Marvel Comics is filled with great villains and superheroes, but as they were adapted to the silver screen, the MCU ruined their character.
Since it premiered in 2008, the MCU has earned critical and commercial acclaim. In almost 15 years, the franchise has brought to life Marvel’s most iconic heroes with live-action adaptations of its most famous comic storylines. While the MCU has established itself as one of the most successful franchises, nothing is perfect. Marvel Comics fans have a lot of complaints about the treatment of certain characters.
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Whether it is because it changed their storyline with no regard for their character development or because it didn’t give them the prominence they truly deserve, these characters were ruined in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some of them could still be salvaged, but others already missed their chance at a good live-action adaptation.
10/10Saron Carter’s Character Is All Over The Place
Sharon Carter, Peggy Carter’s niece and a romantic interest for Steve Rogers in the earlier stages of the MCU, debuted as a S.H.I.E.L.D. and CIA operative. During Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it was revealed that she was hiding in Madripoor and working as the Power Broker, a mysterious character who controls the city from the shadows.
Portrayed by Emily Vancamp, Sharon Carter was always one of the most disliked MCU characters due to her blandness, but her new alias as the Power Broker sank her even further. It barely makes sense that she shifted alignment like this. This transition only showed that writers didn’t know what to do with her.
9/10The MCU Failed The Warriors Three
Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg are the Warriors Three, a group of Asgardian heroes who have always been some of Thor’s closest allies. They appeared in Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and Thor: Ragnarok. In the latter, Hela murdered them during her assault on Asgard.
In the comics, the Warriors Three are always next to Thor in battle. As gods themselves, they’re almost at Thor’s level. In fact, Volstagg became War Thor during The Mighty Thor by Jason Aaron. Unfortunately, the MCU reduced them to secondary characters. Thor: Love and Thunder even included footage of their moment as a self-deprecating joke.
8/10The Mandarin Was Divided Into Three Characters
As a long-time rival of Tony Stark, the Mandarin appeared as the main villain in Iron Man 3. Allegedly, he was a terrorist behind Extremis. Eventually, however, it was revealed that he was an actor named Trevor Slattery, who was covering for Aldrich Killian, the real villain. In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the MCU introduced Xu Wenwu as the actual Mandarin, but he didn’t take the moniker officially.
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Instead of making the Mandarin a true villain worthy of Iron Man, the MCU chose to dilute his myth into different plots. This definitely weakened the character, who could have gone down in history as one of the best MCU villains ever.
7/10Janet Van Dyne Is Way More Important Than The MCU Thinks
Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet van Dyne first appeared in the MCU in a cameo during Ant-Man. Hank Pym’s wife, Janet, is also the former Wasp, who has been trapped in the Quantum Realm for decades. Pfeiffer is said to reprise the role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Although van Dyne only has a secondary role in the MCU, she’s one of the original Avengers in the comics, and she actually suggested the name for the team. The fact that Marvel Studios treated her like a B-lister without a personality is unforgivable. Hopefully, the franchise will fix her character in the upcoming projects.
6/10Sersi’s Personality Changed A Lot From The Comics
Gemma Chan starred in Eternals as Sersi, a member of the titular group. The film focuses heavily on Sersi as she and her team learned and lived among humans. Out of her peers, Sersi is the only one who actually tries to understand earthlings. She’s the group’s empath.
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Marvel Comics fans were disappointed at the MCU’s Sersi because she has a very different personality from her comic counterpart. Since she debuted on Eternals #3 by Jack Kirby and John Verpoorten, Sersi has always been a flirtatious socialite. Her extroversion is part of what makes her great at connecting with humans. Unfortunately, in the films, she comes across as quite introverted. The MCU didn’t make her interesting enough for fans to like her.
5/10Mantis Is A More Confident Hero In The Comics
Portrayed by Pom Klementieff, Mantis joined the Guardians of the Galaxy after the team detonated Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Since then, she has been mostly the butt of many “bimbo” jokes due to her naivety. This Mantis is very different from the comics.
In the books, Mantis is less of a “born sexy yesterday” character trope and more of a true warrior, like Nebula and Gamora. She’s assertive, smart, and confident with her powers. Fans of the character were truly disappointed that the MCU turned Mantis into someone so different.
4/10Taika Waititi Turned Thor In A Funny Guy
After four movies, Thor has gone through a lot in the MCU. He went from an arrogant but unaware god to becoming Earth’s most loyal protector. In the process, he lost his family, his home, and the love of his life. He also became a more comedic character, especially after Taika Waititi took over during Thor: Ragnarok.
This change was definitely controversial. Some fans like the fun dimension of Waititi’s work. However, others feel that this portrayal strays too far from the comics where the God of Thunder is a solemn, no-nonsense character.
3/10The MCU Gorr Wasn’t As Murderous As He Is In The Comics
Gorr the God Butcher first appeared in the MCU as the main villain of Thor: Love and Thunder and was portrayed by Christian Bale. He’s a family man who turned evil due to the arrogance of his god after his daughter’s death. Gorr wants to exterminate all gods through a wish at Eternity’s realm.
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The MCU’s Gorr and the comics’ Gorr share their hatred for the gods, but this villain is way more violent in the books. Jason Aaron’s comic series Thor: God of Thunder follows Gorr as he kills, enslaves, and tortures dozens of gods, often forcing them to build a bomb that will eradicate them all. In the MCU, Gorr barely kills one god on screen.
2/10Moon Knight Is One Of Marvel’s Darkest Characters In Comics
The Disney+ series Moon Knight follows Steven Grant, a mild-mannered museum worker who lives with Dissociative Identity Disorder. After Steven discovers that one of his alters, Marc Spector, serves as the champion of an Egyptian god on Earth, he’s forced to embrace a new side of reality.
MCU fans simply loved Moon Knight, especially thanks to Oscar Isaac’s performance as Steven/Marc. However, comic fans couldn’t help to be disappointed when comparing the series to the original material. In the comics, Moon Knight is one of the most violent vigilantes of Marvel. Moon Knight, obviously trying to keep things PG-13, ignored this completely.
1/10Fans Think Hulk Was Nerfed
When Hulk first debuted in the MCU in The Incredible Hulk, he was an uncontrollable beast. However, to the fans’ chagrin, this changed slowly and steadily throughout the years. After his time in Sakaar, Bruce chose not to transform into Hulk for a while. Eventually, after the Blip, he merged his two personalities and transformed into Smart Hulk.
This transformation came with several changes. He became smaller and less ferocious. Especially considering some of Hulk’s best storylines in the comics, this has made the fans feel like the MCU wasted a great character.
