10 Least Accurate MCU Heroes Based on the Comics

by

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a huge global success, carefully building a large, connected story over many movies and TV shows. This has created a massive cast of characters, drawing from the rich history of Marvel Comics. Adapting these comics for the screen requires writers to be creative, balancing staying true to the characters’ personalities and themes with the needs of the overall story. It’s a challenge to make changes while still honoring what fans love about the source material.

With Marvel Comics having such a rich and complex history, fans naturally compare the characters they see in the movies to those from the comics. It’s often surprising to see how much the movie versions change their comic book origins. These changes can be small, like a difference in personality, or major, completely rewriting a character’s background, abilities, and core identity.

10) Ms. Marvel

The MCU’s version of Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) successfully captures the personality and emotional core of the comic book character. Both versions feature a Pakistani-American teenager from Jersey City balancing her Muslim faith, a close-knit family, and newly discovered superpowers. However, the source of those powers is quite different. In the comics, Kamala is an Inhuman whose abilities are unlocked by a substance called the Terrigen Mist, allowing her to change size and shape. The MCU instead gives her powers through a magical bangle that seems to awaken mutant-like abilities, letting her create objects made of hard light. While this change simplifies the complex backstory of the Inhumans, it results in a Ms. Marvel whose powers are very different from what comic book fans are used to.

9) Wong

Benedict Wong’s character has changed significantly from his comic book origins in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although he’s still deeply committed to magic. In the comics, Wong was mainly Doctor Strange’s assistant and a skilled martial artist, but he played a supporting role. The MCU has given Wong a much bigger role, first making him a Master of the Mystic Arts and then, during the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, promoting him to Sorcerer Supreme. This new position gives him a lot more power and makes him a crucial player in major magical conflicts affecting the entire universe.

8) Mantis

Mantis, played by Pom Klementieff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), is shown as a sweet and innocent character who can feel and manipulate others’ emotions. She grew up alone with the character Ego and is still learning how to interact with people in the Guardians of the Galaxy films. However, the Mantis from the Marvel comics is much more complex. She’s a skilled fighter with a rich history connected to both Kree and Vietnamese cultures, and is even known as the “Celestial Madonna” – someone with a special connection to the universe and a vital role in its future. The comic book Mantis also has powers like telepathy and the ability to see the future, in addition to her fighting skills. The MCU version of Mantis is a simpler take on the character, mainly used for comedy and to provide emotional support to the other Guardians.

7) Drax

The Drax we see in the Marvel movies is a straightforward, loud warrior driven by revenge against Thanos for killing his family. While this desire for revenge is also a key part of his comic book character, his origins are quite different. In the comics, Drax wasn’t always a powerful alien; he began as a human musician named Arthur Douglas whose family was murdered by Thanos. A cosmic being named Kronos then transferred Arthur’s spirit into a new, incredibly powerful body, specifically designed to destroy Thanos. This comic book Drax often uses cosmic energy blasts, can fly, and has immense strength, all while maintaining a more serious demeanor. The movies simplified Drax’s history, removing his Earth-based human identity and changing his powers. They also made him a fan favorite by playing up his tendency to take things literally for comedic effect, but this version is quite different from the original Arthur Douglas character.

6) Janet van Dyne

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Janet van Dyne, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, was the first Wasp. She disappeared into the Quantum Realm during a mission decades ago and eventually returned with special powers. However, the comic book version of Janet is quite different – she’s an original Avenger and even came up with the team’s name! She’s also a talented fashion designer and a strong leader who often guided Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The MCU focused more on Janet’s role as a mentor to the newer generation, like her daughter Hope, and downplayed her long history as an active superhero leader.

5) Hank Pym

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hank Pym (played by Michael Douglas) is presented as a brilliant but grumpy, retired scientist and the first Ant-Man. He doesn’t trust S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Stark family and mainly serves as a guide to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), helping him understand the technology behind Pym Particles. This version of Hank Pym is quite different from his comic book origins. In the comics, he’s a key founding member of the Avengers and the creator of the villain Ultron. The comic book Hank Pym is much more involved and struggles with personal issues, taking on different superhero names like Giant-Man, Goliath, and Yellowjacket. The movies portray Pym as an older man, removing him from the Avengers’ early days and giving Tony Stark the responsibility of creating Ultron. The film version is also much more emotionally stable than the comic book character, who was often defined by his mistakes as much as his successes.

4) Star-Lord

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Peter Quill, known as Star-Lord (played by Chris Pratt), was taken from Earth as a child in 1988 and raised by Yondu (Michael Rooker), a member of a group called the Ravagers. He grows up to be a charming and adventurous outlaw. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 reveals that Peter is actually half-Celestial, meaning his father is Ego, a living planet. However, Peter Quill’s story is quite different in the original Marvel comics. In the comics, his father is J’son, the Emperor of the Spartax Empire, making Peter a prince. Instead of being abducted as a child, the comic version of Peter starts as a NASA astronaut chosen by a cosmic being to become Star-Lord. He’s also generally portrayed as more serious and strategic, eventually becoming a well-respected military leader. The MCU’s choice to make his father a Celestial instead of a Spartaxian emperor drastically changed Peter’s motivations and role in the universe, focusing more on a personal family story than a grand space opera about royal lineage.

3) Yondu

The Yondu we see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is vastly different from the character first appearing in Marvel comics in 1969. While the MCU Yondu is a blue-skinned pirate who uses a special arrow controlled by a whistle and acts as a father figure to Peter Quill, the original comic book Yondu was a noble hunter and one of the first Guardians of the Galaxy. He fought to free the solar system from an alien empire, relying on his archery skills and connection to nature, not futuristic technology. Essentially, the MCU created a new character and gave him the name Yondu, trading the original’s heroic background and setting for a more violent, 21st-century space pirate.

2) Taskmaster

The Taskmaster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (played by Olga Kurylenko) is a significant departure from the comic book version. The movie Black Widow reveals that this Taskmaster is actually Antonia Dreykov, the daughter of General Dreykov, who was brainwashed and given cybernetic enhancements allowing her to copy the fighting styles of others. This is quite different from the comics, where Taskmaster is consistently portrayed as a male mercenary named Tony Masters. Masters is a highly skilled fighter with the ability to perfectly mimic any physical action he sees, thanks to his photographic reflexes. He’s often depicted as a sarcastic trainer for villains and a challenging opponent for heroes like Captain America, motivated by money and his own professional reputation. Interestingly, the comic book Taskmaster has also been an anti-hero and even worked with SHIELD to train agents. By making the MCU Taskmaster a silent, technologically-controlled character, the films removed the most engaging parts of the character – his strong personality and drive as a mercenary.

1) Mar-Vell

The way the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) depicts Mar-Vell in Captain Marvel is the biggest change they’ve ever made to a character’s comic book backstory. In the movie, Mar-Vell is a female Kree scientist named Dr. Wendy Lawson who is secretly living among humans. This version of the character is a peaceful scientist working to create a faster-than-light engine using the Tesseract to help Skrull refugees. While she plays a key role in the origin story of Carol Danvers, she’s a supporting character who dies before the main action begins. In the comics, Mar-Vell was a famous male Kree warrior and the original Captain Marvel. He was a major hero in the Marvel Universe during the 1970s, known for his incredible awareness and his strong protection of Earth. His death in the comic book storyline The Death of Captain Marvel is a landmark moment in Marvel history, given how important he was to the universe. The MCU’s choice to portray this iconic hero as a scientist who never actually became a superhero on screen is their most significant reimagining of a character to date.

Who do you think is the most different MCU character compared to their comic book version? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/movies/list/7-biggest-things-we-still-dont-know-about-the-mcus-2026-releases/embed/#

Read More

2026-01-28 00:13