Worst codenames in Marvel?

[Hybrid]

Just wondering what the bad codenames are in the Marvel Universe? Some are intentionally bad, like Paste-Pot Pete, some are legit misfires. Let's discuss.

To begin, I always thought Melissa Gold's old identity as a villain, Screaming Mimi, was pretty dumb. It sounds more like some '80s mullet rock band name than a codename. It doesn't help that her costume kinda looked like that kind of '80s aesthetic and was dumb. It's good that she became the heroic Songbird never turned back, and I think it's why she became much more popular (D-list thug vs. darkhorse heroine). I wouldn't be surprised if she ever looked back at that (combined with her ridiculous costume) and wonder "Man, what the hell was I thinking?".

Anyone else of note?

[DigiCom]

The classic "bad codename" is probably The Whizzer.

The fact that his costume looks like this:



does not help.

[MichaelC]

Excluding obscure characters like Whizzer, I'd say Psylocke has the worst codename. Most names are very evocative of what they are: Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America, Hulk. What the heck is a "Psylocke"?

[Hybrid]

I always felt Lady Deathstrike was trying just a little too hard to be intimidating.

[Riv86672]

This one comes w. one of the worst costumes ever:



Kitty Pryde as Sprite.
Named after a soda, w. a costume that would make Disco era Dazzler blush.

[Lukmendes]

This one comes w. one of the worst costumes ever:



Kitty Pryde as Sprite.
Named after a soda, w. a costume that would make Disco era Dazzler blush.

Doesn't Xavier tell her to go back and change her clothes after that? 'Cause if so that one may have been on purpose lol.

[Chris0013]

I really still can't get past Goldballs.

[TheRay]

I always felt Lady Deathstrike was trying just a little too hard to be intimidating.

It’s consistent with the way rogues are usually named (Skeletor, Shredder, Doctor Claw, Sabretooth, etc.). You don’t get many Princess Bubblegum rogues.

[Hybrid]

It’s consistent with the way rogues are usually named (Skeletor, Shredder, Doctor Claw, Sabretooth, etc.). You don’t get many Princess Bubblegum rogues.

Not really, those are more the "death-kill" names. I mean, look at Spider-Man's rogues: Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Scorpion, Vulture, Electro, Mysterio, Shocker, Sandman etc., they don't have those types of names. Many villains have natural sounding names to be quite honest.

Then look at Lady Deathstrike. It just sounds so funny for some reason to pair "Lady" with "Deathstrike", it's kind of like having a villain named "Mister Murdercorpse".

[Digifiend]

Excluding obscure characters like Whizzer, I'd say Psylocke has the worst codename. Most names are very evocative of what they are: Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America, Hulk. What the heck is a "Psylocke"?

Psy as in psychic. No idea where the locke part comes from though.

Doesn't Xavier tell her to go back and change her clothes after that? 'Cause if so that one may have been on purpose lol.

He did. Kitty's not wrong about her other uniform being an antique though - it's identical to Jean's first costume.

[PCN24454]

I wonder how these names were received back in their day.

[DigiCom]

Psy as in psychic. No idea where the locke part comes from though.

I've heard it suggested that it was a spin on Psyche (i.e. "Psy-key").

[Kurolegacy]

Prestige for Rachel Grey. Good God is that code name god awful.

[Londo Bellian]

I've heard it suggested that it was a spin on Psyche (i.e. "Psy-key").

Which explains her butterfly-shaped psionic signature (Greek myth reference).

Kochou Gakure = Village Hidden Among the Butterflies, or Butterfly Ninja Village if you Naruto

[Panic]

I've heard it suggested that it was a spin on Psyche (i.e. "Psy-key").

That might well be the case, it sounds quite clever. The term "mindlock" was used by one of Betsy's ill-fated Psi-Division friends in the issue that Moore re-introduced Betsy to the Captain Britain strip, so perhaps that inspired Claremont?