The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the biggest pop culture success story of the 21st century, even overtaking juggernauts like Harry Potter and Star Wars in terms of just how popular it is. Using the fertile creative grounds of Marvel's comics as a starting point, the MCU has turned even C-listers like Ant-Man into stars, with fans speculating on who's next to get included in its blockbuster tales.
While the MCU has made some mistakes over the years, there are a lot of characters who are actually better in the MCU than they are in the comics and some amazing characters who the movies haven't served nearly as well as the four-color medium where they debuted.
10 MCU Improved: Killmonger
When Black Panther was announced, a lot of comic fans weren't exactly sure who the main villain was going to be. Black Panther wasn't exactly known for his great villains, with even the most well known, Klaw, not exactly being big-screen worthy. However, the movie pulled off a coup with its portrayal of Killmonger.
Killmonger wasn't just a cliche bad guy who wanted power for its own sake; he was actually a sympathetic villain whose goals weren't all that bad. The extent to which he took things was definitely too far but he was just as well fleshed out as any main character in the MCU and immediately elevated to one of the best villains in the movies.
9 MCU Got Wrong: Falcon
While it's looking like Falcon is going to be the next Captain America in the MCU, it's hard to say that he's been treated well in his previous appearances. In the movies, Falcon is pretty much just Cap's sassy 21st-century buddy, a good sidekick but not very much else. He's a fun character but he's kind of light in the development department.
While it's unfair to compare his development to the comics' version, the only thing that makes the argument for him becoming the next Cap is that he was in the comics. He's a one-dimensional character and while Anthony Mackie does a lot with the little he's given, he's not nearly as cool as the comic version of the Falcon.
8 MCU Improved: Ant-Man
Ant-Man is one of the MCU's biggest success stories. While the original version of Ant-Man, Hank Pym, was one of the Marvel Universe's first Silver Age heroes, no one could imagine that the character would ever get a movie, let alone the Scott Lang version of the hero. However, not only did Scott Lang get a movie but fans loved it, thanks in large part to Paul Rudd's amazing performance.
Lang always had the potential to be the best Ant-Man in the comics, but the character rarely got any kind of spotlight until the success of his first movie. The MCU made Scott Lang and Ant-Man into a household name, something that comic fans wouldn't have guessed was going to happen in a million years.
7 MCU Got Completely Wrong: Hawkeye
Hawkeye has been one of the most underrated Avengers in the comics for years. He's just a guy with a bow and arrow who helps battle against some of the biggest threats ever, fighting gods, monsters, and alien invasions. He's also one of the most entertaining Avengers, with his quippy humor and irreverent attitude allowing him to steal the show.
The MCU version took cues from the more serious Ultimate version of the character, who was pretty much just a one-dimensional killing machine. It was a weird change, since comics Hawkeye's sense of humor is perfect for the MCU writing of the characters. While Avengers: Endgame did some interesting things with the character, it was kind of too little, too late.
6 MCU Improved: Black Widow
In both the comics and movies, Black Widow is one of the top spies in the Marvel Universe, but the MCU made her into a more well-rounded character before rather unceremoniously killing her off. Up until that point, the MCU took what was a two-dimensional character and gave her some much-needed character development. In the comics, Black Widow was mostly the femme fatale spy, highly skilled but still a stereotype, even though she did get to lead the Avengers on occasion.
The MCU version of the character was still the self-assured spy and combatant but Scarlet Johnasson brought something to the character that was missing from the comic version, a melancholy with her life as a killer and hero that added something extra to Black Widow.
5 MCU Got Completely Wrong: Sharon Carter
When Sharon Carter was introduced in Captain America: Winter Soldier, longtime Cap fans were very excited. Carter has always been considered Cap's best love interest, a no-nonsense SHIELD agent who was skilled enough to hang with the Star-Spangled Avenger on missions. What fans got, though, was a cliche that seemed shoehorned in.
While she showed some of the grit that comics fans were used to in her film debut, the character was pretty much left completely behind, with only a bit part appearance in Captain America: Civil War. Moviegoers never got to see why Sharon Carter was such a great character and Cap's equal.
4 MCU Improved: Loki
Loki's first appearance in Thor was a good start but kind of cliche—the aggrieved brother of Thor who wanted to take over Asgard. His next appearance in The Avengers, was the one that made fans pay attention to him- he was evil and charming and quickly became one of the highlights of the MCU, stealing the show with every appearance.
While the comic version of the villain was beloved, he was nowhere near as well-rounded a character as the MCU's version. Loki was given nuance and Tom Hiddleston's performance captured the devilish charm of the character perfectly.
3 MCU Got Completely Wrong: Thor
Thor has probably had one of the rockiest roads of any MCU character. His movies until Thor: Ragnarok were among the least loved and his characterization was, and still is, all over the place- he's either too serious or too goofy. While he can be entertaining, it's kind of weird seeing a Viking God of Thunder acting like an Internet meme.
The comics version of Thor strikes a nice balance between the righteous butt-kicking God of Thunder and someone who has learned the ways of modern humanity. He's a much more nuanced character than the MCU version, who is often just a joke. Avengers: Endgame did a lot for Thor but he was immediately regressed to the Thor caricature the MCU had made him into by the end of the movie.
2 MCU Improved: Iron Man
While Iron Man was one of the oldest heroes in the Marvel Universe, it's hard to say he was very loved by the time of his debut movie. At that point, he was actually one of the most hated characters in Marvel, after his rather fascistic turn in Civil War. Even before that, he wasn't very popular, his time long past.
Robert Downey Jr and the writers of Iron Man boiled down everything that fans had ever loved about the character and put it up on the screen, which paid dividends. Even fans who hated comic Iron Man loved Downey Jr's version of the character and general audiences gobbled him up. Iron Man became a beloved household name because of the MCU, something that wasn't in the cards with the comic version.
1 MCU Got Completely Wrong: Thanos
While Thanos was great in Avengers: Infinity War, thanks to Josh Brolin's performance, the MCU version of the character is vastly inferior to the comics version. The MCU version jettisoned Thanos's obsession with Mistress Death to make him into a more morally grey character, one who killed for that he thought was a good reason.
While they got Thanos's belief in his goals correct, they missed the nuance of the character because they thought him loving Death was silly. Thanos's love for Death is the ultimate expression of his nihilism, which is the core of the character. Making him into an altruist trying to save the universe by killing completely misunderstands Thanos.