Mullets are back, y’all. Whether you like it or hate it, the 1980s and 1990s mainstay haircut has made a sort of comeback of late, seeing its greatest resurgence during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was probably an inevitability, as everything old eventually becomes new again. That, combined with a mixture of hair experimentation brought about during the quarantine, and the mullet or some variation of it is here to stay—at least for a bit. (Full disclosure: I had a mullet in the 1980s and I’m regrowing one now. It’s been a year, folks. Live your life.)
Comic books once embraced the mullet; they generally try to keep up with the times, after all. And while look back on hairstyles of the past and chuckle, future generations will do the same to us. So looking at the following list of comic characters sporting “business in the front, party in the back” is meant to poke fun a little, sure, it’s all in good fun. A good portion of us are currently mulleted wonders at the moment, anyway. (This is not meant to be an exhaustive list in the least, so feel free to sound off in the comments!)
Rogue
One of several X-Men on this, Rogue’s mullet is quintessential 1980s: huge bangs, flowing waterfall in the back. Rogue’s trademark white strip just makes it look more punk and it’s striking.
Invisible Woman
Susan Storm-Richards had just experienced intense trauma up and down, which prompted her to change her name from Invisible Girl to Invisible Woman. During that same time, she changed up her ‘do from the 1960s coiffure she’d kept for years to something a little more contemporary (for the time). Classic mullet: cropped closed on the top and sides, full locks in the back.
Tony Stark/Iron Man
When you have that much money, you can do whatever you want.
Longshot
The second X-Men member on the list, Longshot is from an alien world who teamed up with the team in the 1980s. With that collaboration, the X-Men were treated to a rocking coiffure. His neck’s never getting cold.
Superman
Back in the 1990s, the Man of Steel perished at the hands of the alien powerhouse known as Doomsday. He got better because comics, and when he inevitably returned, he sported a mullet that puts Billy Ray Cyrus’ to shame.
Rachel Summers/Phoenix
X-character #3! Rachel was the daughter of a future version of Cyclops and Marvel Girl, tapping into the Phoenix force just like her mother. When she came to the present, she was sporting a hybrid mullet/flat-top, because, apparently, the writers knew that fashion would loop back again to the Kentucky waterfall.
Lois Lane
This entry comes from just a few years ago, rendered by the talented Carlos Pacheco. Lois’ mullet here more closely resembles some of the more “modern mullets” we’ve seen the last couple years, with the whispy strands and choppy layers.
Bishop
The fourth X-Men member on the list with a mullet, and the second from the future, Bishop came on the scene in the early 1990s, sporting a thick mane in the back that anyone growing out a mullet these days would–and should–envy.
Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Peter has had varying degrees of mullet-tude over his career, but the permed one is maybe the best, if not most iconic. Look at those full waves! Spidey is stylin’ and profilin’.
Captain Planet
You can’t have a list of superhero mullets and not mention Captain Planet. That green mullet was as lush as the vegetation he and the Planeteers hoped to save. Honorable mention is Wheeler’s (far right) orange Mississippi Mudflap.
Eddie Brock/Venom
Back in the 1990s, Eddie Brock, the human side of Venom, sported a mullety hairdo, because you gotta look stylish when you’re being menacing.
Quasar
Quasar was an Avenger and the Protector of the Universe back in the 1990s. If you’re wearing so many hats, you have to look good while doing it. That feathered mane is a thing of glory–one might even say “out of this world.” * groan *
Rick Jones
Rick was a running buddy of the Hulk’s for decades and, eventually, headlined his own band. If you’re in a band in the 1980s and 1990s, it’s the law that you have to sport the “business in front, party in back” look.
Nightwing
In both the comics and on Batman: The Animated Series, the Dark Knight’s former sidekick had his own glorious mullet. And why wouldn’t he? Mullets scream fun, and Nightwing is one of the more happy-go-lucky characters in the Batman universe.
What are some of your favorite mullets in pop culture? We wanna know!