10 MCU Storylines: Where The Comics Did Better
These MCU stories should have stuck with the source material.
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00:00More than 30 entries later, the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows no signs of slowing down as it makes its way through Phase 4.
00:08The colossal franchise has brought to life a myriad of characters and turned some of them into household names and seminal pieces of the pop culture mythos.
00:16That said, the following entries prove that the MCU still has a long way to go in treating the comics with more reverence.
00:23I'm Emile from WhatCulture and these are 10 MCU storylines the comics did better.
00:29Captain Carter's Story
00:31What if was a fun and breezy exploration of the MCU's newly minted multiverse that unfortunately did not reach the dizzying heights on the comic series it was inspired by and played things disappointingly safe.
00:42This can be seen in its introduction of Captain Carter, an episode that felt like a condensed rehash of the first Avengers plotline with Peggy Carter as the lead, despite a game lead performance by Hayley Atwell.
00:53The comics version of the WWII icon has a more storied life that saw her engage in multiversal adventures in a more inspired and zany manner compared to her animated counterpart.
01:03She took on the mantle of Captain America after Steve Rogers was assassinated and ended up in the present day much like Rogers did in the main timeline.
01:10She later joins the Exiles, a team of interdimensional heroes such as dystopic Kamala Khan and cartoonish version of Wolverine known as Wolvie in order to stop Kang the Time Eater, a version of Kang the Conqueror with Galactus' powers.
01:24Peggy shines in a story that embraces the oddities of traversing the multiverse with glee.
01:28The Kree-Skrull War
01:31Captain Marvel's debut film chose to portray the Skrulls in a more sympathetic light compared to their more sinister depiction in the comics.
01:38Although this bit of subversion worked in favour of Carol Danvers' character development, it meant that the Kree-Skrull War barely had any weight in the film.
01:45This was a rather disappointing scene that the actual conflict in the comics had a far-reaching scope and featured more moral complexities than the film's depiction of a one-sided conflict.
01:54The story follows a weakened Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell not Danvers, who requires the aid of the Avengers after his time in the Negative Zone left him at the mercy of a lethal dose of radiation.
02:03Unfortunately, the heroes are unable to help the Kree hero due to the intervention of the Kree warrior Ronan the Accuser and the Super-Skrull, who captures Mar-Vell and forces him to build a doomsday weapon to counter the Kree's plans to turn the Earth into a base for use in the war.
02:18The story is intimate by kicking off the Vision-Scarlet Witch romance and also sweeping, showcasing how a planet such as Earth can be easily caught up in the often subtle but devastating machinations of an interstellar war.
02:30Hawkeye
02:32Much like What If, Hawkeye's first solo effort was a light and fun affair that helped flesh out Clint Barton's arc, introduce and reintroduce major street-level players in the MCU as well as a new legacy hero in Kate Bishop.
02:44The series explored Clint's tenure as Ronan and how his time as the feared vigilante eventually came back to bite him in the form of Maya Lopez's Echo, the daughter of a crime lord he killed during the blip.
02:55Although the story was well told, it sometimes played like a safe and familiar MCU effort that never lived up to the zany, stylish and weighty heights of the beloved comic run it's based on.
03:04Just like the series, the comic's tone is grounded and small-scale and features the first meeting between Clint and Kate as well as the first appearance of Lucky the Pizza Dog.
03:12Where the comics excel in comparison to its live-action counterpart is in its execution.
03:17The beloved run commits to its irreverent tone and offbeat humour far more often than the series due to the latter falling into familiar MCU trappings.
03:24Furthermore, the comic's iconic moments have more room to breathe and are woven into the narrative in a more organic manner.
03:30I guess you could say they hit the target, right?
03:327. Demon in a Bottle
03:33Iron Man 2 was the first sign that films based in a nascent cinematic universe would buckle under the weight of expanding said universe.
03:40The film had to juggle a lot of elements and set the stage for future instalments and this meant that it could not do justice to its own story and sources of inspiration.
03:48This was seen in its admittedly loose adaptation of Demon in a Bottle, the seminal 1979 Iron Man tale that explores Tony's struggles with alcoholism.
03:56The film depicts Tony's growing alcoholism as a side effect of grappling with his impending death as caused by his arc reactor.
04:03Although the film's concept was solid, the plotline simply had no room to breathe due to the film's many moving parts.
04:08The comic, on the other hand, built up towards Stark's addiction in a manner that was more somber than expected.
04:13The hero's woes are explored in greater detail and his failures cannot be hand-weared by a clever but convoluted invention.
04:19Demon in a Bottle helped make the hero more relatable and its portrayal of Stark's allies showed that some of his greatest gifts in life are not always powered suits of armour.
04:276. Ragnarok
04:29Thor Ragnarok helped revitalise Chris Hemsworth's character's story and introduced fan favourites such as Korg and Valkyrie.
04:35In addition to this, it infused the MCU with an unconventional sense of humour that was different from the quip-heavy Whedonesque writing that defined the franchise.
04:42Despite those achievements, the film somewhat faltered in its handling of the apocalyptic events in its finale.
04:47In all fairness, Asgard's destruction at the hands of Surtur served as a lesson for the God of Thunder in that he realised that there is more to Asgard's identity than a location.
04:56Beyond that, the film seemed more interesting in being an undeniably entertaining space buddy comedy and this choice worked against the development of characters such as Hela and Scourge.
05:05Walt Simonson's legendary 80s run in the Thor saga was a better grasp of Ragnarok and gives the supporting characters such as the Warriors Three and the villains much needed depth as compared to the film.
05:15Asgard itself and its people feel more fleshed out and this portrayal helps the Stakes feel more palpable when the world-ending threat of Ragnarok came along.
05:225. Planet Hulk
05:24In addition to slightly missing the mark with the end of Asgard, Ragnarok gave audiences a very surface level exploration of one of the Hulk's most iconic storylines.
05:33To be fair, the Jolly Green Giant was a supporting character in the third Thor entry and this meant that Planet Hulk was not going to receive an adaptation worthy of the mighty hero.
05:43Much like Ragnarok itself, elements such as Sakaar, Korg and the gladiatorial battles felt like means to an end, that being reuniting Thor with the strongest Avenger.
05:53Rather than a well realised locale, characters and events.
05:56The actual Planet Hulk story is a far cry from the colourful events of the film as it demonstrates the Hulk's sheer might and the threat posed by the planet to beings as powerful as him.
06:06Some fans have bemoaned the Hulk's less savage, more controlled nature in recent films and with a story such as Planet Hulk in the mix, it is understandable as to why they would want the iconic powerhouse to be let loose again.
06:17Hulk smash!
06:194. The Extremis Arc
06:21Iron Man 3 is more so remembered for its, to put it mildly, controversial handling of the Mandarin and the twist surrounding the iconic villain than anything else.
06:29This is understandable as the subversion surrounding Iron Man's arch nemesis did not amount to much as Aldric Killian lacked the menace to serve as the Mandarin.
06:37The inspiration for much of the film's plot, the Extremis saga, is more beloved than the film and in many ways shaped Tony Stark's initial arc in the MCU.
06:45Some of the comic's elements, such as the design for Iron Man's suit, were used in the first Iron Man film, so this entry will focus on the threequels relation to the storyline.
06:53Much like the movie, the comic book tale explores Tony's mental state, the Extremis virus and its connection to the likes of Maya Hansen and Aldric Killian.
07:00Unlike the film however, Hansen has a significantly larger and antagonistic role in the comics and the nature of the Extremis virus and its application by Stark is more complex than its relatively simple cinematic counterpart.
07:133. Ultron
07:14Contrary to popular belief, the sophomore entry in the Avengers franchise was not based on the 2013 comic of the same name.
07:20Instead, it was based on a collection of different Avengers stories featuring the genocidal robot and at best, the film features superficial references to the comic storyline and is more focused on telling an original story.
07:31The film serves as an origin story for the villainous automation and explores his reasons behind wanting to destroy humanity and repopulate the Earth with his sentry bots.
07:40Unlike the comedic nature of the villain in the film, comics Ultron is gravely serious, slow to emotional outbursts and is fixated on making Hank Pym, the original creator's life miserable.
07:51The eighth episode of What If feels more in line, if ever so slightly, with the Age of Ultron storyline than the film itself and features an all-powerful Ultron who has achieved his goal of destroying humanity.
08:02However, it still lacks the scale of the comic storyline and features significantly fewer characters and its plot is not as far-reaching and referential to past Marvel events such as the Kree-Skrull War.
08:122. Armor Wars
08:14In addition to barely scratching the narrative potential of Demon in a Bottle, Iron Man 2's scattershot narrative was not able to fully capture the themes of industrial espionage, guilt and paranoia that defined the 87-88 Armor Wars storyline.
08:27Although both storylines take place at different points in Stark's life, the comic storyline is more coherent and showcases the consequences of the hero's single-minded approach to solving issues.
08:37The film more or less bypasses the industrial espionage element of the comic in favour of having Justin Hammer's suits solely built by Ivan Vanko.
08:44This personalises the conflict as Vanko's father Anton and Howard Stark work together, but the change falls flat due to the younger Vanko's wanting characterisation.
08:54Right off the bat, the comic has the advantage of having more heroes and villains in the mix, something the movie cannot be faulted for, and this helps contextualise Stark's actions and fears.
09:03Antagonists such as Hammer, the Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man push the Armored Avenger to his limits and he is forced to come to terms with the consequences of his technology ending up in the wrong hands.
09:141. Annihilation Conquest
09:172014's Guardians of the Galaxy was a breath of fresh air for the MCU, a wacky yet heartfelt film that helped expand the MCU's scope into the cosmic realm and it brought characters such as Groot and Rocket Raccoon to the forefront of the pop culture discourse.
09:31It is a brilliant comic book film that deserved all its praise and success, and this in turn makes Annihilation Conquest's success all the more impressive.
09:39This 2007-2008 sequel to Annihilation took its predecessor's approach in deepening Marvel's cosmic lore by focusing on an unlikely group of heroes as they go up against an overwhelmingly powerful threat.
09:51That was Annihilus in the original and the Phalanx in the sequel.
09:54While the first Guardians film took inspiration from Conquest, the comic's storyline does a few things better than the film.
09:59For starters, the Phalanx as a villain may not be that compellingly executed, but the techno-organic hive mind is leagues better than the forgettable Ronan the Accuser.
10:07As well as that, the film's scale is impressive but does not come close to incredible moments such as Nova collapsing a dwarf star to escape the Phalanx field.
10:15All in all, the gap in quality between these two pieces of Marvel media is not that wide, but Conquest ever so slightly takes the edge.
10:22Luckily, Kevin Feige's stash of Marvel source material is burning a hole in his closet, so perhaps we will see the storylines adapted in the future phases of the MCU in a bit greater detail.