Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaintroduces M.O.D.O.K. to the MCU. Reaction to the character has been mixed, with most criticism aimed at its horrendous visual effects. However, many fans have also pointed out how different he is from his comic book counterpart.
M.O.D.O.K. is not the first, nor will he be the last character the MCU changes. Some things will always get lost in translation when adapting a comic book to the big screen, but the MCU has made significant alterations to many characters to the point where they’re nearly unrecognizable compared to the source material.
1M.O.D.O.K.
Quantumaniapresents M.O.D.O.K. as Darren Cross, the first-ever villain Ant-Man faced. After his defeat, Darren went into the Quantum Realm, where Kang “fixed” him, giving him his armor and turning him into his enforcer. M.O.D.O.K. is the one who tracks Cassie’s signal, forcing the Ant-Fam into the Quantum Realm.
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In the comics, M.O.D.O.K. is a character closely related to A.I.M. The first M.O.D.O.K. is George Tarleton, a former A.I.M. employee who undergoes experiments to increase his intelligence, leaving him with an enlarged skull supported by a smaller body. Future stories would separate Tarleton from M.O.D.O.K., turning the character into an increasingly outrageous version of himself. However, he is never an enemy of Ant-Man.
Oscar-nomineeMickey Rourkeplays Ivan Vanko, the main antagonist for the 2010overstuffed and disappointing sequelIron Man 2.Vanko is the son of a former Stark Industries employee who blames the Stark family for his father’s recent death. Rourke’s Vanko is an amalgamation of two Iron-Man villains from the comics, the Crimson Dynamo and Whiplash.
In the comics, the first Crimson Dynamo is Anton Vanko, a Russian scientist who creates a powerful suit of armor. The title then passes to several other characters, per comic book tradition. For his part, Whiplash is Mark Scarlotti, an electrician-turned-criminal who wields electrified metal whips. The film’s Vanko takes elements from the Dynamo’s story and mixes them with Whiplash’s powers to create a bizarre character that doesn’t do justice to either villain.
Iron Man 3introduced “the Mandarin,” played by SirBen Kingsley. However, the character was a decoy, a washed-up actor posing as the Mandarin. Years later,Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsintroduced the real Mandarin, the head of the Ten Rings terrorist organization and the titular hero’s father.
The Mandarin from the comics is one of Marvel’s most enduring and iconic villains. Iron Man’s archenemy, the Mandarin is a Chinese-English megalomaniac with ten powerful rings endowed with alien technology. The Mandarin has no children in the comics and considers Shang-Chi a worthy villain, often coming into conflict with him whenever he isn’t antagonizing Iron Man.
4Taskmaster
After years of playing second-fiddle to her male counterparts,Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow finally got a solo film. Her villain was Taskmaster, revealed to be Antonia Dreykov, the brainwashed daughter of the Red Room’s ruthless leader.
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Taskmaster has a different story in the comics. Born Anthony Masters, he is a supervillain with photographic reflexes that allow him to mimic his opponent’s tactics. He is a prominent mercenary in the Marvel Universe, hired to train multiple villains, and acting as an enemy to superheroes like Captain America. The changes made to the character in the film were met with a divided response from critics and fans.
5The Vulture
Oscar-nomineeMichael Keatonplays Adrian Toomes, AKA Vulture, inSpider-Man: Homecoming. Toomes is a salvager-turned-criminal who uses Chitauri technology to power his mechanical wings. Portrayed as a sympathetic villain and family man driven to crime by desperation and frustration, Toomes is among the MCU’s most layered and interesting enemies.
Vulture’s comic book counterpart is considerably more simplistic. Toomes is an engineer who develops a flying harness that enhances his strength and stamina. After being betrayed by his business partner, Vulture becomes a ruthless criminal, famous for his cruelty and scavenging instincts, like the notorious animal that’s his namesake.
6Agatha Harkness
The underratedKathryn Hahnrose to the A-list with her devious performance inWandaVision, thebest MCU Disney+ show. Hahn plays the main villain, Agatha Harkness, a powerful witch with power-stealing abilities corrupted by the Darkhold. She targets Wanda, infiltrating Westview and sabotaging Wanda’s delusion from within.
Agatha Harkness is a very different character in the comics. She is a prominent supporting player in the Fantastic Four lore, acting as Franklin Richards' nanny. Agatha serves as Wanda’s caretaker and mentor, showing her how to control her notoriously unstable abilities and acting as one of the few characters capable of “handling” her. Although she plays an antagonistic role in the MCU, Agatha is a clear albeit reluctant hero in the comics.
7Swordsman
TheHawkeyeshow introduces Jacques Duquesne, played byTony Dalton. He is Eleanor Bishop’s fiancé, who tries to bond with Kate throughout the series. Despite her misgivings about him, Jacques proves himself a genuinely good guy, much to her confusion.
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On the contrary, Duquesne is a bonafide villain in the comics. Duquesne was part of a carnival, where he met a young Clint Barton, eventually becoming his mentor. However, the two fought after Duquesne stole from the carnival and nearly beat Clint to death. Duquesne then adopted the moniker Swordsman and became a criminal, although recent storylines have seen him take on more of an antihero persona.
8Scarlet Witch
The Scarlet Witch has quickly become one of the MCU’s most important characters. Thanks toElizabeth Olsen’s layered and powerful performance,the Scarlet Witch is a tragic and relatable villain, a fan favorite, and a subject of praise from critics. In the MCU, Wanda is a legendary witch with enough power to destroy the world.
Although Wanda shares many similarities with her comic book counterpart, the characters are still vastly different. On paper, Wanda is a Roma mutant with magical powers from the demon Chthon. The Scarlet Witch isn’t a title like in the MCU but rather her code name, and she is usually portrayed as a victim of her own vast and seemingly uncontrollable power.
9Drax the Destroyer
James Gunngave the Guardians of the Galaxy a wacky, disruptive tone, portraying them as the ultimate band of misfits. His changes turned Drax the Destroyer, into comic relief, a silly and overly-literal character who is the Guardians' resident jerk.Dave Bautistagives a great performance, but it’s undeniable how different his Drax is from his comic book counterpart.
The source material depicts Drax as a powerful warrior strong enough to face Thanos in direct combat. Drax is a fearsome figure across the Marvel Universe, infamous for his cold-hearted and ruthless behavior. Both versions are very literal, though, but comic book Drax would absolutely destroy his live-action version.
Gunn also made significant changes to another Guardians' character. The movies portray Mantis as a sweet, innocent, and inexperienced insectoid female alien with empathic abilities who becomes a member of the Guardians after spending years with Ego, the Living Planet.
However, the comics paint a different story. Mantis is a half-Vietnamese, half-German human who trains under an Earth-based Kree sect. She becomes an Avenger and gains superhuman abilities and mutations after being revealed as the “Celestial Madonna,” a mythical figure meant to birth the messianic Celestial Sequoia. Mantis' differences between the comics and the live-action version are so significant that his creator,Steve Englehart, spoke against Gunn’s changes.
