History NonIndicativeName / Comicbooks

* The original ComicBook/HumanTorch was neither a human nor a torch but an android that burned on contact with air. The reason for his odd name is that at the time, "human torches" (performers who lit themselves on fire) were a well-known circus act. Since they're rarely seen today, modern readers parse the words separately and get confused.
** In ''Universe-X'' there were Human Torches. They were torches but they weren't human.

* Franchise/SpiderMan fought a villain called "The Living Brain". It was a robotic computer.
* ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'' isn't exactly a boy these days, either.
** WordOfGod is "You can't call him 'Hellman'. It's a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellmann%27s_and_Best_Foods mayonnaise.]]"

* ''ComicBook/{{Warlock}}'' is not a male witch, he's a robot alien.
** The word 'warlock' comes from the Old English 'waerloga', "oathbreaker", and originally referred to any practitioner of magic (who had thus broken faith with the church). Since Warlock defied his father and his home planet's traditions when joining the New Mutants, the moniker "oathbreaker" fits him rather nicely.
*** Warlock's father, the Magus, is (obviously) also a robot alien. Not an astrologist or magician.
** The Marvel Comics character now known as Wiccan (who is one of Scarlet Witch's reincarnated twins) was presented with "Warlock" as a possible codename. He immediately rejoins with the "oathbreaker" argument, concluding with "it is ''not'' a nice word."
** ComicBook/AdamWarlock is not a male witch either.
* In Creator/MarvelComics, you'd think with a name like Typhoid Mary, this occasional ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'' villain would have some kind of 'walking plague' power set. But that's far from the case, she's actually a mentally ill telepath with telekinesis/pyrokinesis. She just wanted a tough sounding name to declare that no man is ever going to abuse her again.
* In ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}, The Comedian, despite his name, never actually says or does anything funny. He [[NietzscheWannabe understands what a joke society is,]] and becomes a parody of it. Could be justified, as "The Parodist" isn't nearly as good of a superhero name. Granted, he originally wore a jester costume and had a smiley, happy-go-lucky attitude, but whatever.
** And, to quote [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Lester B. Bum]], "There's these guys, called the Watchmen, [[IAmNotShazam but they're not called the Watchmen!]]"
* In the ComicBook/GreatTen, well... Immortal Man in Darkness couldn't be a less accurate name if it tried because the technology of the plane he flies drains his life as he pilots it; there have been about seven Immortal Men in Darkness since the team was founded. The name is a publicity thing. Similarly, the Seven Deadly Brothers. "I am seven. I am deadly. But I am a brother to no one." This is because the Seven Deadly Brothers are actually one man, an only child at that, who splits into seven people with different personalities due to a curse.
* ComicBook/BlackCanary dresses (partly) in black, but she doesn't exactly sing like a canary so much as [[MakeMeWannaShout screech like a banshee]]. And the ''[[LegacyCharacter original]]'' Black Canary [[BadassNormal didn't even have that power]].
* One [[Franchise/TheFlash Flash]] story arc is called "The Dastardly Death of the Rogues". There's only one death, and it's not a Rogue.
* The Silver Sorceress, a Creator/DCComics character introduced in 1971 as a deliberate CaptainErsatz of Marvel's ComicBook/ScarletWitch, wore a costume that of course... consisted entirely of gold, brown, and red shades. When she became part of the [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]] over a decade later, she did have silver ''hair'' at least, though it was completely covered by her elaborate headgear and a {{Retcon}} in any event -- in her first appearance, she was depicted with brown hair.
** Somewhat justified in-universe: in her last major appearance, before her HeroicSacrifice, she admitted to being colorblind.

* Maybe one day we'll find out what ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'' are supposed to be avenging. In-universe, the name was picked pretty much entirely for RuleOfCool.
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in [[Film/TheAvengers2012 the movie]], where as [[spoiler:Agent Coulson]] lies dying he says that he's okay with it, as the team would never work without something to... well, he ends there, but "avenge" is implied. Later on, Iron Man states that if they can't save the world, they ''will'' avenge it. Prior to that, "the Avengers Initiative" was just SHIELD's codename for the program.
*** We find out in ''Film/CaptainMarvel'' that the name was inspired by Carol Danvers' USAF call sign.
** The animated series ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' has Iron Man talk about "avenging the wrongs caused by all these villains".
* The ComicBook/XMen's resident [[DeathDealer card-obsessed Badass]] is named ComicBook/{{Gambit}}, even though "gambit" is commonly used as a chess term. However, "gambit" is conversationally used outside of chess contexts, e. g. in debating, to refer to a calculated maneuver in general. It is sometimes used in card games such as poker. When the priest Ruy López de Segura introduced the word into the language of chess in 1561, he used an already existing term from Italian, ''dare il gambetto''. This came from the language of wrestling and meant "to use your leg to trip up your opponent".
* ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' is vincible. [[spoiler:Even moreso now that exposure to the Scourge has deprived him of his NighInvulnerability, at least for the time being.]]
* The ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' are simply a collection of female superheroes. 'Bird' being British slang for 'woman' {{lampshade|Hanging}}d:
--> '''[[ComicBook/BlueBeetle Jaime]]:''' So they're like super-powered birds?\\
'''ComicBook/{{Oracle}}:''' No!\\
'''Jaime:''' They have bird-powers?\\
'''Oracle:''' No.\\
'''Jaime:''' Do they at least have ''bird code names?''\\
'''Oracle:''' ...[[Comicbook/BlackCanary One]] does.
* The [[Franchise/{{Spiderman}} Sinister Six]] in Comicbook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan suffers this, as there are five of them. Boomerang defends this to the other members by claiming that it will make people think there's a secret sixth member, who could be anyone. It could be Dormammu (A demon lord vastly more powerful than all of them combined)!
** The title ''Comicbook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' ultimately proved to be non-indicative. [[spoiler: During the final arc, Octavius was forced to concede that he was, if anything, inferior to the true Spider-Man, Peter Parker.]]
* In 1944, Harry "A" Chesler publications introduced a character called ''Dr. Vampire''. He was actually a VampireHunter, not a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampire]].
* ComicBook/{{Firestorm}}'s powers and origin have nothing to do with fire, weather, or firestorms, unless you count nuclear "fire". His main ability is molecular-level transmutation.
* Harmony Smurf from ''Comicbook/TheSmurfs'' is a DreadfulMusician.
* DC's ''ComicBook/{{Vigilante}}'' (Adrian Chase) occasionally fought a pair of assassins named Cannon (who wielded blades) and Saber (who used guns).
* ''Comicbook/{{Spawn}}'': recurring cop character Twitch is a skilled marksman with nerves of steel and a steady hand. In one issue it's commented, "The reason they call him Twitch is because he ''doesn't''."

** And as seen in her apparition in ''ComicBook/MarvelDivas'', she isn't against attending at high noon either.
* ''ComicBook/TheFoxHunt'' has the villain who refers to himself as "Brontosaurus", despite being a tall, orange, humanoid person/thing that possessed a bank robber to lay low and has nothing to do with dinosaurs whatsoever. A couple of the characters calls him out on this.
* ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}} of the Franchise/XMen has nothing to do with worms. His body is covered in dark blue, nearly black fur, which is probably where the "night" part comes from. However, he's trained acrobat and does a lot of jumping around and not much crawling. He does crouch, however.
** During his run with John Byrne on X-Men, Chris Claremont tried renaming Nightcrawler "Misfit", which is a little more accurate, although seeing as the X-Men are ALSO misfits...

* Creator/MarvelComics' Hulkling has nothing to do with the Hulk, except that his combat form is also big and green. He's actually [[NonhumanHumanoidHybrid half-Kree and half-Skrull]] – in fact, his father was the original [[ComicBook/CaptainMarVell Captain Marvel]].

* On a meta level, this often applies to comic titles themselves. In the 20th century, publishers frequently had good reasons to maintain the continuity of a particular title even as its contents changed. This happened a lot at DC in the Golden Age; Superman appeared in Action Comics; Batman started in Detective Comics. Marvel took its turn in the Silver Age, debuting a lot of classic heroes under non-indicative names: Tales to Astonish = Ant-Man, Tales of Suspense = Iron Man, etc.
* The Invisible Hood started out with a hood, but without invisibility. A monologue at the beginning of his second story attempted to justify the name by stating that it referred to his SecretIdentity. Nevertheless, by the end of that story, he had gained an actual InvisibilityCloak.
* Despite DC standing for ''Detective Comics'', most of DC's comics are about superheroes, not detectives.
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': The Son of Satan, one of the Defenders, is not really the Son of Satan. As if he really had to clarify that... (the one in the original continuity ''is'' the son of [[https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Marduk_Kurios_(Earth-616) a demon]], though he might not be Satan himself - just about every demon in the Marvel Hell has claimed to be ''the'' Devil)
* The members of the No Names gang in ''ComicBook/TwentyFists'' do in fact have names. And their gang does.
* ComicBook/BlackOrchid's costume is neither black nor resembles an orchid tree at all. Her costume is depicted as various shades of purple and earlier versions look more like a moth or butterfly than a tree.
* While Franchise/{{Batman}} enemy Black Mask did originally wear what his codename suggests, a black mask, the charred SkullForAHead look he's sported since ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' is his actual face, disfigured as a result of a fire that happened during one of his first fights with the Dark Knight.

* In the 2020 ''ComicBook/MetalMen'' series, Will Magnus builds replacements for the Metal Men (yes, ''again'') called the Metal Mammals, who are non-indicative on several levels. Obviously, robots can't be mammals because they're robots. They're named after gases, not metals (although they are ''made'' of metal -- which is also odd because Magnus's creations are traditionally named after the element they're made of, and previous continuities had a Gas Gang based on that principle). And finally, Florine is a cobra and Helium is a hawk, so they're not even ''modeled'' on mammals.
* In ''ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist'', Fat Cobra's totem animal is actually the turtle.
* The original Comicbook/SevenSoldiers of Victory had eight members. Officially Wing didn't count because he was just the Crimson Avenger's sidekick... but Stripsey and Speedy did, even though they were sidekicks to Star-Spangled Kid and Green Arrow. The post-Crisis version replaced Green Arrow with Alias the Spider, who didn't have a sidekick... and added Vigilante's sidekick Stuff, the Chinatown Kid.
* In ''ComicBook/AmazingAge'', the villain Mangle and hero Wrest are both psychics, but you probably wouldn't know that just from their codenames. Similarly, Black Knight has a costume that resembles a suit of armor, but he's actually an ElectricBlackGuy.
* The title group of ''ComicBook/TheBoys'' includes a woman, who is downright called "The Female" due to NoNameGiven.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' got its name because it was born as a magazine publishing multiple comic stories. Eventually it became a book featuring a single character, and often a single story (or a fraction of one).
** The Infinite Monster of ''ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl'' storyline is really big but not infinite.

* The names of Atlantiades/Hermaphroditus make perfect sense in the original mythology where they're named after their paternal great-grandfather Atlas and both of their parents, Hermes (Herm) and Aphrodite (aphroditus). Their names make far less sense in ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'' where writer G. Willow Wilson chose to make Aphrodite their only parent while leaving them with the same set of names referencing their father Hermes even though Hermes is supposedly not their father in this continuity.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': The Magic Sphere is neither a sphere nor entirely magical, with a large array of mechanisms set behind the mirrored disk which are visible when Odin breaks it. At least two of the mechanical components are visible when it is intact, as a partially mercury filled glass tube and the turning frame are on the exterior of the wall right by the seeing disk.

* ComicStrip/ThePhantom, An InUniverse example: The Skull Cave has The Small Treasure Room, an enourmous cavern filled with gold and jewels amassed by 21 generations of Phantoms that are freely given away to people in need and The Big Treasure Room, a relatively snug room filled with bookcases and display cases filled with yes, priceless artifacts, but also relatively useless trivia (say a 16th century Swedish snuff box) from generations of adventures.
* In Creator/MarvelComics, the original Human Torch was neither a human nor a torch but an android that burned on contact with air. The reason for his odd name is that at the time, "human torches" (performers who lit themselves on fire) were a well-known circus act. Since they're rarely seen today, modern readers parse the words separately and get confused.
** In Universe-X there were Human Torches. They were torches but they weren't human.
* There's a [[ComicBook/AgentsOfAtlas Human Robot]] who, to all appearances, is merely a robot and in no way human. In his revived version [[spoiler: this is because the scientist who built him transferred his own life force into it. So the name is in fact accurate, but its meaning is not apparent to an outsider.]]
* Also in Creator/MarvelComics, Franchise/SpiderMan fought a villain called "The Living Brain". It was a robotic computer.

* Doctor Doom is not actually [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate a doctor]], but FanWank says he might have given himself an honorary one as ruler of Latveria. It should be noted that [[ThirdPersonPerson Doom himself]] almost never calls himself "Doctor" Doom, but simply "Doom" (ALLCAPS optional).

* When the character [[Comicbook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool Gwenpool]] was introduced, Marvel fans were disappointed to find out that she wasn't Gwen Stacy as Deadpool (though that was the case in [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/17/Gwen_Stacy_Deadpool_Amalgam.jpeg/191px-Gwen_Stacy_Deadpool_Amalgam.jpeg her first appearance]]) but rather a person named Gwen Poole.

* In the 2020 ''Comicbook/MetalMen'' series, Will Magnus builds replacements for the Metal Men (yes, ''again'') called the Metal Mammals, who are non-indicative on several levels. Obviously, robots can't be mammals because they're robots. They're named after gases, not metals (although they are ''made'' of metal -- which is also odd because Magnus's creations are traditionally named after the element they're made of, and previous continuities had a Gas Gang based on that principle). And finally, Florine is a cobra and Helium is a hawk, so they're not even ''modeled'' on mammals.

* The title group of ''Comicbook/TheBoys'' includes a woman, who is downright called "The Female" due to NoNameGiven.

--> '''[[ComicBook/BlueBeetle Jaime]]:''' So they're like super-powered birds?
--> '''ComicBook/{{Oracle}}:''' No!
--> '''Jaime:''' They have bird-powers?
--> '''Oracle:''' No.
--> '''Jaime:''' Do they at least have ''bird code names?''
--> '''Oracle:''' ...[[Comicbook/BlackCanary One]] does.

* When the character Gwenpool was introduced, Marvel fans were disappointed to find out that she wasn't Gwen Stacy as Deadpool but rather a person named Gwen Poole.

* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': The Son of Satan, one of the Defenders, is not really the Son of Satan. As if he really had to clarify that...

* In ''ComicBook/AmazingAge'', the villain Mangle and hero Wrest are both psychics, but you probably wouldn't know that just from their codenames. Similarly, Black Knight has a costume that resembles a suit of armor, but he's actually an ElectricBlackGuy.

* The original Comicbook/SevenSoldiers of Victory had eight members. Officially Wing didn't count because he was just the Crimson Avenger's sidekick ... but Stripsey and Speedy did, even though they were sidekicks to Star-Spangled Kid and Green Arrow. The post-Crisis version replaced Green Arrow with Alias the Spider, who didn't have a sidekick ... and added Vigilante's sidekick Stuff, the Chinatown Kid.

* In ''ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist'', Fat Cobra's totem animal is actually the turtle.

* In the 2020 ''Comicbook/MetalMen'' series, Will Magnus builds replacements for the Metal Men (yes, ''again'') called the Metal Mammals, who are non-indicative on several levels. Obviously, robots can't be mammals because they're robots. They're named after gases, not metals (although they are ''made'' of metal -- which is also odd because Magnus's creations are traditionally named after the element they're made of, and previous continuities had a Gas Gang based on that principle). And finally, Florine is a cobra and Helium is a hawk, so they're not even ''modeled'' on mammals.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': The Magic Sphere is neither a sphere nor entirely magical, with a large array of mechanisms set behind the mirrored disk which are visible when Odin breaks it. At least two of the mechanical components are visible when it is intact, as a partially mercury filled glass tube and the turning frame are on the exterior of the wall right by the seeing disk.

--> '''[[KnowledgeBroker Oracle]]:''' No!

* While Franchise/{{Batman}} enemy Black Mask did originally wear what his codename suggests, a black mask, the charred SkullForAHead look he's sported since ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' is his actual face, disfigured as a result of a fire that happened during one of his first fights with the Dark Knight.

* ComicBook/BlackOrchid's costume is neither black nor resembles an orchid tree at all. Her costume is depicted as various shades of purple and earlier versions look more like a moth or butterfly than a tree.

* The members of the No Names gang in ''ComicBook/TwentyFists'' do in fact have names. And their gang does.

* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': The Son of Satan, one of the Defenders, is not really the Son of Satan. As if he really had to clarify that...

* The ComicBook/XMen's resident [[DeathDealer card-obsessed Badass]] is named ComicBook/{{Gambit}}, even though "gambit" is commonly used as a chess term. However, "gambit" is conversationally used outside of chess contexts, e. g. in debating, to refer to a calculated maneuver in general. When the priest Ruy López de Segura introduced the word into the language of chess in 1561, he used an already existing term from Italian, ''dare il gambetto''. This came from the language of wrestling and meant "to use your leg to trip up your opponent".

* The names of Atlantiades/Hermaphroditus make perfect sense in the original mythology where they're named after their paternal great-grandfather Atlas and both of their parents, Hermes (Herm) and Aphrodite (aphroditus). Their names make far less sense in ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'' where writer G. Willow Wilson chose to make Aphrodite their only parent while leaving them with the same set of names referencing their father Hermes even though Hermes is supposedly not their father in this continuity.

* In the Great Ten, well... Immortal Man in Darkness couldn't be a less accurate name if it tried because the technology of the plane he flies drains his life as he pilots it; there have been about seven Immortal Men in Darkness since the team was founded. The name is a publicity thing. Similarly, the Seven Deadly Brothers. "I am seven. I am deadly. But I am a brother to no one." This is because the Seven Deadly Brothers are actually one man, an only child at that, who splits into seven people with different personalities due to a curse.

* Another Justice Leaguer from the "International" era, the Crimson Fox, wore a costume consisting of brown and black shades, and no crimson whatsoever. She was originally going to be called the Red Fox (which is more fitting since her suit does look ''sorta'' red DependingOnTheArtist), but the possibility of legal action from the creators of an indie comic called ''Redfox'' [[WritingAroundTrademarks necessitated a name change on DC's part]].

* DC's ''Vigilante'' (Adrian Chase) occasionally fought a pair of assassins named Cannon (who wielded blades) and Saber (who used guns).

* Despite DC standing for ''Detective Comics'', most of DC's comics are about superheroes, not detectives.

* The Invisible Hood started out with a hood, but without invisibility. A monologue at the beginning of his second story attempted to justify the name by stating that it referred to his SecretIdentity. Nevertheless, by the end of that story, he had gained an actual InvisibilityCloak.

* On a meta level, this often applies to comic titles themselves. In the 20th century, publishers frequently had good reasons to maintain the continuity of a particular title even as its contents changed. This happened a lot at DC in the Golden Age; Superman appeared in Action Comics; Batman started in Detective Comics. Marvel took its turn in the Silver Age, debuting a lot of classic heroes under non-indicative names: Tales to Astonish = Ant-Man, Tales of Suspense = Iron Man, etc.

** In the movies, this is {{Lampshaded}} (the explanation is used in the novelization, and carried over to the movies proper with a nod in the ''[[Film/TheAvengers2012 Avengers]]'' movie, where Tony wears a Black Sabbath shirt).

** Lampshaded in [[Film/TheAvengers2012 the movie]], where as [[spoiler:Agent Coulson]] lies dying he says that he's okay with it, as the team would never work without something to... well, he ends there, but "avenge" is implied. Later on, Iron Man states that if they can't save the world, they ''will'' avenge it. Prior to that, "the Avengers Initiative" was just SHIELD's codename for the program.

* The ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' are simply a collection of female superheroes. 'Bird' being British slang for 'woman' {{Lampshaded}}:

Subverted in ''Mastermen #1'' which shows an in-universe comic book depicting a GoldenAge American Crusader with more American elements played up. This seems to imply that he dropped those aspects in the ModernAge but [[ArtifactTitle kept the name]] and that his UltimateUniverse counterpart is an InUniverse [[RevisitingTheRoots back to basics approach]].

* Also in Creator/MarvelComics, {{Spider-Man}} fought a villain called "The Living Brain". It was a robotic computer.

* On a meta level, this often applies to comic titles themselves. In the 20th century, publishers frequently had good reasons to maintain the continuity of a particular title even as its contents changed. This happened a lot at DC in the Golden Age; Superman appeared in Action Comics; Batman started in Detective Comics. Marvel took its turn in the Silver Age, debuting a lot of classic heroes under non-indicative names: Tales to Astonish = Ant-Man, Tales of Suspense = Iron Man, etc.
* ComicStrip/ThePhantom, An InUniverse example: The Skull Cave has The Small Treasure Room, an enourmous cavern filled with gold and jewels amassed by 21 generations of Phantoms that are freely given away to people in need and The Big Treasure Room, a relatively snug room filled with bookcases and display cases filled with yes, priceless artifacts, but also relatively useless trivia (say a 16th century Swedish snuff box) from generations of adventures.

* On a meta level, this often applies to comic titles themselves. In the 20th century, publishers frequently had good reasons to maintain the continuity of a particular title even as its contents changed. This happened a lot at DC in the Golden Age; Superman appeared in Action Comics; Batman started in Detective Comics. Marvel took its turn in the Silver Age, debuting a lot of classic heroes under non-indicative names: Tales to Astonish = Ant-Man, Tales of Suspense = Iron Man, etc.

* When the character Gwenpool was introduced, Marvel fans were disappointed to find out that she wasn't Gwen Stacy as Deadpool but rather a person named Gwen Poole

* The Silver Sorceress, a Creator/DCComics character introduced in 1971 as a deliberate CaptainErsatz of Marvel's ComicBook/ScarletWitch, wore a costume that of course... consisted entirely of gold, brown, and red shades. When she became part of the [[JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]] over a decade later, she did have silver ''hair'' at least, though it was completely covered by her elaborate headgear and a {{Retcon}} in any event -- in her first appearance, she was depicted with brown hair.

* One [[TheFlash Flash]] story arc is called "The Dastardly Death of the Rogues". There's only one death, and it's not a Rogue.

--> '''Oracle:''' ...One does.

* While ComicBook/IronMan's prototype suit was originally iron, the material of other versions has varied confused.
depending on continuity. In most of the comics, the suits have had iron in some form in the outer shell, usually enhanced in some way with [[DeflectorShield forcefields]]. In some continuities, it's explained that Tony was inspired by the Black Sabbath song, though ironically the lyrics describe a FallenHero (and the comics hero himself predated the song by seven years).