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These MCU stories should have stuck with the source material.
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00:00More than 30 entries later, the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows no signs of slowing down as it
00:05makes its way through phase four. The colossal franchise has brought to life a myriad of
00:11characters and turned some of them into household names and seminal pieces of the pop culture
00:16mythos. That said, the following entries prove that the MCU still has a long way to go in treating
00:21the comics with more reverence. I'm Emil from WhatCulture and these are 10 MCU storylines the
00:27comics did better. 10. Captain Carter's story. What If was a fun and breezy exploration of the
00:33MCU's newly minted multiverse that unfortunately did not reach the dizzying heights on the comic
00:38series it was inspired by and played things disappointingly safe. This can be seen in its
00:43introduction of Captain Carter, an episode that felt like a condensed rehash of the first Avengers
00:48plotline with Peggy Carter as the lead despite a game lead performance by Hayley Atwell. The comics
00:53version of the World War II icon has a more storied life that saw her engage in multiversal
00:57adventures in a more inspired and zany manner compared to her animated counterpart. She took
01:03on the mantle of Captain America after Steve Rogers was assassinated and ended up in the
01:07present day much like Rogers did in the main timeline. She later joins the Exiles, a team
01:11of interdimensional heroes such as dystopic Kamala Khan and cartoonish version of Wolverine known
01:17as Wolvie in order to stop Kang the Time Eater, a version of Kang the Conqueror with Galactus's powers.
01:23Peggy shines in a story that embraces the oddities of traversing the multiverse with glee.
01:289. The Kree-Skrull War. Captain Marvel's debut film chose to portray the Skrulls in a more
01:34sympathetic light compared to their more sinister depiction in the comics. Although this bit of
01:38subversion worked in favour of Carol Danvers' character development, it meant that the Kree-Skrull
01:42War barely had any weight in the film. This was rather disappointing seeing that the actual conflict
01:47in the comics had a far-reaching scope and featured more moral complexities than the film's depiction
01:52of a one-sided conflict. The story follows a weakened Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell not Danvers,
01:57who requires the aid of the Avengers after his time in the Negative Zone left him at the mercy of a
02:02lethal dose of radiation. Unfortunately, the heroes are unable to help the Kree hero due to the intervention
02:07of the Kree warrior Ronan the Accuser and the Super Skrull who captures Mar-Vell and forces
02:12him to build a doomsday weapon to counter the Kree's plans to turn the Earth into a base for use in the
02:17war. The story is intimate by kicking off the Vision Scarlet Witch romance and also sweeping,
02:23showcasing how a planet such as Earth can be easily caught up in the often subtle but devastating
02:28machinations of an interstellar war. 8. Hawkeye. Much like What If, Hawkeye's first solo effort was a
02:34light and fun affair that helped flesh out Clint Barton's arc, introduce and reintroduce major street
02:39level players in the MCU as well as a new legacy hero in Kate Bishop. The series explored Clint's
02:45tenure as Ronan and how his time as the feared vigilante eventually came back to bite him in the
02:49form of Maya Lopez's Echo, the daughter of a crime lord he killed during the blip. Although the story
02:55was well told, it sometimes played like a safe and familiar MCU effort that never lived up to the zany,
03:00stylish and weighty heights of the beloved comic run it's based on. Just like the series, the comic's
03:05tone is grounded and small scale and features the first meeting between Clint and Kate as well
03:10as the first appearance of Lucky the pizza dog. Where the comics excel in comparison to its live
03:14action counterpart is in its execution. The beloved run commits to its irreverent tone and offbeat
03:19humour far more often than the series due to the latter falling into familiar MCU trappings.
03:24Furthermore, the comics iconic moments have more room to breathe and are woven into the narrative
03:28in a more organic manner. I guess you could say they hit the target, right?
03:31Seven, Demon in a Bottle. Iron Man 2 was the first sign that films based in a nascent cinematic
03:37universe would buckle under the weight of expanding said universe. The film had to juggle a lot of
03:41elements and set the stage for future instalments and this meant that it could not do justice to its
03:46own story and sources of inspiration. This was seen in its admittedly loose adaptation of Demon in a Bottle,
03:52the seminal 1979 Iron Man tale that explores Tony's struggles with alcoholism. The film depicts
03:57Tony's growing alcoholism as a side effect of grappling with his impending death
04:01as caused by his arc reactor. Although the film's concept was solid, the plotline simply had no
04:06room to breathe due to the film's many moving parts. The comic on the other hand built up
04:09towards Stark's addiction in a manner that was more sombre than expected. The hero's wars are
04:13explored in greater detail and his failures cannot be hand-waved by a clever but convoluted invention.
04:18Demon in a Bottle helped make the hero more relatable and its portrayal of Stark's allies
04:23showed that some of his greatest gifts in life are not always powered suits of armour.
04:276. Ragnarok Thor Ragnarok helped revitalise Chris Hemsworth's character's story and introduced fan
04:33favourites such as Korg and Valkyrie. In addition to this, it infused the MCU with an unconventional
04:37sense of humour that was different from the quip-heavy, weed-nesque writing that defined the
04:41franchise. Despite those achievements, the film somewhat faltered in its handling of the apocalyptic
04:46events in its finale. In all fairness, Asgard's destruction at the hands of Surtur served as a
04:51lesson for the God of Thunder in that he realised that there is more to Asgard's identity than a location.
04:55Beyond that, the film seemed more interesting in being an undeniably entertaining space-buddy comedy
05:00and this choice worked against the development of characters such as Hela and Scourge. Walt
05:05Simonson's legendary 80s run in the Thor saga was a better grasp of Ragnarok and gives the
05:09supporting characters such as the Warriors Three and the villains much-needed depth as compared to
05:14the film. Asgard itself and its people feel more fleshed out and this portrayal helps the stakes feel
05:18more palpable when the world-ending threat of Ragnarok came along.
05:215. Planet Hulk In addition to slightly missing the
05:25mark with the end of Asgard, Ragnarok gave audiences a very surface-level exploration
05:30of one of the Hulk's most iconic storylines. To be fair, the Jolly Green Giant was a supporting
05:35character in the third Thor entry and this meant that Planet Hulk was not going to receive an
05:40adaptation worthy of the mighty hero. Oh, poor Hulk. Much like Ragnarok itself, elements such as Sakaar,
05:46Korg and the gladiatorial battles felt like means to an end, that being reuniting Thor with the
05:52strongest Avenger, rather than a well-realised locale, characters and events. The actual Planet
05:57Hulk story is a far cry from the colourful events of the film as it demonstrates the Hulk's sheer
06:02might and the threat posed by the planet to beings as powerful as him. Some fans have bemoaned the Hulk's
06:08less savage, more controlled nature in recent films and with a story such as Planet Hulk in the mix,
06:12it is understandable as to why they would want the iconic powerhouse to be let loose again. Hulk smash!
06:184. The Extremis Arc Iron Man 3 is more so remembered for its,
06:23to put it mildly, controversial handling of the Mandarin and the twist surrounding the
06:27iconic villain than anything else. This is understandable as the subversion surrounding
06:31Iron Man's arch-nemesis did not amount to much as Aldrich Killian lacked the menace to serve as the
06:36Mandarin. The inspiration for much of the film's plot, The Extremis Saga, is more beloved than the film
06:41and in many ways shaped Tony Stark's initial arc in the MCU. Some of the comics elements,
06:46such as the design for Iron Man's suit, were used in the first Iron Man film,
06:49so this entry will focus on the threequels relation to the storyline. Much like the movie,
06:54the comic book tale explores Tony's mental state, The Extremis Virus and its connection to the likes of
06:59Maya Hansen and Aldrich Killian. Unlike the film however, Hansen has a significantly larger and
07:04antagonistic role in the comics and the nature of The Extremis Virus and its application by Stark
07:09is more complex than its relatively simple cinematic counterpart.
07:123. Ultron
07:13Contrary to popular belief, the sophomore entry in the Avengers franchise was not based on the
07:182013 comic of the same name. Instead, it was based on a collection of different Avengers stories
07:23featuring the genocidal robot and at best, the film features superficial references to the comic
07:28storyline and is more focused on telling an original story. The film serves as an origin story
07:33for the villainous automation and explores his reasons behind wanting to destroy humanity and
07:37repopulate the Earth with his sentry bots. Unlike the comedic nature of the villain in the film,
07:42comics Ultron is gravely serious, slow to emotional outbursts and is fixated on making Hank Pym,
07:48the original creator's life miserable. The eighth episode of What If feels more in line,
07:53if ever so slightly, with the Age of Ultron storyline than the film itself and features an all-powerful
07:58Ultron who has achieved his goal of destroying humanity. However, it still lacks the scale of the comic
08:03storyline and features significantly fewer characters and its plot is not as far-reaching
08:08and referential to past Marvel events such as the Kree Scroll War. 2. Armor Wars
08:13In addition to barely scratching the narrative potential of Demon in a Bottle, Iron Man 2's
08:18scattershot narrative was not able to fully capture the themes of industrial espionage,
08:22guilt and paranoia that defined the 87-88 Armor Wars storyline. Although both storylines take place
08:28at different points in Stark's life, the comic storyline is more coherent and showcases the
08:33consequences of the hero's single-minded approach to solving issues. The film more or less bypasses
08:38the industrial espionage element of the comic in favour of having Justin Hammer's suits solely built
08:43by Ivan Vanko. Now this personalises the conflict as Vanko's father Anton and Howard Stark work together,
08:49but the change falls flat due to the younger Vanko's wanting characterisation. Right off the bat,
08:55the comic has the advantage of having more heroes and villains in the mix, something the movie cannot
08:59be faulted for, and this helps contextualise Stark's actions and fears. Antagonists such as Hammer,
09:05the Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man push the armoured adventure to his limits and he is forced to come
09:10to terms with the consequences of his technology ending up in the wrong hands. 1. Annihilation Conquest
09:172014's Guardians of the Galaxy was a breath of fresh air for the MCU, a wacky yet heartfelt film that
09:23helped expand the MCU's scope into the cosmic realm and it brought characters such as Groot and Rocket
09:28Raccoon to the forefront of the pop culture discourse. It is a brilliant comic book film
09:32that deserved all its praise and success and this in turn makes Annihilation Conquest's success all
09:38the more impressive. This 2007-2008 sequel to Annihilation took its predecessor's approach in
09:44deepening Marvel's cosmic lore by focusing on an unlikely group of heroes as they go up against an
09:49overwhelmingly powerful threat. That was Annihilus in the original and the Phalanx in the sequel.
09:54While the first Guardians film took inspiration from Conquest, the comic storyline does a few
09:58things better than the film. For starters, the Phalanx as a villain may not be that compellingly
10:02executed but the techno-organic hive mind is leagues better than the forgettable Ronan the Accuser.
10:07As well as that, the film's scale is impressive but does not come close to incredible moments such as
10:11Nova collapsing a dwarf star to escape the Phalanx field. All in all, the gap in quality between these two
10:17pieces of Marvel media is not that wide but Conquest ever so slightly takes the edge.
10:22Luckily Kevin Feige's stash of Marvel source material is burning a hole in his closet so
10:27perhaps we will see these storylines adapted in the future phases of the MCU in a bit greater detail.
Recommended
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