10 Biggest Things The MCU Changed From The Comics

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After 17 years since the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the MCU and Marvel Comics have found an interesting synergy and have pretty much merged at this point. While the comics remain the main source of inspiration for the films and TV shows, the MCU has added tons of original twists — some of which have made it into the comics.

Fans have welcomed some of these changes immediately while despising others even years after they happened. In the end, it isn’t a matter of which one was first, but a matter of which one is really better when it comes to character development and the proper elements for a great storyline.

The Founding Avengers Roster Left Some Heroes Behind

A great chunk of the MCU’s First Phase focused on forming the Avengers, leading to their debut film as a team in 2012. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye became the official first roster of this universe Earth’s Mightiest Heroes — and while many more may follow, they will always be the OG Avengers, at least when it comes to the MCU. The comics’ first Avengers roster in the comics is similar, but not identical.

While the team also includes Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Thor, it doesn’t have Black Widow and Hawkeye — these two debuted a couple of years later. Instead, it’s Ant-Man and the Wasp who join them. The MCU changed the Pym’s for Natasha and Clint, giving the team a more edgy angle that fans definitely welcomed since these two heroes aren’t superpowered, just amazing at what they do.

Jane Foster Didn’t Fight Gorr

Thor: Love and Thunder adapted a big chunk of Jason Aaron’s run on the God of Thunder in barely two hours, so Taika Waititi had to take creative license when writing the script. This resulted in a big chronological change. The movie included Thor’s fight against Gorr the God Butcher and Jane Foster’s transformation into the Mighty Thor, but this happened at the same time, not one next to each other.

In the comics, Jane never fought Gorr. Her biggest enemies were Dario Agger and Mangog. Thor Odinson fought Gorr on his own — and even though he managed to stop him, the God Butcher ruined his self-worth for a while, leading him to lose his hammer. By having both storylines happen at the same time, the MCU had to leave a lot of great details behind which readers didn’t love.

Carol Danvers Was Never Ms. Marvel

Carol Danvers has been Captain Marvel in the comics since 2012, but before taking the mantle, she was known as Ms. Marvel for decades. This change happened after the death of the original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell — one of the few events in Marvel’s mainstream continuity that has remained permanent since it happened. It’s been 13 years, but Carol is likely not going to stop serving as Captain Marvel. This change is so definitive that not even the MCU dared to change it.

Instead, Captain Marvel introduced a newly created origin story for this heroine. This variant was never Miss Marvel. She was a pilot who ended up working with a Kree brigade, gaining powers only after an experimental engine exploded on her, turning her into Captain Marvel. This change makes sense as Carol’s time as Ms. Marvel was full of problematic moments, so having Marvel Studios give her a clean slate was a nice thing to see.

Secret Invasion Was Supposed to Be a Global Event

Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu, Secret Invasion established itself as one of the best events in Marvel Comics the moment it hit the shelves in 2008. This story follows a long-term Skrull invasion of Earth, slowly and steadily revealing that many of Marvel’s most beloved heroes were actually shapeshifting sleeper agents waiting for instructions — some of them without even knowing it. The paranoia ran high among heroes and among readers, who realized the invasion had affected years back in the past of the Marvel Universe.

With this great antecedent, in 2023, Secret Invasion hit Disney+, ready to take over the MCU. Unfortunately, it soon became one of the most hated MCU projects ever. The main reason: it was an underwhelming event compared with its comic counterpart. The invasion didn’t even reach outside a small community, and practically no other hero but Fury and his closest allies heard of it. Contrary to other interesting changes from the MCU, this one wasn’t welcomed by the viewers and comic readers.

Namor Became the Leader of Talokan

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced Namor into the MCU in 2022, but this antihero was very different from what fans expected. The MCU version of Namor is a hybrid mutant, born from a human and an Atlantean princess. As such, he rules Atlantis, a kingdom underwater. His MCU version has way more lore. Originally known as Ch’ah Toh Almehen, he’s the son of a Mayan woman and a Purépecha man from Yucatán. As his mother’s tribe tried to escape the Spanish Conquistadores, they found a mysterious herb infused with Vibranium, which altered their bodies. Since she was pregnant with Namor at the time, he mutated differently and gained certain abilities, becoming basically a deity.

With just one character, Marvel Studios managed to explore complex topics, like colonialism, environmentalism, and even moral ambiguity. The MCU Namor is a complex man with a rich story based on even richer cultures. Overall, this is one of the many changes fans were happy to see. Now that he has been announced to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, comic readers are excited to see how things will play out.

Bucky Was Never Captain America’s Sidekick

Before becoming the dangerous Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes was a lighter character. He was not the Winter Soldier, but Bucky, aka Captain America’s trusty but younger sidekick. He was supposed to fill a void for teenage heroes in Marvel, expanding on their target audience. However, fate drove him to become a villain, then an antihero, and finally a hero.

When it was announced that Sebastian Stan would portray Bucky Barnes, many comics fans couldn’t help but wonder if he was the right fit to portray a teenage sidekick. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case. The MCU completely ignored Bucky’s past as the Robin to Captain America’s Batman, instead making him Steve’s best friend pre-Super Soldier serum. This change gave this friendship a more equal footing, turning them into a beloved duo.

The Infinity Stones Started as McGuffins

The MCU changed plenty from the comics when it came to superheroes, but it also affected some important items. For example, the Infinity Stones. In the movies, some of these powerful gems were individual artifacts before Thanos used them for the Blip: the Tesseract, the Aether, Loki’s Scepter, and the Eye of Agamotto.

In the comics, the stones are simply the Infinity Stones. They’re just as powerful, of course. However, when it comes to the overarching storyline and the narrative quality, having the gems go from singular examples of the magical object trope throughout 10 years into becoming the main reason the whole Infinity Saga happened really tied it all together beautifully.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Got a Makeover

The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fan-favorite bunch thanks to their dysfunctional but hilarious dynamic in the MCU. However, movie-only fans will be surprised to know their comic counterparts were very different before Gunn’s trilogy revamped their personalities.

For example, on paper, Star-Lord is a serious leader, not a jokester with amazing music taste like Chris Pratt’s version. Drax is not an alien, but a human with a chip on his shoulder that was turned into a living weapon. Given this, he isn’t funny, but a very dramatic character. Rocket Raccoon acts less like a bounty hunter and more like a space ranger. All these changes made the Guardians very unique characters in the MCU, but fans of the team from before weren’t as happy to witness them.

Civil War Features a More Complex Moral Conundrum

Fans have complained before that Captain America: Civil War was underwhelming. Contrary to the comics, it only had a dozen heroes fighting each other, so it wasn’t as action-packed as the books. There’s a way in which the movie was way better than the comics. This is the moral aspect of it all. In the comics, Iron Man’s team didn’t really have a point regarding the pro-registration mess. In fact, they all became kind of evil while trying to put their ideas into effect.

The movie gave Iron Man a great case. Following the Sokovia mess, it was easy to empathize with the need for regulation while also questioning how much this would take the heroes’ individual freedom away. Both sides have great points. In the comics, Iron Man’s allies are way too close to villainy for comfort, so it’s easy to decide who is right without questioning it so much, making it a less inspiring storyline.

MCU Thanos Thought He Was Doing a Good Thing With the Snap

The whole Infinity Saga falls on Thanos’ reason for killing half of the universe. The villain considered the universe was overpopulated, and the resources weren’t enough, so by killing a half, he actually wanted to ensure the survival of a half. In the comics, Thanos’ main motivation was way less interesting. The Mad Titan wasn’t trying to save the universe in his own twisted way. He just wanted to woo Lady Death.

In the comics, he’s just an evil man willing to do anything for the woman he loves, but in the MCU, he’s a misguided being with a good intention, but a twisted sense of morality. By changing Thanos’ motivation for his actions, Marvel Studios turned this villain into a way more interesting character.

“}]] The MCU has always been inspired by Marvel Comics, and while that inspiration has gone a long way, certain elements were altered from the comics.  Read More