Every few years, Hollywood treats us to a comic-book-based blockbuster. More often than not, the superpowers of the heroes and villains are derived from or inspired by animals. There's Batman (hello, Christian Bale!), Catwoman, Wolverine, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Spider-Man, not to mention the host of anime characters we've welcomed to our shores. 

In the United States, Spider-Man is probably the most famous: A bite from a radioactive spider gives Peter Parker his wall-climbing, web-slinging powers.

This is cool and all, but the comic book industry and their Hollywood copycats could have done so much more. If they really had guts, they'd write stories about Super Disgusting Superheroes and Villains.

These characters would still be supercharged with animal or insect excellence, whether by attack or accident of birth. But taking the idea a step further means we could finally get characters worthy of the New Millennium. None of this old-fashioned spider and bat stuff. Let's bring on some characters based on nature's most strange and repellent beasts.

For example, we could be horrified by the Turkey Vulture, a misunderstood hero who defends victims with projectile vomit made from the flesh of dead animals! We could be haunted by the Hagfish, an ugly and bitter villain who wraps her victims in a ball of stringy glue!

Then, of course, we could get on with debating one of life's truly important questions: In a fight between the Hagfish and Spider-Man, who would win?