The Marvel Cinematic Universe started to tentatively adapt some of Marvel's lesser-known comic book stories with the debut of Iron Man. In the years since, the universe has been pushed further and further to encompass some of the most bizarre sci-fi and fantasy narratives fans have seen.
Whether the premise itself is odd, the characters involved are unbelievable, or perhaps the concept behind the story is completely nonsensical, these narratives have still managed to capture the attention of the audience and have been portrayed in an authentic manner. Who knew a talking tree and a multiverse of possibilities would be so popular though?
Planet Hulk
Planet Hulk was a narrative that saw the Green Goliath shot into space and stranded on a distant planet. There he found a gladiatorial arena where he would become a champion of Sakaar. The action-packed and gag-filled Thor: Ragnarok takes this odd story and somehow makes it even more intriguing.
Not only does the Hulk separate himself from Earth, but Thor eventually finds him and ends up in the fighting pits in his own right. The movie even managed to encompass strange characters like Korg the rock monster and his bug-like friend Miek. Unfortunately, the follow-up World War Hulk was never adapted.
The Guardians Of The Galaxy
When it was announced that Marvel would be taken the lesser-known team of the Guardians Of The Galaxy and putting them to screen, even hardcore fans were a little surprised by the decision. With each Guardian having a tragic backstory, the team's narrative is based around an odd group of characters creating a found family.
The issue here is that a talking Raccoon, a sentient tree, alien assassins, and an abducted Terran all seemed a little unbelievable. Still, somehow James Gunn and Marvel Studios made this team unit work, with their story becoming strangely one of the most touching in the MCU.
Creation Of The Multiverse
The Marvel Cinematic Multiverse is the kind of storyline and concept that hardcore fans would have never thought would actually be brought to screen. After all, the idea of Variants and a range of characters from different timelines seemed too strange and odd to portray.
Yet, Loki has managed to crack that door wide open, even bringing in characters like Throg and Kang The Conquerer. The idea of a Multiverse and the stories that it leads to is bizarre in itself, so there's definitely a lot of bravery in launching fully into a Multiversal war, as has happened in the comics.
Wanda's Family
It seems fairly obvious that Wanda and Vision cannot have kids - especially since the android is dead. Yet, in a story taken straight from the comics, the Scarlet Witch actually creates her own family in a strange twist. Her children Billy and Tommy are introduced to audiences in the Disney+ show WandaVision.
While this could have been a really odd story to try and explain, Marvel Studios managed to focus in on the grief that Wanda is dealing with and how the creation of this family is actually a coping mechanism. It ends up being a moving narrative about love and loss.
Shuma-Gorath's Arrival
A relatively recent addition to the MCU, in the comics Shuma-Gorath acts as an interdimensional monster that takes advantage in the tears of reality and looks for death and destruction. This mystical being has an intriguing backstory and role to play in the Marvel Universe.
An octopus-like beast such as this seems almost impossible to bring to screen but the animated What If...? actually managed to pull it off. While Shuma-Gorath's story hasn't been fully explored just yet, it wouldn't be surprising to see the character return again to complete his big bad arc.
Ego The Living Planet
While DC Comics might boast Danny The Street, a living road, Marvel goes one step further with Ego the Living Planet. The idea behind the character is completely ridiculous and any stories he's involved in seem almost too complex to explain. How can a planet be living after all?
Somehow Marvel managed to bring this to life on the big screen and also utilized another odd story involving Star-Lord's regal and Godly heritage. The results weren't any less odd - far from it - yet there was still an authentic set of emotions at the heart of this relationship between villainous father and son.
Mysterio's Mayhem
Mysterio is a totally strange character with a weird design and plenty of bizarre stories. They usually start with him tricking Spider-Man in a complex way before getting out the fish-bowl head and utilizing some of his fake magic. It sounds like the kind of story that would never work on the big screen.
Yet not only did Marvel pull it off but Mysterio became one of the most popular villains that the MCU has ever had. He easily rivaled some of Spidey's other members of his rogue's gallery and ultimately proved that some smoke and mirrors makes the wackiest foe look far more lethal.
The Kree-Skrull War
An intergalactic war between an Empire-building alien race and a species of shape-shifters seems like something from the most hardcore of science fiction novels. The Kree-Skull war has been ongoing in Marvel Comics for quite some time and somehowhttps://screenrant.com/tag/secret-invasion/ made it to the big screen.
With Captain Marvel finding herself amongst the Kree forces, battling again the (surprisingly innocent) Skrulls, mainstream audiences were brought into this never-ending conflict. The story definitely worked and will allow Marvel to pull off the even stranger Secret Invasion.
The Many Dimensions
Marvel may have a Multiverse, but it also has a number of different dimensions as well. These were all on display in Doctor Strange where The Ancient One actually took the titular character on a tour of these various landscapes. From the Dark Dimension to the Astral Plane, there were a lot of strange concepts here.
A storyline about the various dimensions in the universe should have been next to impossible to fully adapt, although it comes across as believable albeit still a bit wacky. Marvel once again took a visual risk with this portrayal, especially in regards to Dormammu and Strange's defeat of the Dark Dimension deity.
Civil War
In terms of the personal conflicts, the Civil War actually isn't that strange. It's a very human story and encompasses both political and ideological thinking. It's nowhere near as strange as a dimension made of hands or a humanoid duck.
The Civil War is actually strange in the fact that it actually pits Earth's mightiest heroes against one another. Fans had never seen a conflict on this scale in the comics before and certainly hadn't on the big screen. To actually take this "hero fighting hero" concept to the next level, Marvel needed some masterful writing.