The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the largest film franchises in all of movie history. In just 10 years, Marvel Studios has released (or at least, produced in coordination with other studios) a staggering 20 films (from 2008's Iron Man to 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp). The most amazing aspect of the entire endeavor is how each film is connected with the other entries. Characters from one film series pop up in other films all the time. That's kind of the main selling point of the entire franchise. Often, one characters is introduced in another's film. For example, Spider-Man first appeared in Captain America: Civil War (2016) before headlining his own in 2017. Also, despite debuting in a Captain America film, the MCU Spider-Man has closer ties with the MCU's Iron Man, further showing how interconnected all of these movies are.
That being said, many of the characters have had the opportunity to appear in more movies than normal. Also, they're often being handled by different filmmakers, who often have different interpretations of the heroes and villains. Since all of the films do co-exist, however, directors can't just ignore what came before. This means they often have to work to change a character to fit their vision, and this happens quite often. Thor started out as a fairly serious dramatic character who starred in fantasy-themed tragedies before shifting towards comedy with his most recent appearances. Over the years, almost every MCU character has changed, as they've all been handed off to other creative teams, passed around from one vision to another. Here are the 20 MCU characters who have changed the most!
20 LOKI
When he first appeared in Thor (2011), Loki was a sad, little man who just wanted to escape the shadow of his older brother. Yes, he did terrible things, but his motivation seemed to based on wanting his father to accept him as an equal to Thor. He next appeared in Avengers (2012), where he had gone full villain. He murdered without regard and relished in others' suffering.
The Dark World (2013), however, started him down a path of redemption, only to pull the rug out at the last second. He secretly switched places with Odin, successfully taking control of Asgard's throne. By the end of Ragnarok (2017), Loki completed his hero's journey by ultimately siding with Asgard against Hela and helping the citizens escape.
19 J.A.R.V.I.S.
In one of the film's biggest deviations from the comics, Tony Stark's faithful butler Jarvis was turned into an AI program in Iron Man (2008). Voiced by Paul Bettany, J.A.R.V.I.S. helped control Tony's armor and also served as his closest confidant. JARVIS remained in this role until Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), where he was "killed" by Ultron. In reality, he hid his programming in Ultron's, before escaping to the internet.
He was then combined with the Mind Stone and synthetic body, creating the Vision. Interestingly, he never showed a strong bond with Tony in this form. Instead, he began a relationship with Scarlet Witch, who he was willing to sacrifice his life for in Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
18 THOR
Asgard's god of thunder didn't act like a hero during the early scenes of Thor (2011). While charismatic, he was aggressive and self centered. After nearly starting a war with the Frost Giants, Odin banished him to Earth. There, Thor was forced to earn his worthiness again, which seemed to teach him humility. In Avengers (2012) and The Dark World (2013), he took on a more thoughtful, although still boastful, approach to life.
His biggest change came in Thor: Ragnarok (2017), where he became one of the franchise's goofiest characters. Also, he learned that he didn't need his hammer to retain his abilities, which is a huge change from the first film.
17 GROOT
The resident tree on the Guardians of the Galaxy may be the most changed character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In fact, Groot has changed so much that he might not even be the same character anymore. He debuted in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), where he was a fully grown Groot. He sacrifices his life to save the rest of the team, but Rocket saves a twig from Groot's body.
This spawns into a new Groot, who appears as a toddler in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (2017). By Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Groot had grown into an adolescent. With that came a moody attitude and a general lack of respect for the other Guardians.
16 NEBULA
As a daughter of Thanos, Nebula was considered one of the most dangerous women in the galaxy. Unfortunately, her older "sister," Gamora, was more dangerous. This caused Thanos to treat Nebula horrifically, replacing most of her body with cybernetic parts. This caused her to hate Gamora, and in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), she was one of the most aggressive and violent villains of the MCU.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (2017) explored her character, revealing the emotional damage she suffered. By the time of Infinity War (2018), she had gone full hero. After freeing herself from Thanos' clutches, her first move was to warn the Guardians of his plans.
15 THANOS
His first appearance may have been short, but it seemed to reveal much about the MCU version of Thanos. One of the final shots of Avengers (2012) revealed that the mad titan was responsible for the attack on Earth. He also smiled at the mere mention of "courting death," suggesting an infatuation with Death. His follow-up appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) showed him to be a power-hungry warlord, intent on ruling the galaxy.
His true motivation wasn't revealed until Infinity War (2018). This film presented him as a tragic character, driven mad by the death of his home planet. He decided that there was far too much life for the universe to support. While crazy, he believes he's actually saving everyone... or at least half of everyone.
14 RED SKULL
For the better part of a decade, fans wondered what happened to Red Skull. He was introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) as the film's main protagonist. As both the leader of Hydra and a Nazi, he was a pretty evil guy. He was cold, ruthless and willing to commit mass genocide to reach his goals.
During a fight with Captain America, however, the Tesseract was damaged, opening a portal to space, which sucked in the Red Skull. His fate wasn't revealed until Infinity War (2018), which showed that he had been transported to a distant world to guard the Soul Stone. He became a ghostly presence, and seemed to have accepted his ultimate defeat (although, he's still a bad person).
13 BUCKY BARNES
Steve Rogers' best friend hasn't had the best of luck since leaving Brooklyn to fight in World War 2. In Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), he's a valuable member of the Howling Commandos. He doesn't have any superpowers, but that doesn't prevent him from fighting alongside Cap against the forces of Hydra. Then, he's seemingly killed.
It turns out, he didn't die and was recovered by Hydra. They changed him into the Winter Soldier and outfitted him a robotic arm. His personality was erased and he became Hydra's go-to assassin. While Steve was able to break his programming in The Winter Soldier (2014), Bucky remained traumatized. He didn't find peace until he was brought to Wakanda, where he's known as the White Wolf.
12 DRAX
James Gunn's take on the Guardians of the Galaxy was always more comedic than their comic book counterparts. In the first film, Drax was still presented as a tragic character. The comedy came from the fact that he didn't understand metaphors. He took everything everyone said literally, and struggled to communicate properly with his teammates. He was also driven by rage for his murdered family, which gave him an understandable motivation for making rash decisions.
When he returned in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (2017), Drax had devolved into a buffoon. The formerly noble yet savage warrior was replaced with an overly aggressive Homer Simpson-esque cartoon character who was more likely to inquire about other character's private parts than mourn his dead family.
11 BRUCE BANNER
It's easy to say that Bruce Banner changed simply because Marvel recast the role. In The Incredible Hulk (2008), Edward Norton portrayed the good doctor. When Banner reemerged in The Avengers (2012), Mark Ruffalo took over the role, and has remained ever since. Still, the changes go further than this. In his early appearances, Banner was scared of the Hulk and constantly worked to prevent the monster from emerging.
By Ragnarok (2017), Banner and Hulk had evolved into completely separate entities. Banner, who had previously learned to control his transformations by always being angry, had lost control. By Infinity War (2018), Banner had lost the ability to even transform after Thanos pummelled the Hulk.
10 JASPER SITWELL
One of the coolest parts of the MCU is that, even from their earliest days, they were always willing to include even minor characters in their films. S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell debuted in Thor (2011), and then returned in Avengers (2012) and made several appearances in Marvel Studios' various one shots. At first, he appeared to be a loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and friend of Agent Coulson.
When Coulson died, it seemed like Sitwell was about to step into the spotlight. Then, The Winter Soldier (2014) revealed that Sitwell was a secret member of Hydra the whole time. The once friendly face was revealed to be one of the most vile backstabbers in the entire MCU.
9 JAMES RHODES
Another case of recasting, James Rhodes has changed in more ways than just who's playing him. Terrance Howard played him in Iron Man (2008), where he was Tony Stark's loyal, but put-upon friend. Howard played him as overly serious and unwilling to play Stark's games. Don Cheadle took over the role in Iron Man 2 (2010). Initially, his version of Rhodey was just as serious as Howard's.
Over time, however, his sense of humor started to show, and now he's more likely to start throwing verbal jabs at Tony and be the one giving Stark a hard time. Not even a serious back injury in Captain America: Civil War (2016) could keep him from joking around.
8 ARNIM ZOLA
Serving as the Red Skull's chief scientist, Arnim Zola helped build powerful weapons for Hydra during World War II. In Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), he's depicted as a nerdy scientist. While he dabbles in some super science, he's mostly just a regular (if completely deranged) person. He's eventually captured by the Howling Commandos, and provides them with information that helps take down the Red Skull for good.
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), he re-emerges after decades of shadow work. After his body died, his mind was preserved on hundreds of computer banks. His new "brain" was housed in a secret Hydra base, where he helped Hydra secretly infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. and steer world events in their favor.
7 HAPPY HOGAN
What happened to Happy Hogan? He went from being such a lovable guy to a complete grump. In Iron Man (2008), Happy is Tony Stark's driver and bodyguard. He's generally shown to be friendly and always up for a good time. He even races through California against Tony while he's supposed to be taking him to an important meeting.
During later appearances, Happy seems to grow more and more frustrated with the distance growing between him and Tony. In Iron Man 3 (2013), he even complain about Tony spending all of his time with "the super friends." By the time Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) arrived, Happy was being openly hostile and dismissive to everybody, especially Peter.
6 YONDU
What type of man (or alien) kidnaps a small child, takes him from his home planet and constantly threatens to eat him? Apparently, Yondu. When he first appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Yondu seemed like a pretty bad guy. He spends most of the movie hunting Peter Quill, and even when he teams up with him, he only does so out of greed.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (2017), however, revealed Yondu's true character. He had actually been hired to kidnap Quill by Ego, who would've likely killed the child. Yondu actually saved Quill, training him to fight. While he was never Peter's father, he was definitely his daddy and their relationship was actually pretty heartwarming.
5 BROCK RUMLOW
When he's first introduced, Brock Rumlow is a prominent member of Captain America's S.H.I.E.L.D. team. He seems to be genuinely impressed with Cap, and eagerly supports him during missions. It isn't until Hydra makes their move against Rogers that it's revealed that Rumlow isn't a good guy at all.
The formerly friendly ally fights against Cap's team as they try to stop the launch of the Hydra powered helicarriers. One of the large vehicles crashes on top of him, leaving Rumlow heavily scarred. He starts wearing a full face mask, with a crude skull carved on it and openly working as a terrorist. He's seemingly killed in a suicide blast, but there are rumors he may return.
4 SCARLET WITCH
As one of Wolfgang von Strucker's miracles, Wanda Maximoff received super powers from the Mind Stone. Initially, she and her twin brother were obsessed with seeking vengeance against Tony Stark for building the weapons that killed their family. She teams up with Ultron, but changes sides after she discovers his true plans for humanity (extinction).
After her brother is killed during the battle of Sokovia, Scarlet Witch joins the Avengers full time. At first, she's very unsure of herself, and often hesitates before jumping into battle. She eventually becomes one of the team's best warriors, even going so far as to impress Okoye in Wakanda.
3 ODIN
One of the oldest characters in the entire MCU, Odin has had a lot of time to grow. In Thor (2011), he's depicted as a weary ruler. He's seen the ravages of war and has come to appreciate the balance that peace brings. In The Dark World (2013), however, he seems unconcerned with the fate of humanity in a possible war with the dark elves.
Finally, his true nature is revealed in Ragnarok (2017). Before the birth of Thor, Odin was a conqueror. It was only after witnessing the bloodlust of his daughter, Hela, that he changed his ways. He actively hid the truth from his sons, never revealing the existence of Hela to them.
2 BLACK PANTHER
T'Challa was born to rule, but he wasn't always ready to be king. In Captain America: Civil War (2016), he only dons the mantle of the Black Panther after his father is assassinated. While this isn't unusual for Wakanda royalty, T'Challa is at first only interested in revenge. He is solely focused on finding his father's killer, and seems uninterested in the beliefs of Wakanda.
After capturing Zemo and sparing him, T'Challa finally embraces his roots. After defending the throne from Killmonger in Black Panther (2018), he decides that Wakanda needs to stop hiding from the world. This leads to him allowing the Avengers to use Wakanda as the site of their last stand against Thanos' forces.
1 STEVE ROGERS
Before becoming Captain America, Steve Rogers was just a skinny kid from Brooklyn. He was chosen for the super soldier program not for his physical abilities, but instead for his heart. While this aspect of the character hasn't changed over time, he's done more than just gain abs. In his early appearances, Steve was unsure of himself, and often questioned his decisions.
In Avengers (2012), he initially clashed with his teammates, especially Tony Stark. Then, he joined S.H.I.E.L.D., before discovering the Hydra threat from within the organization. Cap then realizes that he was born to lead, and takes control of the Avengers. When the government tries to take control of the heroes, he refuses to sign up and officially goes rogue.