Turning a book into a movie can be more challenging than imagining your own story. One needs to strike the right balance between originality and faithfulness to the source material while adapting a novel or comic book. What felt amazing to read maybe too difficult to translate to the screen. But MCU has set a great example by tweaking the storylines with creativity, but not betraying the original theme.
Screenwriters and directors spend weeks curating their versions and some of them fetch great results. Factors like the costume, CGI, characters, etc., influence these critical decisions. However, the writers try their best to leave some of the most legendary moments untouched. These scenes move to the theatres exactly the way comics projected them. Even fans can’t control their euphoria to watch their favourite comic book moments recreated. Find out the 12 iconic moments in the MCU that were taken directly from the comic books.
Captain America: Civil War
The Russo brothers took a lot of liberty in making “Captain America: Civil War”. But two iconic scenes were too good to undergo changes. The movie included some scenes exactly the way the pages had captured them. The amazing moment during the airport war scene that saw Hawkeye shooting a nano Ant-Man in Iron Man’s suit was inspired by the books. Barton had launched Ant-Man on his arrow the same way to sabotage Taskmaster’s weapon.
Similarly, the iconic shot when Iron Man and Captain America were locking horns in the last scene was taken from the cover page of Civil War.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Steve Rogers’ pretending to punch a fake Hitler on the stage in “The First Avenger” was not taken in the same spirit in 1941. Back then, the cover page of Captain America #1 came under a lot of scrutiny for showcasing an American superhero striking Hitler at the peak of World War II. But the Senator who happened to be an avid comic book reader had backed the creators.
Thor: Ragnarok
Gladiator Hulk’s arrival on Saakar in “Thor: Ragnarok” was one of the biggest surprising moments that encouraged hoots and cheers from the audience. He was a great comedic relief and an intensifying element in the film. This Hulk existed in the comics also where he fought as a gladiator for a tyrant of a planet. While Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk pounded Thor in the movie, his counterpart had ended the evil ruler’s reign.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Remember the hilarious moment when Ned Leeds ruined the Legos on learning that his best friend Peter Parker was Spider-Man? Miles Morales’ BFF Ganke Lee expressed his shock the same way by dropping his Legos in the books.
Iron Man 2
Iron Man’s legendary landing during the Stark Expo where he punched against the ground is unforgettable. Jon Favreau took the right call by taking inspiration from the cover page of Invincible Iron Man #76 for this scene. Comic book artist Adi Granov was the mind behind it.
Spider-Man 3
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 couldn’t resonate well with fans for the unsettling projection of Tobey Maguire and Topher Grace’ unconvincing Eddie Brock. But readers appreciated the faithful recreation of a significant comic book moment where the Venom symbiote had crawled away from its host, Peter Parker, because of the church bells. The idea of church bells was borrowed from Web of Spider-Man #1.
Doctor Strange
It’s STRANGE how Scarlet Witch reminds us of magic while thinking about Doctor Strange only casts neon lights and colours in our heads. That was the intention of artist Steve Ditko who created the trippy multi-dimensions in the “Doctor Strange” comic book issues. Today, they make a signature style of the Sorcerer Supreme’s franchise. Additionally, Stephen Strange’s astral projection scene at the hospital during his surgery also mirrored the pages.
WandaVision
The emotional moment where Wanda hugs her twins, Billy and Tommy, in her Scarlet Witch outfit captures a comic book scene in the same pose and order. The Comics had also inspired the heart-wrenching moment where Vision shed a tear from his left eye.
Avengers: Infinity War
Spider-Man bird-pooping on Thanos’ eyes with his spider web was one of the best scenes in the Infinity War. The young hero had compromised the Mad Titan’s eyesight with his web-shooters even in Infinity Gauntlet #4. Additionally, the part where Thor was confronting Thanos by looking straight into his eyes also mirrored a comic book moment.
Black Panther
The critically-acclaimed Black Panther showed two scenes that mirrored the comic book moments. T’Challa’s bravely tackling an angry rhino and successfully stopping it from killing people in Wakanda belongs to Jungle Action #9. In the books, he had climbed a wild rhino to prevent it from attacking a kid. Furthermore, Killmonger defeating T’Challa and tossing him over Warrior Falls was a replica of a scene from Jungle Action #6.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The evil scientist Arnim Zola appeared in “Captain America: The First Avenger” as Red Skull’s trusted man during World War II. His reemergence in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” as a computer after 70 years was the biggest plot twist in the movie. Arnim Zola had managed to transfer his consciousness into a computer just like his book counterpart who had moved his mind to a robot to stay immortal.
Thor: The Dark World
Loki’s sitting proudly on the throne of Asgard at the end of “Thor: The Dark World” seemed like a deja vu for readers. A comic book page turned into a muse to help recreate one of Loki’s iconic moments.
