For several decades following Marvel's inception, the levels of violence depicted in its comics were fairly tame. The Golden and Silver Ages of Marvel comics contained very little gore; it was mainly fisticuffs, with the occasional shocking demise peppered in to keep the stakes high for our heroes.

But "gore," or really, any high level of brutality now seen in Marvel's books, has only truly emerged in recent decades. While the books have always dealt with relatable issues that us non-superpowered folks face each day (Peter Parker fitting in at high school, Tony Stark's alcohol dependency, etc.), the physical aggression has steadily increased, sometimes to the point of being downright shocking.

In many cases, non-readers still perceive comic books as being nothing more than early-era novelties - the likes of Captain America throwing a haymaker at Hitler, or Spider-Man simply webbing up his foes. But that's not the case with the entries below. No, we're talking about characters getting eaten. Ripped in half. Berserker rampages that end with entire teams of people left in bloody heaps. Indeed, Marvel has shown it's not afraid to get its hands - and other body parts - bloody in the process of storytelling. These are some of the goriest moments in Marvel comics.