Marvels of MarvelHow well do you know your favorite characters from Marvel Comics? Here's everything you need to know about the heroes and villains from the pages of every group from the Avengers to the X-Men.
Over 200 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of 14 Marvel Comics Characters Better Than Their MCU Counterpart
Voting Rules
Vote up the Marvel characters who have been done dirty by the MCU.
Almost anyone will say, "The book is better than the movie," and the same holds true for comic books and their adaptations. While the MCU is one of the most beloved shared universes in the history of entertainment, there's no disputing Marvel Comics provides definitive stories for all these heroes and villains. In some instances, the characters are different from how they are portrayed on screen.
Then, there are the special cases where Marvel characters are played up as jobbers in the MCU, but they are the real deal in the comics, and that's what we will be looking at here. From Taskmaster to Sharon Carter - vote up the characters you think have received a raw deal in the MCU.Â
Look, Black Bolt was done dirty from the get-go with the horrendous Inhumans show, which is the TV equivalent of shooting staples into your retinas. The character receives a chance at redemption in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where not only does he appear in a comics-accurate costume, but he also is presented as one of the members of the Illuminati. Unfortunately, that's where the coolness ends, as Scarlet Witch forces his own whisper to pop his head like a balloon.
In the comics, though, both Black Bolt and the Inhumans are considered major powerful characters. At one stage, they were presented as a more important team than the X-Men and even faced off against Professor Xavier's students in the limited series Inhumans vs. X-Men.
While it isn't unusual for the MCU to change origin stories to suit the purpose of the narrative, the ball was dropped with Taskmaster in a huge way. In Black Widow, Taskmaster is revealed to be Antonia Dreykov, who has been programmed by her father to be the perfect emotionless killing machine. Yet, this feels as drastic a change as X-Men Origins: Wolverine stitching up Wade Wilson's mouth.
In the comics, Taskmaster crosses the line between hero and villain regularly, but the character is extremely humorous and shares more in common with Deadpool than Silent Bob. Also, Tony Masters is the person under the skull mask and personality is something he isn't lacking - unlike Antonia's relatively lifeless demeanor.
The first Thor film introduces the Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg), and everyone presumes they will be a significant part of the story arc going forward. Yet, they largely take a backseat, and it only gets worse as the movies progress, with the three being sent off to Valhalla in Thor: Ragnarok.
The comics treat the Asgardian warriors differently. They aren't only Thor's backing band but also important characters in their own right. The Warriors Three have even had their own solo series in Marvel Comics, proving there's a fan demand for them.
While most comic book fans argue if Quicksilver or the Flash is the fastest man alive, the MCU version of Pietro Maximoff can't outrun a bullet in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Yes, he technically uses his superspeed to save Hawkeye and takes a bullet in the process, but the point still stands!
The famed Marvel Comics character has been a critical component of factions such as the Avengers, X-Men, and X-Factor. Throughout the decades, he has established himself as one of the most important - and beloved - mutants in the Marvel universe.
Yet, here's the kicker: the other version of Quicksilver that appears in Fox's X-Men films is treated with far more respect, as his superspeed scenes give him some hilarious moments in X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix. It's almost like the MCU tried to bury the character from the start since their rights to him were limited at the time…
In the MCU, Ulysses Klaw is an arms dealer with an impressive prosthetic arm that harbors sonic power. That's fairly consistent with his arm's ability in the comics, but Klaw meets his maker quicker than a stack of pancakes for breakfast in Black Panther.
Now, this is where Klaw differs from his comic book counterpart. In Marvel Comics, Klaw is fascinated by his prosthetic device and takes it one step further: he creates another contraption that allows him to turn into a being made solely of sound. By doing so, he becomes immortal because how does anyone truly defeat sound?
In Thor: Love and Thunder, Gorr the God Butcher's rise to villainy occurs because of the passing of his daughter and his disappointment in the gods he dedicated his life to. In his last moment, though, he sees the error of his ways and brings back his child, redeeming himself.
The comics present a different Gorr. While he also loses his family and becomes disillusioned with the gods, he is unrelenting in his onslaught. He doesn't seek redemption - only vengeance. He slaughters his way through the pantheon of gods and almost puts down Thor as he establishes himself as one of the most dangerous Marvel antagonists of all time. Plus, he wears what basically amounts to a sexy thong while committing these acts. He's perfect.
