It hasn't always been sunshine and daisies for the beloved Marvel heroes, who have had to overcome their fair share of heartache and dejection in their line of work.
Although these superhuman saviors are highly celebrated by most, many of them have some red in their ledgers as a consequence of poor decision-making or simply bad luck and have suffered through some truly miserable experiences, ones which they would rather forget. While characters such as Jessica Jones, the Punisher, and the Runaways' Nico Minoru seem to have fixated on their emo lifestyle, other Marvel heroes only dabbled with the dark side briefly, before returning to their natural, more upbeat state.
10 The Incredibly Inconsolable Hulk
While Bruce Banner's general state of mind is usually overwhelmed with a combination of anger and angst, and in a typical emo fashion, the Hulk subsequently isolates himself from his teammates as often as possible. He literally leaves the Avengers stranded in the Age of Ultron due to his own feelings of rejection and unworthiness, believing himself to be unwelcome on Earth.
The Planet Hulk storyline is arguably the most brutal, as the green giant is essentially tricked into exile by SHIELD and left stranded in a strange world. Banner starts off as a lowly gladiator and eventually works his way to the top of the hierarchy, only to have everything crumble around him when Sakaar is almost laid to waste and his wife, Caiera, is killed in the chaos.
9 The God of Mischief and Misery
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Thor: The Dark World depicts a particularly troubling time for this tricker, as his beloved mother lost his life to the Dark Elves (which is technically Loki's fault, and boy, does he know it!) His relationship with his mother has often been a sore spot, particularly when Odin forbids them from seeing each other ever again as a way to punish his son.
In an attempt to gain acceptance from his adoptive family, Loki slaughters his biological father, Laufey; however, even this grand statement is insufficient in Odin's eyes. Poor Loki essentially orphans himself while searching for familial love; it's a miracle he is still capable of smiling today! While he may not have always been a hero, Loki has slowly started to change his tune for the better, which his brother is particularly pleased about.
8 The Alcoholic Armoured Avenger
Iron Man 3 is essentially one long pity party thrown by Tony Stark himself (a rather drastic change from his usual raucous celebrations.) The epic battle against Loki and his Chitauri forces did not exactly go as planned, leaving Iron Man feeling rather down in the dumps and suffering from severe insomnia, too.
Another time things take a turn for the worst in the Demon in a Bottle Arc whereby Stark is forced to confront his alcoholic tendencies, particularly after SHIELD starts gunning for ownership of his company. To add insult to injury, Obadiah Stane goes out of his way to make his life a living hell in the Iron Monger arc, bringing the man's melancholy back up to the surface again.
7 Hell Hath No Fury
Like any typical emo teenager, Wanda Maximoff decides that she is completely fed up with the world one day (granted, her husband did just die) and isolates herself in a sitcom-inspired alternate reality of her own creation.
While her WandaVision days are filled with joy, bliss, and motherly love, Agatha Harkness eventually rocks up to burst The Scarlet Witch's bubble, causing her to throw the ultimate temper tantrum in response. In the Avengers Disassembled Story Arc, Wanda proceeds to take out all her rage on those closest to her, causing unnecessary casualties in her wake (although resurrections thankfully pursued.)
6 Death, Destruction, and Disappointment
When one man feels solely responsible for the livelihood of an entire species, best believe there are going to be moments of hopelessness and defeat in his story. There have been a few times when Charles Xavier has wanted to throw in the towel (his hippy Days of Future Past period isn't exactly overflowing with optimism), while losing Eric Lehnsherr as an ally didn't help matters either.
In Logan,Professor X takes all the blame for the Westchester Incident, whereby he inadvertently murdered every student in his care while suffering from an Alzheimer's-induced seizure himself. The guilt took a significant toll on the once-proud man, which creates one of the most painful scenes to watch in the MCU.
5 Strange Circumstances
Stephen Strange's bout with the dark side was quite warranted after a horrific accident stole both of his greatest passions from him: the ability to perform intricate surgeries and his dearest Dr. Christine Palmer.
Surviving the car crash without his will to live took its toll on the esteemed neurosurgeon, who lost all sense of self-care in his obsession to rectify his injuries. Thankfully, Doctor Strange eventually lands up in the right place and finds solace in a new purpose and "career choice" after replacing The Ancient One as the almighty Sorcerer Supreme.
4 Weapon X + CPTSD
Wolverine is basically trapped within a permanent emo phase, unless he has captured the attention of the stunning Jean Grey, that is! This overpowered mutant's lengthy lifespan has left him with a selection of traumatic experiences to work through, and cinnamon whiskey and cigars apparently do the trick (at suppressing them, anyways.)
In one case, Logan's friend-turned-enemy, Sabretooth, causes his own fair share of melancholy when he gifts his nemesis the corpse of his beloved Kayla Silverfox - on Wolverine's birthday, no less! Even more tragic is the tale of his dear wife, Itsu, who is also murdered by a "friend" (the brainwashed Bucky Barnes.)
3 The Temperamental God of Thunder
Thor's emo phase came with some rather noticeable changes to his physique, as his usual wash-board abs seem to have picked up a bit of extra padding during his extended sulking session after Thor: Ragnarok.
Sadly, Thor could not overcome his crippling feelings of being "Unworthy" for allowing his beloved Asgard to meet its doom and subsequently spiraled into an alcohol-soaked depression. The shocked Avengers manage to drag him from his pit of despair and put him back to work for the big Endgame battle, and that is hopefully the last fans will see of the insensitively dubbed "Fat Thor."
2 Spider-Man's Sacrifice
While Peter Parker goes through some troubling times living under his Uncle's authority and then having to deal with his role in Ben's untimely death, and The Amazing Spider-Man has Gwen Stacy's blood on his hands, his darkest period has to be during the One More Day arc.
In this alternate timeline, Mary-Jane is alive and well (and now also Mrs. Parker); however, Aunt May's longevity is in question after being shot with a bullet meant for Spider-Man. The nefarious Mephisto shows up to "save" the day by offering to heal May's wounds, but Peter would have to sacrifice his happy marriage as payment, which obviously causes great emotional turmoil in the young hero's life.
1 Darkness, My Old Friend
Essentially the sweet-natured Jean Grey only gets all dark and twisty when the Phoenix is in charge; however, her less-than-ordinary life has caused some chaos and heartache, too. This powerful telepath has always been excessively hard on herself with regard to mastering her potential, leading Jean to be more serious and somber than lighthearted and carefree.
The Dark Phoenix Saga (particularly the comic arc) thoroughly fleshes out Jean's emo phase as she slips into the role of Dark Queen of the Hellfire Club and carries out whatever twisted desires pop into her head (and clearly gets exceedingly emotional in the process!) Jean essentially goes on a rampage, destroys an entire solar system, and then technically commits suicide to rectify her mistakes; talk about emo!