History HoistByHisOwnPetard / MarvelUniverse

!!Often a DeathTrope, so expect to see unmarked spoilers ahead.

* ''ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}}'': In ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfCaptainMarvel'', Mar-Vell basically died because his own powers worked against other heroes' efforts to cure the cancer that eventually killed him. The energies of the nega-bands that gave him most of his powers included a healing factor that kept the cancer in check for several years, but the cancer eventually mutated to the point where the nega bands could no longer stop it, and made Mar-Vell reliant on them to the point he would die in a matter of hours without them. Worse, the mutated cancer was now linked to the nega bands, meaning that a cure would not only have to overcome the cancer itself but the bands as well, making it basically impossible for the heroes to do more than delay the spread of the disease.

* This is what allows ComicBook/CaptainAmerica to enact his plan in ''ComicBook/SecretEmpire'' - Maria Hill, former Director of ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}, had found evidence of Cap secretly being a member of ComicBook/{{HYDRA}}. She contacts Rick Jones with this news, but he seems incredibly doubtful and ultimately rejects this, specifically due to the fact that saying something like this is the sort of stunt she would have pulled ever since she took over S.H.I.E.L.D.
* ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}} basically died because his own powers worked against other heroes' efforts to cure the cancer that eventually killed him. The energies of the nega-bands that gave him most of his powers included a healing factor that kept the cancer in check for several years, but the cancer eventually mutated to the point where the nega bands could no longer stop it, and made Mar-Vell reliant on them to the point he would die in a matter of hours without them. Worse, the mutated cancer was now linked to the nega bands, meaning that a cure would not only have to overcome the cancer itself but the bands as well, making it basically impossible for the heroes to do more than delay the spread of the disease.

* In one issue of ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures: The Avengers'', Giant Girl (Janet Van Dyne) ends up under the control of the insect humanoid Psyclops. Seeking answers, Storm, Wolverine and Spider-Man head for Van Dyne Labs for answers, where they meet Hank Pym. Pym reveals that her costume's equipment were meant for shrinking and communication with insects. When Janet discovers she can grow, she ignores all of that until Psyclops' powerful insect control took ''her'' over. Thankfully, her new costume averts that problem from then on.
* The ''[[ComicBook/ThePunisher2099 Punisher 2099]]'' villain Fearmaster has a hand (later a claw) that can turn anything biological it touches into anything else. When the Punisher finally corners him, he tries to turn Jake's entire body to mud. Too bad he forgot that he chopped off one of the Punisher's hands two issues prior; all Jake has to do is reach out with his prosthetic hand, grab Fearmaster's arm, and shove the claw right back in his face.
* Used in the tongue-in-cheek ''ComicBook/ThePunisherKillsTheMarvelUniverse'': The Punisher actually manages to kill the nearly unkillable ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}. How does he do this? By forcing good ol' Logan into a generator, using his metal bones as a conductor to electrically fry every cell in his body.
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' has the "Kitchen Irish" arc--one of the parties attempting to claim Old Man Nesbit's inheritance is an IRA bomb-maker, Finn Cooley. In the middle of an attempt to blow up a Belfast police station, his bomb's fuze tripped, causing the thing to literally blow up in his face. Cooley survived, [[FacialHorror but not happily]]. Frank's MI-6 friend Yorkie comments dryly:

* This ''seriously'' happened to the ComicBook/RedSkull soon after he was reborn in a clone of Steve Rogers' body, and he has ''never'' recovered from it. Throughout the Skull's entire career, he used a poison called the Dust of Death, which not only killed people, but caused the skin on their head to shrivel and turn red, making the corpse look like a "red skull". But when he tried to use this on Captain America, he fell victim to it himself. He survived due to an antidote he took, but still suffered the secondary effect, turning his head into a living red skull.
** To make this more ironic, soon after being reborn in the clone's body, he had resolved to change his strategy, and no longer use his masked identity at all, thinking that being a well-recognized terrorist was a hindrance to his plans. After this accident, he really didn't have a choice.
** When he discovered Kubix, a living Cosmic Cube, could alter memories, the Skull came up with a genius idea. He had Kubik alter Captain America's memories so Steve was convinced he'd been a decades-long deep cover Hydra operative, believing in them totally. The Skull figured with Captain America a willing agent, Hydra would rise higher than ever. But Steve became convinced he was loyal to the "true" Hydra that the Skull had warped and the Skull was holding them back so began his moves to take over Hydra for himself. In a confrontation, the Skull admits what he did...and is shocked that Steve doesn't believe his memories could have been warped and [[spoiler:kills the Skull to take over Hydra]].
* In ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', the teens discover that one of their newest companions is a vampire and, to save the others, [[VoluntaryVampireVictim Karolina offers herself to him]]. When he goes to drain her, he realizes too late that Karolina is solar powered and he promptly explodes.

* In the limited series ''ComicBook/TheThanosQuest'', the titular supervillain seeks (and ultimately attains) the [[CosmicKeystone Infinity Gems]] in order to [[AGodAmI become God]] and thus a worthy mate for [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Mistress Death]]. However, he miscalculates spectacularly when he discovers that omnipotence made him not her equal but ''superior'', preventing anything other than a servile relationship; for the extra kick in the teeth, he is now subjected to the (no pun intended) cold shoulder of the cosmic being, who considered his pursuit and attainment of godhood a heinous betrayal, and his subsequent attempts at wooing her back childish and insulting.

* Revka Temerlune Edifex Scyros III a.k.a The Psycho-Man from ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'' constantly put others under his blissful mind control, but could not feel the sense of bliss himself. Thanks to Reed causing a psychic backlash, Psycho-Man was placed in an eternal state of ignorant bliss while being unable to put anyone else in the same state ever again.

* In ''ComicBook/WhatIf: ComicBook/{{Infinity}} - ComicBook/DarkReign'' we're shown a world where ComicBook/NormanOsborn gains control of the Infinity Gauntlet and uses it to take over the world and resurrect his father. However, despite all of this, his father shows him love not because he's done all of this, but just because he's his son. [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Norman can't accept this]] and [[RetGone erases him from existence]]. It takes a moment before he realizes, whoops, he's just erased himself, too.
* In battles between ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, the latter tends to make short work of the former with him controlling his adamantium skeleton. In their first fight, Wolverine is nearly skewered in the head with his own claws and is only knocked out as he's able to retract them in time.
* In ''Wolverine: Enemy of the State'', the [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} titular hero]] kills Gorgon by using his metal claws to show the villain his own reflection, [[TakenForGranite thus turning his own petrifaction abilities on himself]].

* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'':

* ''Franchise/XMen'':

** Norman's son, Harry (before the ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' RetCon), also suffered a Hoisting of his own -- he created a new Goblin Formula that made him stronger. However, it would later kill him. Thankfully, Spidey saved his son from that same fate later on down the road.

** Mysterio got cancer from overexposure to the materials he used for his illusions.

** Ock!Spidey gets one over J. Jonah Jameson. He records Jameson giving him explicit instructions to outright murder Alistar Smythe and, once he does the deed, uses it to blackmail him into giving him the Raft.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':

--->'''Spidey:''' I'm just sayin' there's only one way this is gonna go down, it happens every time. We'll fight for a bit, you'll tear my mask, but in the end I'm gonna leap outta the way and you're gonna do something that makes you kill yourself.

* In the limited series ''The ComicBook/{{Thanos}} Quest'', the titular supervillain seeks (and ultimately attains) the [[CosmicKeystone Infinity Gems]] in order to [[AGodAmI become God]] and thus a worthy mate for [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Mistress Death]]. However, he miscalculates spectacularly when he discovers that omnipotence made him not her equal but ''superior'', preventing anything other than a servile relationship; for the extra kick in the teeth, he is now subjected to the (no pun intended) cold shoulder of the cosmic being, who considered his pursuit and attainment of godhood a heinous betrayal, and his subsequent attempts at wooing her back childish and insulting.
** It doesn't get much better in the follow-up storyline ''The Infinity Gauntlet'', as when Thanos decides to give up on Mistress Death and fully embrace his status as God, eventually defeating Eternity and becoming the very embodiment of the universe, he makes another grievous error ([[AchillesHeel or perhaps not]]) when by forsaking his body in replacing Eternity, he leaves it (and the Infinity Gems) vulnerable to theft by his upstart "granddaughter" Nebula.

--> '''Yorkie:''' IRA own-goal. If there was one thing guaranteed to warm the heart of any British soldier, it was one of those [[PrecisionFSrike fucking wankers]] blowing himself up by accident.

* ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' has the "Kitchen Irish" arc--one of the parties attempting to claim the Old Man's inheritance is an IRA bomb-maker known as Finn Cooley. In the middle of an attempt to blow up a Belfast police station, the bomb's fuze tripped, causing the thing to literally blow up in his face. Cooley survived, [[FacialHorror but not happily]]. Frank's friend MI-6 friend Yorkie comments dryly:
--> '''Yorkie:''' IRA own-goal. If there was one thing guaranteed to warm the heart of any British soldier, it was one of those fucking wankers blowing himself up by accident.

Times where somebody is [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hoist by their own petard in the ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse''.

!!Franchise/MarvelUniverse
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** In ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'', [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn the Green Goblin]] attempts to kill Spider-Man by impaling him with his hovercraft, but Spidey jumps to avoid it and it hits GG instead.
** Parodied in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoNgMVFQNBI Spider-Man 3 How It Should Have Ended]].
--->'''Spidey:''' I'm just sayin' there's only one way this is gonna go down, it happens every time. We'll fight for a bit, you'll tear my mask, but in the end I'm gonna leap outta the way and you're gonna do something that makes you kill yourself.
** Norman's son, Harry (before the ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' RetCon), also suffered a Hoisting of his own -- he created a new Goblin Formula that made him stronger. However, it would later kill him. Thankfully, Spidey saved his son from that same fate later on down the road.
** During the ''ComicBook/{{AXIS}}'' storyline, Phil Urich, taking up Norman Osborn's old title of "Goblin King", ends up getting impaled himself when battling the inverted Hobgoblin.
* Another Spider-Man villain, the voodoo practitioner Calypso, ended up killed in trying an old plan twice - she had brainwashed the Lizard previously and came close to killing Spider-Man, thus she opted to try again. The second time ended with an angry Lizard cutting her throat open.

* In the limited series ''The ComicBook/{{Thanos}} Quest'', the titular supervillain seeks (and ultimately attains) the [[CosmicKeystone Infinity Gems]] in order to [[AGodAmI become God]] and thus a worthy mate for [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Mistress Death]]. However, he miscalculates spectacularly when he discovers that omnipotence made him not her equal but ''superior'', preventing anything other than a servile relationship; for the extra kick in the teeth, he is now subjected to the (no pun intended) cold shoulder of the cosmic being, who considered his pursuit and attainment of godhood a heinous betrayal, and his subsequent attempts at wooing her back childish and insulting.
** It doesn't get much better in the follow-up storyline ''The Infinity Gauntlet'', as when Thanos decides to give up on Mistress Death and fully embrace his status as God, eventually defeating Eternity and becoming the very embodiment of the universe, he makes another grievous error ([[AchillesHeel or perhaps not]]) when by forsaking his body in replacing Eternity, he leaves it (and the Infinity Gems) vulnerable to theft by his upstart "granddaughter" Nebula.
** Later in the same story, Thanos' friend and eternal nemesis Adam Warlock outright states that Thanos subconsciously sabotages his own schemes for ultimate power, as, in the darkest depths of his soul, he believes he's unworthy of it.

** When he discovered Kubix, a living Cosmic Cube, could alter memories, the Skull came up with a genius idea. He had Kubik alter Captain America's memories so Steve was convinced he'd been a decades-long deep cover Hydra operative, believing in them totally. The Skull figured with Captain America a willing agent, Hydra would rise higher than ever. But Steve became convinced he was loyal to the "true" Hydra that the Skull had warped and the Skull was holding them back so began his moves to take over Hydra for himself. In a confrontation, the Skull admits what he did...and is shocked that Steve doesn't believe his memories could have been warped and [[spoiler: kills the Skull to take over Hydra.]]
* The ''[[ComicBook/ThePunisher2099 Punisher 2099]]'' villain Fearmaster has a hand (later a claw) that can turn anything biological it touches into anything else. When the Punisher finally corners him, he tries to turn Jake's entire body to mud. Too bad he forgot that he chopped off one of the Punisher's hands two issues prior; all Jake has to do is reach out with his prosthetic hand, grab Fearmaster's arm, and shove the claw right back in his face.
* Used in the tongue-in-cheek ''ComicBook/ThePunisherKillsTheMarvelUniverse'': The Punisher actually manages to kill the nearly unkillable ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}. How does he do this? By forcing good ol' Logan into a generator, using his metal bones as a conductor to electrically fry every cell in his body.
* ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}} basically died because his own powers worked against other heroes' efforts to cure the cancer that eventually killed him. The energies of the nega-bands that gave him most of his powers included a healing factor that kept the cancer in check for several years, but the cancer eventually mutated to the point where the nega bands could no longer stop it, and made Mar-Vell reliant on them to the point he would die in a matter of hours without them. Worse, the mutated cancer was now linked to the nega bands, meaning that a cure would not only have to overcome the cancer itself but the bands as well, making it basically impossible for the heroes to do more than delay the spread of the disease.

* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': The U-Foes seem to kill themselves off like this the first time they turn up -- their newly gained powers are strong enough to potentially take down the Big Green Machine, but PowerIncontinence kicks in. Vapour can turn herself into any gas... but soon cannot keep her molecules together. Ironclad can increase his mass... which keeps increasing so he cannot move and sinks into the ground. And their leader Vector, just like Unus above, can repel things -- eventually he repels the air around him so he suffocates, then he repels ''Earth itself'' and shoots out into space. X-Ray's ability to manipulate radiation very nearly causes him to explode from absorbing too much energy. [[UnexplainedRecovery They come back]].
* In ''Wolverine: Enemy of the State'', the [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} titular hero]] kills Gorgon by using his metal claws to show the villain his own reflection, [[TakenForGranite thus turning his own petrifaction abilities on himself]].
* ''Franchise/XMen'':
** Unus the Untouchable was a mutant criminal with a force field that protected him from all harm. Eventually, it got so powerful that not even air could get through.
** In the final arc of ''ComicBook/NewXMen'', bacteria-based BigBad Sublime summons the Phoenix to Earth, in hopes of using her in her role as destroyer of evolutionary dead ends to wipe out mutantkind. Guess who she ends up deeming the ''actual'' evolutionary dead end and destroying?

* In ''ComicBook/WhatIf: ComicBook/{{Infinity}} - ComicBook/DarkReign'' we're shown a world where ComicBook/NormanOsborn gains control of the Infinity Gauntlet and uses it to take over the world and resurrect his father. However, despite all of this, his father shows him love not because he's done all of this, but just because he's his son. [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Norman can't accept this]] and [[RetGone erases him from existence]]. It takes a moment before he realizes, whoops, he's just erased himself, too.

* This is what allows ComicBook/CaptainAmerica to enact his plan in ''ComicBook/SecretEmpire'' - Maria Hill, former Director of ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}, had found evidence of Cap secretly being a member of ComicBook/{{HYDRA}}. She contacts Rick Jones with this news, but he seems incredibly doubtful and ultimately rejects this, specifically due to the fact that saying something like this is the sort of stunt she would have pulled ever since she took over S.H.I.E.L.D.
* In one issue of ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures: The Avengers'', Giant Girl (Janet Van Dyne) ends up under the control of the insect humanoid Psyclops. Seeking answers, Storm, Wolverine and Spider-Man head for Van Dyne Labs for answers, where they meet Hank Pym. Pym reveals that her costume's equipment were meant for shrinking and communication with insects. When Janet discovers she can grow, she ignores all of that until Psyclops' powerful insect control took ''her'' over. Thankfully, her new costume averts that problem from then on.
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel:
** ''ComicBook/AllNewUltimates'': Diamondback has Bombshell under her control, and uses her against the Ultimates. But when she mentions the death of Poey, the anger allows her to break free of their control.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': Beast managed to find Cornelious in the Weapon X complex thanks to his new feral snout, that Cornelious himself gave him. He enjoyed the irony.
* ''ComicBook/MarvelMysteryComics'': in the third issue's The Angel story, the evil Sacred One tumbles into his own pit trap in his attempt to get away from The Angel.
* ''ComicBook/XForce'': [[SinisterMinister Reverend]] [[AbusiveParents Craig Sinclair]] brainwashes his daughter Wolfsbane into attacking Angel and mutilating his wings. During a confrontation, Craig ends up standing in front of Angel's mutilated wings which causes Wolfsbane's "kill the angel" brainwashing to kick in and she ends up eating him alive.

* The U-Foes, enemies of the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk, seem to kill themselves off like this the first time they turn up -- their newly gained powers are strong enough to potentially take down the Big Green Machine, but PowerIncontinence kicks in. Vapour can turn herself into any gas... but soon cannot keep her molecules together. Ironclad can increase his mass... which keeps increasing so he cannot move and sinks into the ground. And their leader Vector, just like Unus above, can repel things -- eventually he repels the air around him so he suffocates, then he repels ''Earth itself'' and shoots out into space. X-Ray's ability to manipulate radiation very nearly causes him to explode from absorbing too much energy. [[UnexplainedRecovery They come back]].

* ComicBook/CaptainMarVell basically died because his own powers worked against other heroes' efforts to cure the cancer that eventually killed him. The energies of the nega-bands that gave him most of his powers included a healing factor that kept the cancer in check for several years, but the cancer eventually mutated to the point where the nega bands could no longer stop it, and made Mar-Vell reliant on them to the point he would die in a matter of hours without them. Worse, the mutated cancer was now linked to the nega bands, meaning that a cure would not only have to overcome the cancer itself but the bands as well, making it basically impossible for the heroes to do more than delay the spread of the disease.

* In the final arc of ''ComicBook/NewXMen'', bacteria-based BigBad Sublime summons the Phoenix to Earth, in hopes of using her in her role as destroyer of evolutionary dead ends to wipe out mutantkind. Guess who she ends up deeming the ''actual'' evolutionary dead end and destroying?