5 Controversial Times DC Comics Got Away With Super Hero Nudity

DC’s former adult-oriented Vertigo imprint didn’t shy away from featuring nudity, as some of its most popular titles often featured characters wearing little to no clothes.

For example, in “Sandman” #40 (by Neil Gaiman, Jill Thompson, Vince Locke, Daniel Vozzo, and Todd Klein), the story of Adam’s Three Wives is told, with the art showing a fully nude Lillith, a barely covered-up Nameless One, and a fully clothed Eve. Meanwhile, Lucifer Morningstar can be seen naked in the comic, although the sexless character doesn’t have a penis despite presenting as male. Several other Vertigo titles also feature tasteful nudity, including the “Lucifer” spin-off series, the John Constantine-starring “Hellblazer,” and the misfit team-up comic “Doom Patrol.” 

Vertigo stories often explore the mature, bizarre, and otherworldly, so the nudity within the comics rarely feels tacked on to make things sexier. Instead, it’s used to show a human side to several larger-than-life characters or, on the flip side, the grotesque and hedonistic nature of others. Among the many comics featuring nudity, DC’s Vertigo titles regularly offered the most artistic interpretations of what could otherwise be considered schlocky or shoehorned in.

DC’s former adult-oriented Vertigo imprint didn’t shy away from featuring nudity, as some of its most popular titles often featured characters wearing little to no clothes.

For example, in “Sandman” #40 (by Neil Gaiman, Jill Thompson, Vince Locke, Daniel Vozzo, and Todd Klein), the story of Adam’s Three Wives is told, with the art showing a fully nude Lillith, a barely covered-up Nameless One, and a fully clothed Eve. Meanwhile, Lucifer Morningstar can be seen naked in the comic, although the sexless character doesn’t have a penis despite presenting as male. Several other Vertigo titles also feature tasteful nudity, including the “Lucifer” spin-off series, the John Constantine-starring “Hellblazer,” and the misfit team-up comic “Doom Patrol.” 

Vertigo stories often explore the mature, bizarre, and otherworldly, so the nudity within the comics rarely feels tacked on to make things sexier. Instead, it’s used to show a human side to several larger-than-life characters or, on the flip side, the grotesque and hedonistic nature of others. Among the many comics featuring nudity, DC’s Vertigo titles regularly offered the most artistic interpretations of what could otherwise be considered schlocky or shoehorned in.