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On July 19th 1860, one of the most infamous women in history was born. Lizzie Borden was an upstanding member of her community. She taught Sunday school at her local church and was a member of the Woman’s Christian Temperance League. Then on August 4th 1892, Lizzie allegedly picked up an axe and murdered her father and step-mother in a most brutal fashion. The general belief is that Borden did commit the murders, but she was acquitted of the crime. We can never definitively say if Borden ever wielded that axe, but as a tribute to her, here is a look at some of the best axe wielders in pop culture and literature.

Diminutive do-gooder Ant-Man hits the silver screen this weekend, making him the smallest superhero yet to carry a feature film (and that includes Dustin Hoffman's performance as Rain Man). But if Ant-Man’s suddenly too busy to pick up the superhero hotline, don't worry. He's far from the only economy-sized powerhouse to take up the tiny cause of justice. In fact, he’s not even the first! Comics have a long history of super-small heroes. Some, like DC’s Atom and various friends and alternate identities of Marvel’s Ant-Man (The Wasp, Yellowjacket, various other Ant-Men), are fairly well-known by today’s comics fans. But many others never grew an audience that outsized their stature. So let’s meet a few forgotten mini-marvels, some of the tiniest titans to have ever battled evil.

Comic books have a long association with star-spangled, flag-draped, red-white-and-blue-festooned crimebusters. It’s a heroic tradition dating all the way back to the very first patriotic paladin, The Shield (who debuted in 1940), and his better-known successor Captain America (who followed a year later). They’re not the only heroes to don the dapper togs of liberty, however. Literally dozens—maybe hundreds—of other comic book superheroes have filled the four-color ranks of liberty, including these lesser-known do-gooders who always wore their patriotism on their sleeves (or capes, or in one case, fur).

Comic book superheroes are a strange class of folks. Is there anything more unusual than a flying man wearing his underwear on the outside of his leggings, or a giant green behemoth with the language skills of a toddler, dressed in a pair of purple shorts, smashing everything in his path? The League of Regrettable Superheroes rebuttal: Yes! Even among the cape-and cowl set, you'll find much stranger characters (which is one of the reasons superhero comics are so great). And among LORS elite roster of oddballs, here are a few of the weirdest superheroes ever published–which makes them the oddest of the odd.

What does your favorite superhero wear into battle—body armor? Protective gauntlets? Some kind of sissy utility belt? Pfftt…why not fight crime in a bike helmet and knee pads, Caped Crusader? No, the truly dedicated hero doesn’t waste time zipping up a full-body costume when there are crooks and henchmen to punch. Those who completely commit to the lifestyle know that the only way to confront the forces of evil is the same way you came into this world: naked and howling. While complete nudity is a dealbreaker for characters pursuing mainstream success in the masked hero game, here are a few shirtless, skin-baring superheroes from The League of Regrettable Superheroes who are proud to let their beach bodies shine.

Somebody–I think it was Aquaman–once noted that criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot. Which is why so many superheroes prey upon crooks’ apparent fear of the mysterious and supernatural. And let's face it, when shopping for frightening guises, a hero could do worse than flip through Mother Goose and the Brothers Grimm for inspiration, what with all those wolves and bears and diabetes-inducing candy houses. Here are a few crimefighters from The League of Regrettable Superheroes who apparantly drew on fairy tales and other fantastic literature for their personas…to varying degrees of success.