The Marvel Cinematic Universe has always strived to walk a fine line between creating great movies and remaining loyal to the comics. However, this is not always possible because they are different mediums, and the MCU had to make specific changes to work on the big screen, especially in today’s society. There are villains in the comics that would never work on the big screen, no matter how much Marvel fans want to see them. However, the company has also attempted to tackle great comic book storylines, and despite its best efforts, many of them ultimately failed when the final product was released.
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From characters the MCU couldn’t seem to get right to storylines that never matched the Marvel Comics brilliance, here are times that the MCU tried but failed to give fans what they want.
7) The Mandarin
Iron Man 3 did something that worked beautifully when it happened, but it angered many fans because they didn’t get what they wanted from the story. The biggest problem was that the MCU advertised the movie as Iron Man’s big chance to fight his greatest comic book villain, the Mandarin. The company even cast the incredible Ben Kingllsey to play him, which was controversial at the start since Kingsley is English and not Asian. However, there was a method to the madness.
The big twist in Iron Man 3 was that Trevor Slattery was hired to impersonate a terrorist known as The Mandarin for Aldrich Killian, the real villain of the movie. The moment Mandarin flipped a switch and became Trevor was brilliant, and it was a great twist. However, the many viewers who wanted Mandarin more than they wanted a great movie still hate Iron Man 3. The MCU tried to make up for it when Shang-Chi’s dad turned out to be the real Mandarin, but it wasn’t enough for fans, and the character never got his proper representation in the movies.
6) Gorr the God Butcher
Christian Bale delivered a decent performance as Gorr the God Butcher, and the story in Thor: Love and Thunder was loosely based on the comic book story, where Gorr became evil due to the death of his daughter. That part of the movie worked brilliantly. Another thing that the film had going for it was a pitch-perfect representation of Eternity. However, for a film about Gorr, the killer of gods, the movie was too funny for its own good.
Gorr’s tragedy was significant, but the film kept flipping between ridiculous humor, such as goats screaming and Russell Crowe hamming it up as Zeus, and the brutal horror of Gorr kidnapping the children of Asgardian gods to bring down Thor. In the end, as fun as the movie was at times, Gorr’s story needed to be taken much more seriously. Thor: Love and Thunder never really knew what kind of movie it wanted to be, ultimately letting down a great comic book character.
5) Adam Warlock
When Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was released, a post-credits scene featured the High Priestess of the Sovereign people, Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), beside a giant cocoon, and she said that she would name him Adam. This got Marvel Comics fans very excited because the cocoon and the name Adam surely meant that Adam Warlock was on the way. It happened in the third movie.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 brought Adam Warlock to the big screen, and it was the character in name alone. While Will Poultier is a great actor, his portrayal of Adam Warlock was more of a petulant teen who never really knew what he was supposed to be. Thanks to James Gunn’s comic sensibilities, Adam Warlock was played more for comedy than anything. Fans who were excited about Adam Warlock after the second movie were left very disappointed in how he turned out in the third one.
4) The Silver Surfer
First off, the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: First Steps was a great character. Second, she was based on a Marvel Comics character, as Shalla-Bal was Norrin Radd’s girlfriend on his home world of Zenn-La. Silver Surfer sacrificed himself to save her and his planet from Galactus. However, the Fantastic Four in this movie were from an alternate universe, and in this universe, it was Shalla-Bal who sacrificed herself and not Norrin. That worked best for this movie.
However, fans already saw the real Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and while Doug Jones was excellent in his portrayal, the movie was a massive letdown for the characters. Fans of the Marvel Comics character have been waiting for him to be done right, and after Fantastic Four: First Steps, it still hasn’t happened. Both versions have positives, but the MCU still needs to get this popular character right in the future.
3) Red Hulk
Fans of the Hulk had been waiting to see what could happen if Thunderbolt Ross finally became Red Hulk, and it finally happened in Captain America: Brand New World. However, things got a little confusing when Red Hulk finally went on his rampage. First, the MCU had to recast Ross, as William Hurt had passed away. Instead of bringing in Sam Elliott, who played Ross in Ang Lee’s Hulk, the company signed the legendary Harrison Ford to play Ross.
As beloved as Ford is, he never seemed to fully understand the role, and while he was solid as U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, when he became Red Hulk, it was almost an afterthought. In Marvel Comics, no one initially knew who the Red Hulk was, but Captain America: Brand New World underwent numerous revisions that made it seem like it had been pieced together. Ross turned into Red Hulk in front of everyone at the end of the film, and then Captain America had to stop him. This was not how fans wanted to see Red Hulk make his MCU debut.
2) Planet Hulk
Thor: Ragnarok is one of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe releases, and it is easily the best Thor movie ever made. However, the film adapted a major Marvel Comics storyline, and it wasn’t one of Thor’s. Instead, the MCU partially adapted Planet Hulk and incorporated Thor into the story as the lead. Because of this, the beloved Hulk story was only a small part of the tale, and it ultimately became more about Thor returning to Asgard and saving it from Hela.
The movie did the Hulk as a gladiator storyline and even introduced Korg and Miek, two significant characters from both Planet Hulk and World War Hulk. However, that was the extent of this. The movie also brought in Grandmaster, and while Jeff Goldblum was hilarious, this was in no way the same character from the comics. Of course, there was no way to make a Planet Hulk movie because of the Universal deal, but losing the best parts, such as Hulk falling in love with Caiera, was tough for fans of the comics.
1) Secret Invasion
The biggest disappointment in MCU history came on Disney+. There have been some fantastic Marvel Comics crossover events, and the MCU actually improved on one with its version of Civil War. However, a second significant comic book event had a chance to play out even better thanks to the Disney+ format of miniseries. This was Secret Invasion, and the final result was a terrible disappointment for fans.
Since this was a streaming series, the main characters from the comic book series were missing. Nick Fury was the main character, and while Samuel L. Jackson was great, as usual, the rest of the series delivered one disappointment after the next. From Maria Hill’s shocking death to the disappointing version of the Super Skrull, there was almost nothing in this series that worked, leaving MCU fans more disappointed than any other release in its run.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
