Remember Me

What is a person if not a conglomeration of their experiences and memories? Our life experiences completely determine our future actions and behaviors. For people who tend to be forgetful, this could be a huge problem, as they are less likely to learn and grow from the past. Since today is I forget day, we at Quirk wanted to take a look at some of the most messed up memories in all of comics. Don’t think that this list was easy to compile, most of these guys and gals we had forgotten about.

Abe Sapien: Hellboy

Poor Abe, he has no idea who the hell he is. For the majority of the run of the Hellboy universe comics, Abe is seeking out the truth of his existence. The amphibious man didn’t know how he ended up in a stasis tube with the same date on it as Abe Lincoln’s death. Eventually Abe was able to trace back his history to find out that he was a Victorian scientist named Langdon Everett Caul, a member of an ancient society who believed that life and knowledge came from the sea.   

Wolverine: X-Men

Logan, James Howlett, The Wolverine, Weapon X; all of these are names attributed to the X-Men’s resident amnesiac. Wolverine’s story of memory loss is so complex and confusing, even the world’s foremost mental power, Charles Xavier, is incapable of shaking out the truth. For decades, Logan has been collecting bits and pieces of his past life. Every year he comes closer and closer to finding out who he is. The problem is that since he is approaching 250 years old, it will be hard to collect all of the information about his past.   

Led Dent: Tokyo Ghost

This tale of memory loss and manipulation is a sad one for sure. Teddy Dennis was just a boy who liked technology, unfortunately for him, perhaps a bit too much. Then one day, he was saved from his dependency by the love of his life, Debbie. The two were eventually attacked by street thugs and Teddy agreed to join the police force for some physical and mental upgrades. The problem was, all of these changes to his body caused his memories to become inaccessible to him. He is even incapable of recognizing the woman he once loved.

Duncan Locke: Locke and Key

Key House is a strange place where many dark and mysterious things happen. This wouldn’t be so bad if everyone remembered and was capable of drawing on the past to protect themselves from the coming evil. Too bad Duncan Locke had his memories tampered with so he was unable to warn his niece and nephews about the dangers which might befall them in the town of Lovecraft.  

Bucky Barns: Captain America

James Barns was once Captain America’s best friend. The two fought Nazis together during WWII, but after a mission gone wrong, Bucky was presumed dead. It seems that wasn’t the case though, as the Russians managed to pull a limp damaged Barns from the wreckage of a plane. Bucky was subsequently brainwashed and outfitted with a bionic arm. He spent the next fifty plus years assassinating people for the Russians. Eventually he encountered Captain America and his memories were restored. Now he is one of Marvel’s most popular heroes.  

Doctor Light: Identity Crisis

Arthur Light was a bad, bad man. For many years, it seemed as though Light was simply an incompetent supervillain who couldn’t steal candy from a baby. That was all changed in 2004 when it was revealed that Light was actually a very competent villain and a serial rapist. After he attacked The Elongated Man’s wife, Sue Dibny, the Justice League voted to allow resident magician Zatanna to wipe his memory. He eventually regained his memories and became a huge threat to the Justice League again.  

The Entire Marvel Universe: Spider Man: One More Day

During the Civil War comic series, Spider-Man made a huge mistake. Siding with Iron Man in the story, Peter Parker revealed his secret identity to the world. This made everyone he loves into a target and eventually Aunt May was shot to death. In an attempt to right the wrong, Peter and his wife Mary Jane Watson make a deal with the Demon Mephisto. They give up their marriage in order to bring May back. Mephisto agrees and in the process wipes the memory of Spider-Man’s identity reveal from the collective world mind.