they already do.
Readers could relate to comic book characters better in the early and mid-20th century. The first comic book appearances of Batman and Superman occurred during WWII and in the aftermath of the Great Depression. I think this idea of powerful superheroes who can barely pay their rent is an outmoded narrative conceit today. Still, who knows? Considering our current economic climate, the broke superhero concept may still make them relatable.
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The post Powerful and Penniless: The 8 Brokest Comic Book Characters appeared first on Personal Finance Advice.
