Random MCU Characters That Are Nothing Like Their Comic Book Counterparts (17 items)

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  (#13) Bucky Barnes

  • Ultimate Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel Universe

  From Captain America: The Winter Soldier on, the Bucky Barnes of the MCU is extremely faithful to the comic book character that inspired him. But the Bucky Barnes of Captain America: The First Avenger is a bit different than Marvel's original Bucky. You see, the Bucky of Marvel Comics was initially Captain America's costumed, teenage sidekick, donning a domino mask and everything. When the character of Captain America was unleashed upon the world in the 1940s, teen sidekicks were all the rage - hello, Robin! - and Bucky was along for the ride to kick some Third Reich butt.

  The Bucky Barnes of Captain America: The First Avenger, portrayed by Sebastian Stan, is shown to be the same age as Chris Evans' Captain America. The two were best friends growing up, something their counterparts certainly were not, and their unbreakable bond was formed through years of friendship. It makes some kind of sense to see Marvel Studios age Bucky up, as putting a scrawny, costumed teenager in the middle of a WWII warzone might not have sat well with all audience members.
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  (#9) Ant-Man (Henry Pym)

  • The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Ultimate Avengers, Ant-Man, Ultimate Avengers 2, Marvel Universe

  To be fair, the Hank Pym of the MCU is similar to the Hank Pym in plenty of ways: they are both genius inventors with varying degrees of anger issues, they both are the original Ant-Man in their respective universes, and they both discovered Pym Particles. But they differ in some pretty crucial ways. The Hank Pym of Earth-616 was a founding Avenger, was responsible for creating Ultron, and has become a somewhat controversial figure in Marvel Comics due to his troubling relationship with ex-wife Janet van Dyne (AKA the Wasp).

  Michael Douglas's Hank Pym worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. in the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - something his comic book counterpart never did - and due to the MCU having a realistic timeline, he is much older than the Hank Pym of the comics. If not for the timeline fudgery of comic books, Hank and the founding Avengers would be much, much older than they currently are. Marvel Comics' Hank doesn't seem to have even hit middle age yet, let alone get close to the post-retirement age of the MCU's Hank.
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  (#11) Mantis

  • Marvel Universe

  While the Mantis of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Mantis of Marvel Comics are somewhat similar in look and powerset, the two versions of this character are vastly different from a background standpoint. Debuting in 1973's Avengers #112, the Mantis of Earth-616 is a human of German and Vietnamese origin who was enhanced by the Kree at a young age. Upon her 18th birthday, her memory was erased and replaced with memories of a life she didn't live, as having an average human life would help prepare her to become the Celestial Madonna (don't ask). She ended up becoming a sex worker in Vietnam before joining the Avengers and becoming a capable, confident fighter.

  The Mantis of the MCU, introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, was somewhat understandably changed by Marvel Studios to fit more easily into the narrative, even if the resulting character bears little resemblance to her comic book counterpart. The MCU Mantis, played by Pom Klementieff, is raised into servitude by the film's antagonist, Ego the Living Planet. As such, she is subservient to Ego and, having never interacted with anyone but him, unfamiliar with social interaction - causing all kinds of comedic hijinks during conversations with the Guardians. The film version is so different, original character co-creator Steve Englehart felt the need to voice his dissatisfaction in an interview with Polygon.

  "Well, I was not happy with Mantis’s portrayal," Englehart said. "That character has nothing to do with Mantis... I really don’t know why you would take a character who is as distinctive as Mantis is and do a completely different character and still call her Mantis. That I do not know."
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  (#4) Yondu

  • Guardians of the Galaxy

  The original Guardians of the Galaxy team of Marvel Comics was not from the main Earth-616 universe and did not have adventures in modern times. No, the first Guardians of the Galaxy team, introduced in 1969's Marvel Super-Heroes #18, had their adventures in the Earth-691 continuity during the 31st century. One of the members of this team was Yondu, a member of the primitive, mystic Zatoan tribe of the planet Centauri-IV. This Yondu is imbued with a sixth sense of sorts that allows his people to form empathic relationships with various lifeforms. He also sports a pretty revealing outfit.

  The Yondu of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, brought to life by Michael Rooker, is a space pirate who happens to have the same name, as well as blue skin and a red mohawk like his comic book counterpart. That's about all they have in common. These two characters are so different, Marvel Comics actually added a new version of Yondu based on the big screen version in 2016's Star-Lord #1 that adhered more faithfully to what fans of the movies would expect.
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  (#5) Drax the Destroyer

  • Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Universe

  Drax has become a fan-favorite in recent years thanks to Dave Bautista's portrayal of the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But this version of the character strays a little bit from his comic book origins. First introduced way back in 1973's Iron Man #55, Drax actually is the reincarnated soul of Arthur Douglas, an American saxophone player who was offed by Thanos when he first came to Earth. Long story short, Thanos' father, Mentor, created a superhuman body from the soil of the Earth (blessed with enhanced strength and stamina) and put the soul of Arthur Douglas inside of it to accomplish one goal: eliminate the evil purple alien.

  In addition to primarily functioning as comic relief in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this Drax is an actual alien whose family was slain by Ronan the Accuser, which sets Drax on a personal vendetta against the Guardians of the Galaxy villain. While the MCU's Drax eventually sets his sights on Thanos, he is a far cry from the Drax of the comics, whose entire reason for living is to pursue the Mad Titan. Here's hoping we get to see Drax play a saxophone in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
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  (#6) Bill Foster

  • Marvel Universe

  First appearing in 1966's Avengers #32, Bill Foster became a mainstay of Marvel Comics for the next 40 years until his demise at the hands of a clone of Thor in 2006's Civil War #4. Foster fought evil under superhero monikers like Giant-Man and Goliath, becoming involved with superhero teams like the Avengers, Defenders, and Champions. In addition to his superhero exploits, Foster was an accomplished academic and biochemist as well.

  Marvel Studios took the intellectual aspects of the comic book character and brought him to the screen in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp, where he was played by Lawrence Fishburne. This version of the character is matured up to be closer in age to Michael Douglas's Hank Pym, is former member of S.H.I.E.L.D., and is shown to be a professor at Berkeley. Though Fishburne's Foster did work with Hank Pym on a project involving Pym Particles, he was never able to become a superhero and fight crime. Given his age, it's unlikely he will do so in future MCU films either.

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