Summary
TheMCUhas done a great job of bringing the world of Marvel Comicsto life on the big screen. The franchise is currently one of thehighest-grossing movie seriesin history, and it shows no sign of slowing in the near future, with two moreAvengersmovies slated to be released in the next couple of years. Part of the reason for this success comes from how well theMCUhas adapted the likes of Iron Man and Captain America to the big screen.
Staying faithful to the source material has allowed the MCU to show audiences why their heroes are so great. However, there have been a few times in the past when the franchise had to deviate from things that are established in the comics. Most of these changes have managed to work, but some audiences are unaware of what exactly has been changed.
6Hawkeye’s Family
The Archer Is More Of A Lone Wolf In Comics
The firstAvengersmovie had the difficult task of balancing six big characters in a way that gives them all the spotlight. As such, it was inevitable thatone of these heroes would be sidelinedin the movie. It was just unfortunate that this character happened to be the expert archer, Hawkeye. Therefore, the franchise needed to find a way to make him more compelling in the sequel.
That is why it is revealed that Hawkeye has a secret family living on a farm inAvengers: Age of Ultron.This change took everyone by surprise, especially comic book fans. That is because the character of Hawkeye is more of a lone wolf in the comics. He has had romances with other Avengers, like Mockingbird, in the past, but giving him an entire family was a big step for the archer.
5Spider-Man’s Role in Civil War
Spider-Man Switched To Team Cap
When Marvel announced that the third Captain America movie in the MCU would be adapting theCivil Warstoryline, many comics fans knew the story would be very different. That is because the 2007Civil Warevent from the comics featured a conflict that included most of the heroes in the Marvel universe. At the time of the movie’s announcement, the MCU was yet to introduce many of the characters needed to adapt such a story. However, the studio had just made a late deal with Sony that allowed them touse the friendly neighborhood Spider-Manin their movie universe.
In the comics,Spider-Man has a big roleto play in the Civil War event. He begins the story by siding with Tony and reveals his secret identity, but later sides with Captain America when the war starts to go awry.Captain America: Civil Warwas the first appearance of this version of Spider-Man in the MCU, so the movie kept things simple by having him only being recruited by Iron Man in a move that has worked out well for the character.
4Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s Origin
The Mutant Children of Magneto
Marvel Studios has recently acquired the rights to use mutants in the MCU, but these characters were still owned by Fox in 2015. That is whyAvengers: Age of Ultronhad to change the origins of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to use them in the MCU.
These two characters ended up being experiments by Hydra in the movie instead ofpowerful mutants, so the pair could join The Avengers in a necessary change. Now thatMarvelhas the right to use mutants, they may retcon this decision. However, the change to these two characters was fundamental for bringing these Avengers into the MCU without breaking any rights agreements.
3Thanos' Motivation
By the time the credits had finished rolling after the firstAvengersmovie, audiences got their first tease of the Mad Titan, Thanos. In his exchange with a servant, there is a mention of Thanos trying to court death. This is becauseDeath is a physical manifestation in the comic books (and Deadpool lover), one that Thanos tries to win over by gathering the Infinity Stones and wiping out half the universe.
However, there is no mention of Death when Thanos starts his crusade inAvengers: Infinity War, and his motivation for wiping out half the universe stems from trying to preserve the universe’s resources. This motivation makes Thanos a more understandable and reasonable villain, which is probably why the filmmakers decided to make this change.
2Ultron
The Creation of Hank Pym, Not Tony Stark
Ultron is one of the biggest threats to The Avengers in the comic books. That is what made him a great choice for the villain of the second movie. Unfortunately, this psychotic AI was created by the first Ant-Man, Hank Pym, who had not yet appeared in the MCU by the time Ultron was to be unleashed.
Luckily, the MCU had another established character in the movie universe with the background and resources to bring Ultron to life. As a result, Tony Stark was the one who created Ultron in the movie and the results are essentially the same as how they are in the comics.
1Secret Identities
The Final Words In Iron Man Changed Everything
There was a very relaxed approach to the firstIron Manmovie. The studio has explained that a lot of the film’s dialogue was improvised, and Robert Downey Jr.’s iconic and immortalized line,“I am Iron Man” at the end of the movie is a full circle moment 10 years later. This reveal changed everything for the MCU, as most of its heroes no longer had to worry about hiding secret identities like they do in the comics.
Tony Stark is traditionally portrayed as a billionaire who usesIron Man as a bodyguard, and Thor is a doctor named Donald Blake in the comics. There have been a few nods to these ideas in the MCU, and some characters like Spider-Man and Daredevil have kept their identities secret. However, the MCU is largely unconcerned with the idea of secret alter-egos from the comics and has been able to tell stories with these characters operating in the public eye.
