Thanks to their constant nods to the source material, the MCU has found a lot of success by adapting some of the most action-packed, awesome, and fun comic books. Though not everything is a word-for-word adaptation, many elements from the comics still find their way into the movies, making discussion for fans all the better.
However, while some of the MCU’s creative liberties have proven to work in their favor, other decisions have definitely brought them down. Looking at some of their best and worst decisions over the past few years, here is our list of 5 things from the comics that we’re glad the MCU ignored, and 5 we wish they’d kept in.
Quicksilver (Wish They’d Kept In)
While Quicksilver did get a nice heroic moment towards the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), his death felt very unnecessary and forced. For someone as fast as he is, Quicksilver should easily have been able to dodge the bullets that killed him, all while still being able to save Hawkeye. Furthermore, it is very hard to imagine the iconic brother-sister duo without the brother.
Though Scarlet Witch herself has seen some interesting character development since Age of Ultron, she has felt like more of a background character than other members of the team. While it’s nice to see her interact with Vision in the MCU, even Fox’s X-Men universe never got around to exploring the relationship between her and her brother. Because of that, it would have been nice to see Quicksilver hang around for at least a little while longer.
Hank Pym (Glad They Ignored)
In the comics, Hank Pym is known mostly for being the creator of Ultron as well as an abuser of his wife. Despite all the great scientific contributions and heroic actions that Hank has still accomplished, these two actions of his past continue to haunt him to this day. Because of the character’s very dark past and the more silly nature of Ant-Man as a general character, it was probably smart of Marvel Studios to start the series off with Scott Lang instead.
However, the films still did a great job of incorporating Hank and honoring his past as a hero. Though he is a much better person in the films than he is in the pages, ignoring a lot of the character is arguably part of what has made Ant-Man so successful.
Demon in a Bottle (Wish They’d Kept In)
For those who are unfamiliar, Demon in a Bottle is considered by many to be one of the best Iron Man stories ever told. Focusing heavily on Tony Stark’s struggles as an alcoholic, it is very obvious that Iron Man 2 (2010) tried to pull some elements from this story. While the movie didn’t need to go as dark as the comic did, it would have been nice to see a few more scenes from the book.
Especially with Iron Man 2 being one of the weaker MCU films, incorporating more from the story could have given it the boost that the film needed. Though the film also isn’t the worst MCU movie out there, it could have greatly benefited from the same elements that made Demon in a Bottle so good.
Vulture (Glad They Ignored)
Vulture is one of Spider-Man’s most recurring opponents in the comics. Though he has been around for a very long time, the villain has never really been a big threat to the wall-crawler. Therefore, it was truly a pleasant surprise to see Michael Keaton bring the villain to life in a very frightening manner.
Not only was Keaton’s performance great, but the changes they made to Vulture’s backstory added a lot of drama to the plot, arguably improving the overall film. While the MCU does tend to struggle with their villains sometimes, they certainly stuck the landing with the likes of Vulture, ignoring aspects of his backstory that wouldn't have served to advance the narrative in the MCU.
Baron Zemo (Wish They’d Kept In)
While Marvel is generally known for having weaker villains, they really missed the mark with Zemo in Captain America: Civil War (2016). Thankfully, the rest of the film makes up for the weaker overall villain of the film. Likewise, Zemo will have a chance at redemption in the upcoming Falcon and Winter Soldier series on Disney+.
However, that’s no to say that Daniel Bruhl did a poor job in his performance. Baron Zemo is just a much better and more threatening villain in the comics than he is in the film. At the moment, we have already seen a tease of a more comics-accurate costume for the villain. Hopefully, Zemo will come to realize the potential of the character later on in the series.
Donald Blake (Glad They Ignored)
Those who have only seen the movies aren’t familiar with Donald Blake. However, for years in the comics, Blake was the secret identity of Thor while he was banished to Earth. Over time, Blake and the God of Thunder would come to trade places with one another quite often, with their radically different personalities occasionally coming into conflict with one another.
However, even in the comics, Blake hasn’t been relevant for several years. Likewise, ignoring him with the MCU arguably made Thor far more approachable for the general audience. Furthermore, with Thor spending more and more time away from Earth in his solo movies, ignoring Donald Blake was probably the right call on Marvel’s part.
Peter’s Supporting Cast (Wish They’d Kept In)
For as good as the last 2 Spider-Man films have been, Peter’s supporting cast feels very reminiscent of that of Miles Morales in the comics. In one of the most obvious examples, Peter’s best friend, Ned, both looks and acts a lot like Miles’ friend, Ganke. Likewise, with the more modern highschool setting, the recent films have felt more similar to Miles’ character.
Even recurring characters like Flash Thompson are radically different from their comic book counterparts. While both films thus far have been truly fantastic, fans would likely respond even more if they saw more of Peter’s recurring cast and gave Miles his own solo live-action film.
Star Lord’s Father (Glad They Ignored)
While most people have seen Kurt Russel portray Star Lord’s father, Ego, on the big screen, the character isn’t actually related to Star-Lord. In the comics, J’Son of Spartax is actually Peter Quill’s biological father. Unlike Ego, J’son isn’t a celestial but is in fact royalty. This still makes Peter Quill far more important in the larger scale of Marvel’s cosmic universe, but he doesn’t possess the same abilities as Ego.
While some were upset about this change, it didn’t really have a major effect on the larger MCU as a whole. Likewise, Ego is arguably far more intriguing than J’Son who, in the comics, still isn’t liked by many, but at least isn’t a straight-up villain. Despite being inaccurate to the source material, this is one change that could easily be argued to have worked in Marvel’s favor.
Everything With Iron Fist (Wish They’d Kept In)
Netflix’s Iron Fist is considered by many fans to be the worst Marvel show on the platform. Though Iron Fist has never been Marvel’s most popular character in the comics, he still has a pretty strong fanbase.
Because of this, Marvel probably regrets tossing out most of what made the character great. While some changes made sense for the sake of drama, others were completely and totally unnecessary. While the second season of the series fared a bit better than the first, it wasn’t enough to earn the respect back from fans who were disappointed by the first.
Uncle Ben (Glad They Ignored)
Uncle Ben’s death is something that the MCU could have easily thrown into the mix, had they wanted to. However, between the other live-action Spider-Man films, most people were already familiar with the story.
Furthermore, the MCU has still given several nods to Uncle Ben’s character in subtle ways to remind audiences that he was still around and had an influence on Peter’s life. For such a familiar aspect to Peter Parker’s story, it was probably a good thing that the MCU chose not to incorporate Uncle Ben yet again.