CSBG has an archive of comic plots that readers wish they could forget, like Speedball's bizarre descent into becoming the "hero" Penance.
[I]Full article [URL=http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/how-civil-war-created-one-of-worst-superheroes-ever-more-ill-consideredplots]here[/URL].[/I]
Yes, Speedball's becoming Penance is something that people laugh AT rather than with.
Even if Penance had been an entirely new character with no ties to any pre-existing character, the concept still would have fallen flat on its rear. "Hey, let's create the first emo superhero! He powers up by cutting himself! He was the survivor of an explosion that killed hundreds of people, and out of survivor's guilt wears a costume whose insides are covered with spikes, one for each of the people killed! The fans'll love it!"
Of course, the fans didn't love it. They rolled their eyes and groaned at it. The whole thing was just ridiculous.
Making a lighthearted character like Speedball into Penance and trying to play the concept seriously (and instead ending up with a lot of pretentious-sounding dialogue) only made it even more ridiculous.
And I think Marvel KNEW this was ridiculous, which is why they allowed Dan Slott via Squirrel Girl to mercilessly mock the whole thing in the Great Lakes Initiative Summer Special.