The History of Frankenstein in Comic Books

If you were to do an internet search for “Frankenstein comic books,” you might expect to find nothing but horror comics and maybe a Classics Illustrated adaptation. But Frankenstein’s Monster has had a surprisingly long history in superhero comics, too.

Both DC and Marvel have played with the OG enormous green rage monster over the years. In some of his earliest appearances, such as in Detective Comics #135 and X-Men #40, Frankenstein was a pawn rather than a hero. This was because the publishers made new “revelations” about Mary Shelley’s novel that really did not add anything to the original story.

Other times, they just adopted the monster’s aesthetics. DC featured a Frankenstein-like character on its original Creature Commandos team, a group of World War II soldiers transformed into monsters. But this wasn’t the real Frankenstein. He was an injured soldier “rebuilt” to resemble the creature.

These faux Frankensteins are interesting in their own ways, but the real deal began to take precedence over the years. In addition to single guest appearances in ongoing <a href="https://comicvibe.com/brewers-world-series-parade-rally-replay/” title=”Brewers' World Series parade, rally replay”>series–DC’s Young All-Stars #18-19 and Marvel’s Iron Man #101-102, for instance–the actual Frankenstein has starred in his own butt-kicking adventures. In the 1970s, the Spawn of Frankenstein had a backup feature in DC’s Phantom Stranger for a while. Then, Marvel gave him his own title, first called The Monster of Frankenstein and then, TheFrankenstein Monster. Though not strictly superhero comics, their versions of Frankie are depicted as having an innate need to help individuals in distress, even when they aren’t too fond of humanity as a whole–and even when their heroic efforts end in tragedy.

As you may imagine, however, having a super strong, immortal, unkillable fighter on your side is quite the asset, so Frankenstein has been “upgraded” to official hero status in more recent stories. He was part of the 2006 iteration of DC’s Seven Soldiers of Victory. Then he joined S.H.A.D.E.–that is, Super Human Advanced Defense Executive–in Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., where he became the leader of a new group of Creature Commandos. Another member of this team was the Bride of Frankenstein, often referred to as the Bride or Lady F, despite repeatedly making it clear that she considered Frankie her ex. It’s a distinction that Frankenstein himself seemed to have trouble accepting. This dynamic became a focal point in the 2024 animated series Creature Commandos, though the show, unlike the comic, prioritized the Bride’s perspective.

Over at Marvel, Frankenstein was a main character in Fear Itself: Fearsome Four, where he helped She-Hulk, Nighthawk, and Howard the Duck defeat an out-of-control Man-Thing. Incidentally, yes, Frankenstein has met the Hulk in Hulk: Monster-Size Special #1. They got along pretty well. Eventually.

DC and Marvel each have extensive stables of their own heroes to draw from, yet both keep returning to the story of Frankenstein for inspiration. Why? Aside from the continuing popularity and relevance of Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein’s Monster just seems to fit into the world of superheroes naturally. He’s an individual granted superhuman powers through scientific means, only to be rejected by a society that hates and fears him for features and abilities beyond his control.

Despite this, he keeps going.

For these reasons, I think it’s safe to say that Frankenstein’s superheroic exploits will not be ending any time soon.