Summary
There are still many characters in theMarvel Cinematic Universewho have never sported their comic-accurate costumes. While other superhero franchises shied away from gifting their heroes and villains their vibrant, comic-accurate designs, Marvel Studios has always embraced the fantastical, colorful, and sometimes ridiculous costumes from Marvel Comics in live-action. ManyMCU characters have had comic-accurate costumes, some, such as Iron Man and Captain America, right from the very start, but this honor hasn’t been given to everyone in the franchise.
Even more MCU heroes and villains in recent years have been given their comic-accurate costumes, including the likes of Sam Wilson’s Captain America, Peter Parker’s Spider-Man and Marc Spector’s Moon Knight.It’s been wonderful to see Marvel Studios fully integrating some of the most out-there looks from Marvel Comics into the MCU, but many still haven’t been seen on-screen. Often,character designs in the MCUare far stronger than their comic counterparts, though Marvel Studios has also made some disappointing and controversial costume changes.
10Hawkeye Never Received His Classic Marvel Comics Look
Clint Barton Debuted In The MCU In 2011’s Thor
Similarly to his Marvel Comics counterpart, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye has sported many different costumes throughout his MCU journey.These suits have often been inspired by his Marvel Comics outfits, with purple motifs running through the majority, but he has never donned his original costume from the comics. Perhaps deemed too weird and wacky for the more grounded, down-to-EarthHawkeye in the MCU, his classic purple-and-blue suit and helmet, adorned with his “H” emblem, has never been seen in live-action.
2021’sHawkeyeseries did finally seeRenner’s Clint Barton suit up in a comic-accurate design, but this took inspiration from his more modern look from Matt Fraction and David Aja’s popular 2012 run ofHawkeye.This black-and-purple design is more practical, functional, and reflects his personality in the MCU much better. Even so, it’s a shame the classic Hawkeye look has never been adapted for the MCU.
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9Kilgrave Is Actually Purple In Marvel Comics
Kilgrave Debuted In The MCU In 2015’s Jessica Jones
Marvel Studios confirmed Netflix’sDefenders Saga is canon to the MCUin early 2024, which brought several iconic characters from the Marvel Television shows into the MCU’s main timeline, including David Tennant’s Kilgrave. Although he was killed inJessica Jonesseason 1’s finale, Kilgrave had a huge impact on Krysten Ritter’s titular hero, but he was wildly different from his Marvel Comics counterpart.While depicted as a regular guy with superpowers in the MCU, Marvel Comics' Zebediah Kilgrave was a powerful purple-skinned villain.
It would have been too silly to seeDavid Tennant painted purple inJessica Jones, especially since the Defenders Saga took a more grounded and gritty approach to the typical Marvel story. Chemicals turned Kilgrave’s skin and hair purple in Marvel Comics, and this design informed the character’s penchant for purple inJessica Jones.He sported purple suits, had a purple light motif, and showed off purple veins when increasing his power, but never took on his complete purple design from Marvel Comics.
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8It’s A Shame Whiplash Didn’t Get A Comic-Accurate Design In Iron Man 2
Ivan Vanko Debuted In The MCU In 2010’s Iron Man 2
Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash is widely regarded as one of the mostwasted villains in the MCU’s history, as he only posed a minor threat to Tony Stark in 2010’sIron Man 2. Marvel Studios decided to completely ignore Whiplash’s classic comic-accurate design in the MCU’s Phase 1, negating the green-haired, black-costumed and purple-caped Mark Scarlotti version of the villain. Instead,Iron Man 2took inspiration from Anton Vanko’s Iron Man-esque armor, first seen in Marvel Comics’Iron Man vs. Whiplash #1in 2009, but even this was fumbled.
Whiplash’s armor inIron Man 2’sfinal battle was nothing more than a copy of the Iron Man suit.
Built from the remnants of an Iron Man suit in the comics, Whiplash’s armor was sleek, modern and terrifying. These elements were completely missing fromWhiplash’s costume in the MCU, which was built from scraps by Ivan Vanko, changed from Marvel Comics.Even Whiplash’s armor inIron Man 2’sfinal battle was nothing more than a copy of the Iron Man suit, ridding the character of any of his originality from Marvel Comics.
7Mantis’ Changed Origins Gave Her A Completely Different Look In The MCU
Mantis Debuted In The MCU In 2017’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
It wasn’t just Mantis' costume that was changed for her debut inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, butMantis' entire Marvel Comics backstorywas significantly altered to be unrecognizable. In Marvel Comics,Mantis is a half-Vietnamese, half-German human being who was abandoned by her father as a child and raised by the alien Priests of Pama. These Kree taught her martial arts, and trained her to gain autonomous control of her body, seemingly giving her superhuman abilities, but this was a far-cry from the alien Mantis seen in the MCU.
This different backstory constitutes a very different costume. In the comics, Mantis is human, so doesn’t have antennae or any other alien features. Instead, Marvel Comics’Mantis sports a revealing yellow-and-green costume, goes barefoot, and sports a hairstyle mimicking antennae. It’s no wonder her appearance was changed for the MCU, and her live-action backstory and costume actually make much more sense than that in the Marvel Comics source material.
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6The Vulture’s Comic-Accurate Look Wouldn’t Have Been Very Threatening In The MCU
Adrian Toomes Debuted In The MCU In 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming
Ignoring the original Vulture in Marvel Comics, Isidoro Scarlotti, Adrian Toomes became the winged Spider-Man villain after creating an organic-looking wing-suit. For the MCU, this design was modernized (thankfully), giftingMichael Keaton’s Adrian Toomesan epic, mechanical wing-suit and talon-like boots.This made him a much more imposing and intimidating presence in 2017’sSpider-Man: Homecoming, which certainly wouldn’t have been the case had the goofy, green-feathered costume from Marvel Comics been retained.
The MCU’s Vulture still managed to keep some themes from his ridiculous Marvel Comics costume.This includes the fur-lined collar of his costume being adapted for Adrian Toomes' fur-lined jacket in the MCU, and his Vulture wing-suit has splashes of green, reflecting the vibrant color of his comic costume. It was the right choice for Marvel Studios to change this design, and it can only be hoped that Michael Keaton never suits up in a comic-accurate Vulture costume in the MCU’s future.
Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes was, somehow, transported to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe by Doctor Strange’s spell inSpider-Man: No Way Home, leaving his future in the MCU uncertain.
5Sam Wilson’s Falcon Costume Was Much Better In The MCU
Sam Wilson Debuted In The MCU In 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Similarly to Clint Barton’s Hawkeye, while Sam Wilson has never suited up in a comic-accurateFalcon costume in the MCU, his live-action suits have been directly inspired by his classic Marvel Comics suits. Most notably,his Falcon costume in 2021’sThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierseries reflected the red-and-white design of his comic costume, but eliminated the campiness and silliness of this classic suit. This was the closest Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson came to comic-accurate as the Falcon, but his career as Captain America is already different.
Sam Wilson officially became the MCU’s new Captain America inThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and was immediately gifted his comic-accurate white-and-blue Captain America costume. This marked a fantastic evolution for the character, who has now been in the MCU for an entire decade, and this is set to continue in2025’sCaptain America: Brave New World. The MCU’s new Falcon also won’t get a comic-accurate costume, however, asDanny Ramirez’s Joaquín Torres won’t be getting his natural wings in the MCU’s Phase 5.
4Ant-Man’s Comic-Accurate Suit Is Too Silly For Live-Action
Scott Lang Debuted In The MCU In 2015’s Ant-Man
Scott Lang’s Marvel Comics costume as Ant-Man reflected that of his predecessor, Hank Pym, with a slender, red bodysuit and open helmet. Frankly,this costume looked ridiculous, prompting it to thankfully be modernized in more recent Ant-Man stories, and Marvel Studios took a completely different direction with the suit. Instead of being open, Marvel Studios introduced lore suggesting an individual needed to be completely covered to safely change size, which allowedPaul Rudd’s Ant-Man costumeto be sleeker and make more sense.
Of course, Marvel Studios later seemed to throw this lore out the window, but Ant-Man’s suit has been kept practically the same even so. Each new adventure featuring the size-changing hero and his allies has featured upgrades to the suit, culminating in the streamlined design seen in2023’s divisiveAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.A comic-accurate Ant-Man helmet appeared as an easter egg inAvengers: Endgame, but thankfully has never been worn by either Hank Pym or Scott Lang.
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3Ulysses Klaue Is Completely Different In Marvel Comics
Ulysses Klaue Debuted In The MCU In 2015’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics' depictions of Ulysses Klaue couldn’t be more opposite to each other. In the MCU, Andy Serkis' Klaue is a black market dealer who comes into contact with Ultron, the Avengers, and the Black Panther, with a special vendetta against the latter as he hopes to steal Wakanda’s rich vibranium deposits. In the comics, however,Klawis a physicist who was transformed into solid sound, and uses a sonic emitter as a prosthetic device on his arm. This massive change constituted a wild costume alteration.
In Marvel Comics, Klaw sports a body-covering red-and-purple suit that seemingly helps with his sonic trickery.The removal of this superhuman gift in the MCU meant that Serkis' Klaue could appear to be a regular human, only sporting civilian clothing, rather than an outlandish and fantastical supervillain suit. TheMCU’s Ulysses Klauedid receive his sonic prosthetic arm in 2018’sBlack Panther, however, bringing him one step closer to his Marvel Comics counterpart.
2Malekith’s Marvel Comics Design Would Have Made Him More Terrifying
Malekith Debuted In The MCU In 2013’s Thor: The Dark World
In the same camp as Whiplash, Malekith is also considered to be one of the MCU’s most wasted antagonists. Christopher Eccleston did the best job he could as the boring and lackluster Dark Elf inThor: The Dark World, but perhaps giving the villain his comic-accurate design would have made him more entertaining.What was transformed into a dull and drab villain inThe Dark Worldwas actually based on a vibrant, sinister and colorful foe in Marvel Comics. Malekith’s purple skin, white hair, and usually-red costume scream charisma and danger, which was lost in the MCU.
Malekith was not a very scary threat inThor: The Dark World, but this would have been very different if he’d kept his comic-accurate design.Marvel Studios could have relied on the horror aspects of Malekith with the character’s comic appearance, as he is an incredibly disturbing presence in Thor’s Marvel Comics adventures. There are hopes thatMalekith could somehow be revived in the MCU, allowing a more comic-accurate depiction of the villain to make himself known.
1Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Quicksilver Didn’t Have Enough Time To Get His Comic-Accurate Costume
Pietro Maximoff Debuted In The MCU In 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier
One of the biggest crimes of the MCU was tokill off Pietro Maximoff’s Quicksilverin his first full project. Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s debut as the iconic Marvel Comics hero was hugely exciting, but he was shot and killed by Ultron inAvengers: Age of Ultron, and Marvel Studios hasn’t found a way to revive him yet.This rid the MCU of Quicksilver before he had the time to evolve into his comic-accurate costume, just like his sister, Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff, did in 2021’sWandaVision.
With the Scarlet Witch rumored to return, despite her death in Phase 4, it’s possible Quicksilver could also come back.
WandaVisiondid feature the first appearance of Quicksilver’s comic-accurate costume in the MCU, but this was worn byEvan Peters' Ralph Bohneras a Halloween costume while he was masquerading as the speedster, rather than as a serious costume.Taylor-Johnson’sAge of Ultroncostume featured the same color palette of his Marvel Comics counterpart, but that’s where the similarities ended. With the Scarlet Witch rumored to return, despite her death in Phase 4, it’s possible Quicksilver could also come back to theMarvel Cinematic Universe, which may give him the opportunity to suit up in his comic-accurate costume.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
