The 10 Best Changes Marvel Movies Made From The Comics, Ranked

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The current landscape of Marvel movies has made the publisher a household name, and although the Marvel Cinematic Universe is somewhat past its prime, fans are still constantly flocking to theaters to see the latest adventures of their favorite superheroes and villains. Over the years, there have been countless Marvel Comics film adaptations, and though they vary in quality, there are certain aspects of all of those films that have actually greatly benefited the characters and stories as a whole.

Changes made for easier audience understanding, streamlined lore, or just adjusting outdated context have all improved Marvel adaptations. Some of the very best changes Marvel movies made were so good that they wound up replacing the original versions seen in the comics. From Captain America to Iron Man, some Marvel movie changes were clearly for the better.

10

Aging Up Bucky Barnes Made Much More Sense

Seen In: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America: The First Avenger is one of the most underrated films in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. It heralded in one of the most important characters in the MCU, and it did so with style, flair, and an affinity for the comic book source material. The casting of Chris Evans was incredible, and the supporting cast was just as excellent, especially Sebastian Stan, who played Bucky Barnes.

In the comic books, Bucky Barnes is a young, underage child who joins Captain America in the war against HYDRA and the Nazis — a fact that modern audiences would have found utterly bizarre had it been adapted for the big screen. The choice to make Bucky an adult friend alongside Steve Rogers just made more sense, and it was a perfect change from the dated original story.

9

Making Civil War a Smaller-Scale Battle Upped the Personal Conflict

Seen In: Captain America: Civil War (2016)

The third film in the Captain America franchise is one of the best team-up films in the MCU. Practically an Avengers movie on a slightly smaller scale, Civil War brought Captain America and Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, up against each other in a battle of ideologies. While the comic Civil War event is a great story in its own right, the scale and sprawl of the book wouldn’t have worked for the big screen.

Instead of trying to condense the entirety of the original story into a bloated mess of a film, the MCU’s adaptation smartly stripped Civil War down to what was most important: the personal conflict between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. The film is arguably better than its comic counterpart, and its personal stakes are a huge reason for that.

8

Namor’s Cultural Heritage Gives the Character Much More Depth

Seen In: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Director Ryan Coogler’s follow-up to the smash-hit Black Panther was marred by tragedy in the wake of the passing of actor Chadwick Boseman, the man behind the iconic performance of King T’Challa, aka the Black Panther himself. With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Coogler was surprisingly able to make the best of the tragedy and craft a compelling, emotional story centered around culture, loss, and family.

One of the best aspects of Wakanda Forever was its villain, the morally complex Namor. In the comics, Namor hails from Atlantis, much like his DC counterpart, Aquaman. In the film, however, Coogler and company decided to make Namor more unique and in line with the idea of culture as a thematic element by giving him ties to Mayan history and culture, making him the king of Talokan, rather than Atlantis.

7

Simplifying the Symbiote’s Origin Helped Streamline the Story

Seen In: Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 has been unfairly maligned by critics and fans for years now, and despite the fact that the film is nowhere near as good as the first two entries in Raimi’s trilogy, it still holds up as an exciting superhero adventure. Though the film’s adaptation of Venom is perhaps its weakest element, the story surrounding the alien symbiote itself is actually a great change from the comics.

Originally, Spider-Man received the symbiote suit during the events of Secret Wars, a crossover event that saw many of Marvel’s greatest heroes coming together on the mysterious Battleworld for the amusement of the Beyonder, a hyper-powerful being with god-like abilities. In Spider-Man 3, instead of trying to adapt the complicated story surrounding the symbiote’s origins, the story was streamlined, and the symbiote simply arrived in Peter Parker’s possession after crash-landing on Earth in the form of a meteor.

6

Making Star Lord the Son of Ego the Living Planet Simplified His Heritage

Seen In: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy will perhaps go down as the most consistently excellent franchise in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that is in no small part due to the trilogy’s dedication to character development, emotional resonance, and real thematic weight. In the second entry in the trilogy, Chris Pratt’s Star Lord discovers that he is the son of an entity known as Ego the Living Planet, a major change from the comics.

In the comic books, Star Lord is the son of J’son of Spartax, the former ruler of the planet Spartax and its empire. A rather uninspired villain, J’son remains one of the least interesting facets of Marvel’s cosmic stories, and the retcon for the MCU works so much better in establishing Peter Quill’s connection to Earth and the galaxy as a whole. Making him the son of Ego gives him more reason to stray from humanity, but it instead fortifies his position as a human being, and as a good man. It’s a wonderful piece of character development, and it works far better than the comic version.

5

Giving Blade More Abilities Even Influenced the Comics Themselves

Seen In: Blade (1998)

The original Blade film starring Wesley Snipes remains one of the highlights of the early days of Marvel Comics movie adaptations, and despite its status as a cult classic, it is severely underrated by comic book fans. The film even spawned two successful sequels, as well as a return to the character from Wesley Snipes in last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine.

In the Blade movie, the titular vampire hunter is given a slightly different origin and a different set of powers and abilities, as well as an updated wardrobe. More vampiric, less tied to traditional monster tropes from the comics, and much cooler than his comic counterpart, the film’s Blade influenced all subsequent versions of the character, and it remains one of the most important changes to a comic book ever put to the screen.

4

Making Carol Danvers the First Captain Marvel Streamlined Complicated Continuity

Seen In: Captain Marvel (2019)

Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, has had several identities in the comic books over the years. Ms. Marvel, Binary, and Warbird are just a few of the codenames that Carol has taken over her long history, but 2019’s Captain Marvel made the smart move of forgoing any of her earlier iterations and bringing her straight to audiences as the definitive Captain Marvel.

Though the comics also had a character who previously held the mantle of Captain Marvel, he had died long ago, and Carol had taken on the mantle in his memory. The MCU wisely chose not to overcomplicate things and potentially confuse audiences, and instead opted to simplify Carol’s origins and connections to the role of Captain Marvel, a choice that has majorly paid off.

3

Letting Iron Man Die Gave a Sense of Closure Comic Books Can’t Deliver

Seen In: Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Avengers: Endgame was a cultural phenomenon, and it felt like a final chapter to the MCU that had started with 2008’s Iron Man. Although the MCU would continue after Endgame, many fans felt that the film was a good stopping point for the universe, and this was exemplified by the fact that the film actually killed off the original character who started it all, Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark.

Comic books never truly kill any characters off. No matter what happens, a character can always be brought back in comics. There are very few characters that have remained dead for more than a few years, and that is one of the biggest issues with long-running comic stories. The MCU doesn’t have to adhere to the same policies as its comic counterpart, however, and Avengers: Endgame was able to beautifully send off its most iconic character.

2

Making The Hulk’s Father a Super-Powered Antagonist Added Emotional Weight

Seen In: Hulk (2003)

Ang Lee’s Hulk is perhaps the most misunderstood comic book movie ever released. Fans at the time, and even many fans today, unfairly hated the film. A bold, emotionally-charged tale of trauma, rage, and familial violence, Hulk is one of the most idiosyncratic superhero films ever made.

The film’s villain, Bruce Banner’s mysterious father, is different from any one character in the comics. Partly inspired by the Absorbing Man, partly inspired by Brian Banner, The Hulk’s father, played by Nick Nolte, is one of the strangest, most engaging facets of the Hulk’s story in the film. It’s a wonderful addition that wasn’t ever really part of the comics, and it cements Hulk as one of the best interpretations of a Marvel character in live-action.

1

Turning Old Man Logan Into an Emotional Swan Song Gave Fans Closure

Seen In: Logan (2017)

One of the greatest superhero movies ever made, director James Mangold’s 2017 masterpiece Logan has stood out for years as one of the boldest reinterpretations of a classic comic book storyline ever. Though Old Man Logan is certainly worthy of praise as a comic storyline, the film adaptation took everything that worked about the book and amplified it.

Everything about Old Man Logan as a comic that didn’t quite work was scrapped in favor of a small-scale, personal journey for the version of Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman that fans had come to know and love over the course of nearly two decades. Though Jackman would later return to the role in Deadpool & Wolverine, there’s no denying that Logan‘s farewell to the character was one of the best changes ever made from a Marvel comic book.

“}]] Marvel movies are more popular than ever, and though they owe a lot to the comic source material, certain changes actually benefited the movies.  Read More