All adjustments require changes to better suit the medium a series moves to. However, this doesn’t stop fans of this series from objecting to many of the changes made. While this dissatisfaction can sometimes get out of hand, sometimes this response is well deserved.
In a large-scale adaptation project like the MCU, many of these shortcomings have developed over the years. Especially when it comes to adapting Marvel’s iconic character designs to a live-action environment. While most characters see a faithful reproduction of their original appearance, there’s no shortage of failed redesigns that have fans moaning.
10 Mr.Fantastic
While Reed Richards and the rest of the Fantastic Four aren’t in the actual MCU yet, he got an on-screen appearance in one of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ alternate universes, giving fans a sense of how the MCU would approach the iconic team’s designs.
While the suit retains many of the key aspects that the Fantastic Four suits are known for, it ends up adding too much unnecessary detail. The black panels on his arms, in particular, break up the blue of the suit a bit too much and make it look more messy than in previous incarnations.
9 ant man
Ant-Man has gone through a lot of changes from the comics that many are not fond of. The most notable change was the choice to forego Hank Pym as the main Ant-Man in favor of Scott Lang. Even for those who could get over this, the many changes to his suit are also a point of contention.
Not only was the blue completely removed from his outfit, the prominent red was also intensely rejected. If he specifically looks at his helmet, he not only loses the proprietary ant antennae, but also gains a fully covered mouth that limits his ability to emote properly.
8 Wasp
Many of the Wasp’s changes in the MCU are similar to those in Ant-Man. Instead of Janet Van-Dyne, the original Wasp in the comics, the role was given to her and Hank Pym’s daughter, Hope. While many would have preferred to see Janet in action, this change is less objectionable than the change from Pym to Lang.
However, her suit has the same problems as Lang’s suit. Many MCU suits soften the colors of the strip, but Wasp’s suit overdoes it and ends up with way too little yellow. Her closed helmet also limits her ability to emote, as does Lang’s.
7 Captain Marvel
It must be said that as far as casting is concerned, Brie Larson does an excellent job portraying Carol Danvers on screen. Her suit is also on the better side of MCU suits, but still falls short of her comedic counterpart.
While the MCU suit has the fun feature of being able to change color on a whim, the simplicity of the comedic suit ultimately becomes that much more appealing. It’s especially unfortunate that the MCU suit removed the waist scarf which added a nice flair to the overall outfit, and also helped her silhouette read better from a distance.
6 Baron Zemo
Marvel’s villains have some of the least live-action-friendly designs in the comic universe. However, Baron Zemo is not exactly one of them. His full suit is a bit much for the MCU, but his overall color scheme and theming should have been pretty easy to customize.
But somehow, when Zemo first appeared in Captain America: Civil War, he was completely devoid of a suit. Even when The Falcon and the Winter Soldier finally gave him a semblance of his original suit, it didn’t live up to it in any way.
5 task master
Taskmaster’s case is particularly frustrating, as is Insomniac’s Spider Man game recently provided a good template for how the rent-stealing mercenary could work in a more realistic environment. Instead of, Black Widow revealed a much less impressive version of the character.
While the movies may not have been able to capture the full skeleton design from the comics, the cheap bike helmet they used doesn’t even come close. It also dulls the white into a dull gray, completely discarding its original color scheme.
4 Gorr The God Butcher
The latest villain to make the move to the MCU, Christian Bale’s Gorr reveal in Thor: Love and Thunder immediately came with fear from fans because of the drastic differences in the appearance of the god-hunting alien.
The most notable changes are the lack of Gorr’s distinctly alien features. His long head prongs are nowhere to be found and Bale doesn’t get prosthetics to make his face look less human. The black robes of the original have also been exchanged for almost Greek white. Overall, the MCU design doesn’t even read as alien, let alone really impressive.
3 iron fist
Iron Fist is an interesting case, as the original comic design has barely been tried in the MCU. His only appearances were in the iron fist, Luke Cageand Defenders shows, in which many felt the character was poorly portrayed and hard to find.
Though he possesses the iconic dragon tattoo on his chest, the MCU’s Iron Fist lacks anything that could even be called a suit or hero design as he usually operates in casual wear. While the comic design definitely needed some tweaking, it’s sad that the shows never gave it a solid try.
2 Malekith
As the main villain of what many consider the worst Thor movie, Malekith’s MCU incarnation is marred by unfortunate decisions. While he suffered from the forgettable nature of Thor 2his design change is a real tragedy.
Comic Malekith has a lot to offer in terms of design. The two-tone face and clothes are instantly eye-catching and memorable, selling his mischievous jester-like personality. In the MCU, however, not only is he stripped of his wilder personality, but he also resigns himself to a dull, gray and black design without the flair of his original look.
1 deathlok
Deathlok is another case where it’s hard to argue that the design wasn’t called. He only appears in Agents of SHIELDand rightly so, as anyone watching his comedic version can immediately see just how far the MCU has strayed in its portrayal.
While the original bears similarities to DC’s Cyborg and other half-human/half-machine characters in fiction, the MCU version could be mistaken for an ordinary person by an outside observer. His half-robotic face hasn’t even been tried on, and his other robotic limbs are way too toned down. This is one case where it’s really questionable what happened in the planning space to make this design come to the final product.
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