The Marvel Cinematic Universe has done a phenomenal job of bringing Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to life. However, in doing so, it also rewrote much of their history. Unlike the comics, where decades of storytelling built up complex and often bizarre backstories for the Avengers, the MCU had to streamline things.
This then resulted in them completely flipping how these characters came to be. While some changes were minor tweaks, others fundamentally altered who these heroes were before they donned their suits.
James Rhodes Backstabbed Tony Stark To Take Over The Iron Man Mantle In The Comics
At the heart of these changes was a need for practicality. The MCU had to condense years of character arcs into digestible, interconnected movies while making the heroes feel grounded, at least in the beginning. This meant cutting out elements that were too fantastical, restructuring relationships, and even reassigning key moments to different characters.
For some, it was about removing outdated or problematic history, while for others, it was about making them fit better into the wider cinematic universe. Take Carol Danvers, for example. In the comics, her journey to becoming Captain Marvel was far messier, with her first taking on the moniker of Ms. Marvel. The MCU skipped this phase entirely, introducing her fully formed as Captain Marvel.
Whereas, James Rhodes, better known as War Machine, underwent an equally significant rewrite. While in the movies he’s Tony Stark’s best friend and loyal sidekick, the comics once had him take over as Iron Man entirely while Tony was struggling with alcoholism. The MCU never explored this angle. They kept Tony in the suit and pushed Rhodey into his own distinct identity far earlier than in the source material.
MCU’s Main Motive To Change The Storyline Was To Make The Superheroes More Grounded
Some changes were made to strip away elements that would have been harder to sell to mainstream audiences. The Falcon, for instance, originally had a telepathic bond with an actual falcon named Redwing. Instead of leaning into the idea of a superhero who could communicate with birds, the MCU reinvented Redwing as a high-tech drone.
This was probably done to keep the character grounded. Others saw their entire origin reworked to tie into a larger narrative. Scott Lang, the second Ant-Man, was given a comedic, accidental introduction to Hank Pym’s technology in the MCU. Whereas, in the comics, his discovery of the Ant-Man suit was a result of a calculated act of Stark Industries.
However, the MCU’s approach made Scott more lovable. Moreover, the changes sometimes also shift the very identity of a character. Black Widow, for instance, should have been nearly as old as Captain America. Instead, the MCU made her a more contemporary figure. Perhaps one of the biggest shifts was in Captain America’s identity itself.
In the comics, Steve Rogers originally maintained a secret identity, with the eventual reveal of his real name being a major event. But in the MCU, secret identities were largely abandoned, making Steve’s status as Captain America an open secret from the start. Then there’s the Hulk, whose entire backstory was rewritten to connect to the MCU’s larger themes.
Bruce Banner’s transformation in the comics happened when he saved a teenager, Rick Jones, from a gamma bomb blast. The MCU took a different route, tying the experiment that created the Hulk to an attempt at replicating Captain America’s super soldier serum. Other Heroes like Hawkeye and Iron Man also suffered the same fate.
Major Arcs Were Also Changed For The MCU
In addition to characters, several storylines were also changed. Even Thor’s exile to Earth played out differently. In the comics, he didn’t just lose Mjolnir, he lost his memories entirely, living as a human doctor named Donald Blake before eventually rediscovering his godly heritage. The MCU removed this alter ego, keeping Thor aware of his true identity in ‘Ragnarok‘.
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However, it also forces him to prove himself worthy of wielding his hammer again. It was a simpler, more direct way to show his growth without the added complication of a secret identity. Additionally, our beloved Iron Man’s origin also had to be updated to make sense for a modern audience. Originally, Tony Stark was kidnapped during the Vietnam War.
This detail was changed to take place in the fictional country of Siancong as the comics tried to keep up with shifting timelines. The MCU sidestepped this issue altogether by placing Stark’s capture in Afghanistan to make the story feel more relevant. In the end, the MCU’s changes weren’t just about making things different for the sake of it. They were about making these heroes work in the big screen format.
