5 Worst Changes The MCU Made To Iconic Marvel Villains

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought some popular heroes to the big screen and to Disney+, and many of them were masterfully done. However, one of the biggest complaints about the MCU since it started was that the villains often fell short and held the movies back somewhat. There were some big names in the list, but in the end, many of them left something to be desired. Other than Loki, the early villains didn’t always impress, whether it was Red Skull, Malekith, Abomination, or Iron Monger. The movies were mostly good, but the bad guys didn’t match up to the heroes they faced.

However, over the years, there have been some Marvel villains who have been hurt worse than others when it comes to the changes the MCU made to them.

5) Ultron

Ultron had one massive change that really hurt the character when he showed up in the MCU. He didn’t act like Ultron. Rather than Hank Pym creating him, Tony Stark did. The time frame also offered something that didn’t exist when Marvel Comics introduced Ultron decades ago. That would be the internet, and it seemed like a good idea to have Ultron learn everything he knows by scrolling the internet.

In the comics, Ultron learned what he needed to from history and news reports. That showed him how dangerous humanity could be. However, learning from the internet also opened up a lot of pop culture and memes for Ultron, and when he showed up, he had a sarcastic, laid-back personality as he spoke to the Avengers. The minute Ultron opened his mouth, he became less menacing, and it hurt Avengers: Age of Ultron as much as anything else.

4) Taskmaster

There is a good reason the MCU made changes to Taskmaster in Black Widow. The idea was that the character needed to have a connection to the Red Room, or in this case, to the leader of the Red Room. This character was essential to change to make her mean more and a lot more of an emotional core than bringing in Tony Masters ever would have. That said, erasing Tony Masters from existence was wrong.

There are other characters that the MCU could have brought in and changed that wouldn’t have been as bad. Ghost was completely changed in Ant-Man & The Wasp, but it wasn’t that big of a deal because no one really cares about the original Marvel Ghost. However, Tony Masters isn’t only a fan favorite Marvel villain, but he is one of the best assassin villains in comics, and having Taskmaster as anyone but him was a mistake.

3) MODOK

Darren Cross was a good enough villain in the first Ant-Man movie, although when he became Yellowjacket, it was a strange decision. However, in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the MCU took its humor to almost ridiculous levels. Yes. Corey Stoll was funny when he showed up as MODOK, but this was embarrassing when looking at other villains in comic book movies.

Seeing MODOK with Corey Stoll’s face was just silly looking, and while the filmmakers were trying to be funny since Ant-Man movies are comedy crime caper movies, it just fell short and became one of the most mocked movies in the MCU. It is worse because MODOK was such a brilliant character in the Hulu animated series, and the MCU made him a bigger joke than he already was.

2) Whiplash

Whiplash has always been one of Iron Man’s greatest villains, and when the MCU hired Mickey Rourke to play the villain, it was a huge moment. Rourke is one of Hollywood’s most impressive actors, and he brings his all to all his roles. However, that was a problem in the MCU where Rourke seemingly took over and made Whiplash into what he wanted him to be, not what was best for the movie.

Whiplash owning a bird was Rourke’s idea, and from the sound of it, what Rourke wanted, he got. In the end, Whiplash felt like he was from an entirely different movie. While Justin Hammer was fantastic as the swarmy arms dealer who brought out armored robots for Iron Man and War Machine to fight, Whiplash was just a poor representation of what he could have been. Even worse, Rourke blamed the MCU for the problems, even though most changes were reportedly his.

1) Malekith

Malekith is one of the most forgotten MCU villains, and that is a tragedy. Malekith is the Accursed and the king of the Dark Elves. His most significant moment in the comics came in the War of the Realms, where he almost conquered all the realms. After conquering all the realms, all that was left was Earth, and it took all Earth’s heroes and some legendary Asgaridan heroes to beat him.

In Thor: The Dark World, Malekith was just another bad guy. The final battle with Thor and Malekith was just a blitzkrieg of special effects, and by the end, no one really remembered Malekith’s name. This was the one Marvel villain that the MCU ruined beyond all recognition, and he deserved so much better.

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