Marvel Studios crafted a successful new reality in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the MCU can be quite loose with its adaptations, and only comic fans know the truth about some of these iconic characters.
Many MCU villains pale in comparison to how evil and scary they are in the books. Depending on the character, this isn't always a bad thing.
Updated on November 24, 2022 by Scoot Allan: The MCU has continued to introduce new villains in Phase Four, which kicked off The Multiverse Saga. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever featured the debut of Marvel's first anti-hero Namor, though he was heavily altered. There are a few villains in the MCU who were modified to fit in the live-action universe, but they lost something that made them scarier in the comics.
13 Taskmaster Completely Changed The Character
In the comics, Tony Masters was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with a photoreflexive memory that let him perfectly mimic any move or skill he witnessed. This allowed him to copy the fighting styles of heroes like Captain America to become the highly-paid mercenary known as Taskmaster. He committed evil acts for money because he had a lack of morals, which was his scariest quality.
Black Widow introduced an entirely new take on the character that tied into Natasha Romanoff's former life with the Red Room. Taskmaster was the mind-controlled daughter of the Red Room's leader who Black Widow thought she killed years earlier. Her tech replicated Taskmaster's comic abilities and was one of the best costumes in the MCU's Phase Four, but his personality was lost.
12 Swordsman Turned Out To Be A Red Herring
Jacques Duquesne, also known as Swordsman, was Hawkeye's former teacher as well as one of his oldest enemies. Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, Swordsman was a swashbuckling communist fighter who grew bitter when he learned his own leader had murdered his father. He became a ruthless minion who worked for the most dangerous villains in Marvel before reforming.
Portrayed by Tony Dalton, Swordman debuted in the MCU as Kate Bishop's future step-father, Jack Duquesne. Everything seemingly pointed to him being the villain of Hawkeye, but he turned out to be nothing more than Eleanor Bishop's naive fiancé.
11 Kamran Was Particularly Cruel To Kamala In The Comics
Kamran first debuted in Ms. Marvel #13, by G. Willow Wilson with art by Takeshi Miyazawa, Ian Herring, Irma Kniivila, and Joe Caramagna. He tricked Kamala and the audience into believing he would be Ms. Marvel's new romantic interest. Instead, he only used his charm to get closer and bring her to Lineage, an Inhuman supremacist leader.
Kamran's scheme was particularly cruel given that Kamala was truly falling for him. When Rish Shah first appeared in Ms. Marvel, fans were cautious about the character. Fortunately, the MCU Kamran didn't have bad intentions. In fact, he sided with Ms. Marvel and her friends the moment his mother betrayed Kamala.
10 Kazi The Clown Is Responsible For Deafening Hawkeye
After his best friend Janek died in a subway explosion, Kazimierz Kazimierczak (Kazi the Clown) became a mercenary and started working with the Tracksuit Mafia and Kingpin. In the Hawkeye series, Kazi also worked with the Tracksuit Mafia, but he wasn't nearly as scary as his comic counterpart. He's more interested in helping Echo than committing actual crimes. He's way less terrifying, not only because he doesn't have his face paint, but because the MCU Kazi is too passive to stab a man in the ears with his own arrows.
9 The Grandmaster Isn't As Funny As Goldblum Made Him
En Dwi Gast, aka the Grandmaster, is one of the Elders of the Universe and the Collector's brother. The Grandmaster sees all beings as toys for him to pit against each other. Contrary to Jeff Goldblum's iteration, the Grandmaster is quite evil in the comics.
The MCU's Grandmaster was created by Jeff Goldblum and Taika Waititi, two masters of comedy. He was someone looking for pleasure and entertainment instead of the pain of others. Looking past the jokes, it's easy to see how messed up the MCU's Grandmaster really is.
8 Baron Zemo Is A Literal Nazi In The Comics
In the MCU, Zemo is a member of Sokovia royalty and a former special operations soldier. He debuted in Captain America: Civil War where he manipulated the Winter Soldier into creating conflict between the Avengers. His goal was to get revenge for the death of his family during the Sokovia incident.
In the comics, Zemo is much less complex. He's a Nazi sympathizer with a taste for chaos, making it impossible to empathize with him. While the MCU character has complex emotional depth, Zemo's just a terrible person in the comics, which makes him much scarier.
7 Abomination Never Found Redemption In The Comics
Emil Blonsky, also known as Abomination, was a KGB agent who became a villain after exposing himself to gamma rays. The MCU's Abomination became much less dangerous after She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Abomination evolved during his time in the MCU into a pacificist polyamorous inspirational speaker. Emil was willing to do jail time to pay for his crimes, help other villains reform, and even defended Jennifer from Todd before the finale.
6 The MCU Turned The Mandarin Into A Joke
Fans never expected the MCU Mandarin to end up being three different characters: Ben Kingsley's character was just an actor while Aldrich Killian was an imposter. Shang-Chi introduced Xu Wenwu as the real version, but he had very little to do with the moniker.
In the comics, The Mandarin is a ruthless supervillain whose ultimate goal was to conquer the world using a few of Marvel's most powerful artifacts, the Ten Rings. This powerful crimelord would be annoyed to know he became a cliché in the MCU.
5 Malekith The Dark Elf Killed His Own Mother
As the youngest of 12 siblings, Malekith was sold for food by his mother. After years of working as a body burner during the war, he met a wizard who taught him everything he knew. Unfortunately, he never used his magic for good. Instead, he killed the wizard and then his own mother.
Since then, Malekith has spent his life trying to gain control of the whole universe, often torturing and murdering anyone who gets in his way. He would be very disappointed to know how little violence and dark magic the MCU version of Malekith used during Thor: The Dark World.
4 Flag-Smasher Was A Costumed Anti-Nationalist
When Karl Morgenthau first appeared in the comics, he was a costumed villain who fought for anti-nationalism against patriotic heroes like Captain America. He favored terrorist action and created the U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. (Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind) group to continue causing chaos around the world.
In the MCU, Karli Morgenthau was the reimagined leader of the Flag-Smashers organization that appeared in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. They were a reactionary group spurred into action by the government's poor handling of Endgame's returning population. Karli was an incredibly sympathetic character, but she wasn't as intimidating as her comic counterpart.
3 Fans Wouldn't Like Classic Loki's Attitude
Loki is inarguably an MCU fan-favorite, but he hasn't always been a charming antihero. MCU-only fans would find it difficult to empathize with Loki's comic version. Older versions of the character are truly evil. He's taken things too far many times, earning him a new title as Marvel's God of Evil.
2 Gorr Didn't Butcher Any Gods In The MCU
The main antagonist of "The God Butcher" saga, Gorr was a father driven to extremes due to the death of his family. He became central to Thor's confrontation with his own worthiness during Jason Aaron's run with the God of Thunder.
When the talented Christian Bale was cast as Gorr for Thor: Love and Thunder, fans were delighted by the endless possibilities. Unfortunately, the MCU Gorr was tragically underused. He should've been a true monster who would make Thor question himself, but was mainly the butt of a few jokes.
1 Namor Isn't As Sympathetic In The Comics
Namor the Sub-Mariner was one of Marvel's first heroes was , who was created by Bill Everett in 1939. He has been both a hero and a villain over the years as the ruler of Atlantis. Namor has used every soldier and undersea monster at his disposal to wage war against the surface world for their pollution of his kingdom.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever offered a new take on the character of Namor. Atlantis was replaced with the ancient kingdom of Talokan, and their Mayan heritage further influenced the character. Namor was still menacing in the MCU, but his focus on Wakanda didn't showcase the same threat as the comic version.