The 10 Worst Changes Marvel Movies Made from the Comics, Ranked

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Marvel Comics have been around for decades, and they have inspired curiosity and engagement with millions upon millions of fans. Though the comic books have always been the major facet of Marvel’s success, numerous film and television adaptations have made the publisher a household name.

With an entire Marvel Cinematic Universe still going strong today, some of the most beloved and iconic Marvel stories have been adapted for the big screen. Though the films mostly get things right, there are a few rare instances where the cinematic interpretations of the comics make changes to the source material for the worse.

10

Making Thor So Comedic Took Away His Powerful Aura

Seen In: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Many fans love Chris Hemsworth’s portrayal of Thor Odinson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He’s one of the longest-running actors in the franchise, and he has remained an integral part of the of the universe for the better part of a decade. With four solo films under his belt, it seems that Thor’s character would be firmly established and concrete, but unfortunately, his characterization has ebbed and flowed for the worse over the years.

Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok was perhaps the best outing for the God of Thunder in the entire MCU, but it unfortunately set a bad precedent for the character: making him goofy. A character that is so often regal and kingly and noble in the comics, Thor’s live-action adaptation only got worse with Thor: Love and Thunder, a film that blatantly ignored the comics and turned Thor into a silly, goofy oaf.

9

Overcomplicating Spider-Man’s Origins Took Away From Their Impact

Seen In: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

While it contains one of the most effective character death scenes in any superhero movie, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 remains a total mess. Visually engaging, stacked with great actors, and based on strong source material, the film still faltered at every turn. It was an over-stuffed, bloated mess, and its worst sin was the fact that it felt the need to overcomplicate Peter Parker’s origins.

Focusing on his parents and their secret lives before Peter became a superhero, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 implied that only Peter could have become Spider-Man because of some ridiculous DNA-based destiny. This takes away from the idea of Spider-Man being an everyday, ordinary hero, and puts too much emphasis on the boring characters of his parents.

8

Making The Leader a Captain America Villain Was Utterly Baffling

Seen In: Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

The latest entry in the Captain America film franchise, Captain America: Brave New World, is definitely the messiest film in the series. Packed with odd characterization, bizarre pacing, and paper-thin plotting, the film did not land well with audiences. One of the most baffling changes from the comics was, of course, the choice to give two of the Hulk’s main villains to Sam Wilson, aka Captain America.

The film’s entire marketing was centered around Sam Wilson facing off against the Red Hulk, a character (obviously) associated with Bruce Banner and his stories. If that weren’t bad enough, Samuel Sterns, aka the Leader and one of Hulk’s archenemies, was also included in the film as an enemy for Cap. A film that could’ve featured any number of Captain America villains instead chose to take away from the Hulk in order to haphazardly change the comic book lore.

7

Making The Fantastic Four An Angsty, Depressing Team Went Against Everything The Comics Stood For

Seen In: Fantastic Four (2015)

Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four is perhaps one of the most universally-hated superhero films of all time. Its ugly visual design, terrible scripting, and woeful characterizations for everyone involved made it an immediate failure. The Fantastic Four are one of Marvel’s most hopeful, optimistic and forward-thinking teams, and the film shockingly decided to go in a completely different direction.

Making each member of the team a miserable, uncharismatic pawn of the government was a complete slap in the face to any fans of the original comic book series, and it severely harmed the public’s understanding of the characters in general. Thankfully, the MCU seems to be setting things right, as the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps is looking incredibly promising.

6

Sewing Up Deadpool’s Mouth Took Away His Core Trait

Seen In: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Another of the most iconically hated superhero films of all time, 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine is packed with utterly disastrous creative decisions. From making Logan’s claws CGI to overcomplicating his backstory to completely throwing a wrench into the pre-existing timeline of the X-Men film franchise, the movie was an utter failure.

One of the biggest issues with the film was the treatment of Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool. Before Ryan Reynolds took the character to new heights in his own series, he portrayed the terribly-adapted version for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where the decision was strangely made to take away the Merc With The Mouth’s mouth, which is arguably his most important character trait.

5

Making Galactus a Cloud Made Him Far Less Intimidating

Seen In: Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer (2007)

Before Josh Trank’s abysmal interpretation of Marvel’s First Family, 2005’s Fantastic Four and its 2007 follow-up, Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer were leading the charge in ruining public opinion on the iconic Marvel team. Though neither early Fantastic Four movie is nearly as bad overall as the 2015 version, they have their fair share of foolish changes from the source material.

Chief among these changes was the decision to turn Galactus, one of the most powerful and intimidating entities in the entire Marvel Universe, into a cloud. While the film interpreted the Silver Surfer surprisingly well, the refusal to allow something as “goofy” as Galactus in the film was their biggest mistake.

4

Having Tony Stark Create Ultron Took Away From Hank Pym’s Narrative Importance

Seen In: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

2012’s The Avengers proved that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was here to stay, and that it could actually pull off bringing together an entire universe of comic book characters. The follow-up film, 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, while not nearly as beloved, was still a worthy entry in the franchise.

The film had one major issue, however: it oversimplified the origins of Ultron, its main villain, and gave credit for his creation to Tony Stark instead of Hank Pym, who created the character in the comics. With the Ant-Man film releasing the very same year, Age of Ultron could easily have brought in Hank Pym as the creator of Ultron, and it would have connected Ant-Man to the rest of the MCU in a natural way. Instead, Pym’s most important comic creation was taken from him and given to Tony Stark in the interest of synergy and streamlining.

3

Making Kraven the Hunter a Boring Anti-Hero Took Away All of His Edge

Seen In: Kraven The Hunter (2024)

Though 2024’s Kraven the Hunter has found surprising success on streaming in recent months, the film is undoubtedly a complete misfire. Featuring Aaron Taylor Johnson in the lead role, the film interpreted one of Spider-Man’s deadliest and most interesting villains as nothing more than a generic anti-hero.

None of the off-shoot films surrounding Spider-Man’s supporting characters have been particularly good, but Kraven the Hunter might just be the most disappointing, as the character had so much potential as a villain for the web-slinger himself. Making Kraven a morally good, animal-loving hero who occasionally kills was a stupid change from the comics, and it was a wasted opportunity for what could have been done with the MCU version of Spider-Man and his foes.

2

Sidelining Cyclops In Favor of Wolverine Ruined Public Perception of the Character

Seen In: The Entire X-Men Film Franchise (2000-2016)

Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, is one of the coolest, most interesting members of the X-Men in the comics. He’s the team’s fearless leader, but he is also a complex, emotionally complicated member of the mutant race. He has proven himself time and time again in combat, in strategy, and in leadership, but his live-action counterpart was constantly undermined to make Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine look better.

It’s a real shame that Cyclops was so constantly and consistently mishandled in live-action, as the character’s public perception suffered greatly from it. A character that is so wonderfully engaging in the comics was turned into a one-note, whiny side character with no agency. It remains one of the biggest failures of the X-Men franchise, and it’s something that the MCU reboot of the series needs to fix.

1

Removing Hulk’s Psychological Turmoil Ruined the Character in the MCU

Seen In: The Entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008-Present)

The Hulk is one of the most iconic characters in pop culture. He has stood out as one of the pillars of Marvel Comics for decades, and his storylines over the years have consistently contained some of the boldest, most engaging pieces of comic book storytelling in the superhero genre. One major facet of the Hulk is his incredible psychological trauma, something that is almost completely avoided in the MCU.

Books like the incredible The Immortal Hulk by writer Al Ewing prove that the Hulk’s stories can be dark, deeply emotional, and thematically rich while still existing in a greater shared universe. There’s no reason why Mark Ruffalo’s interpretation of the Hulk should be as boring and banal as it is, but the MCU seems almost determined to make the iconic green giant a shell of his comic book self.

“}]] Marvel Comics have a long history of being adapted into film, but those adaptations don’t always do a good job of bringing the classic stories to life  Read More