Top 5 Ways The MCU Does Better Than The Comics
For the last decade and a half, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been the means for the mainstream audience. For many, it has introduced several heroes and villains to a wide range of audiences. It bring characters like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor to the world, re-inventing them a bit while still staying true to the spirits of the comics. When it comes to adaptation, it is easy to look back and see what can be improved and what cannot. So without further ado, here are five ways that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is able to improve upon the comics that they are adapted from.
5. Streamlining
Comics are weird and complicated. That is the sentiment shared by a lot of people tend and the reason why it is difficult for many to get into comics sometimes. Various retcons and issues on the origin pile up over the years. This is seen with Marvel comics, which hardly every reboots its continuity. Well, the MCU has a good habit of streamlining their history. The films take the core essence of the character and the iconography, but also tell a more simplified story, or stories depending on what they are adapting. Sometimes, they improve upon them, like in Captain America: Civil War, which trims a lot of the unnecessary fat of the story in the comics, and give us a story that is more streamlined, and to the point.
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4. Order Of Events
Sometimes, it is hard to keep up with all the various titles and comics going on. The comics tell an all encompassing history with various stories and sagas all happening at the same time. With the MCU, it is easy to follow the timeline of events and get a sense of progression as the universe continues to evolve, change, and grow more and more. It makes for a more linear storytelling moving forward, which is easier to follow in the grand scheme of things.
3. Progression
Comics have a love of the status quo. However, with movies you have to give your audience a general sense of progression. With the MCU it never feels like we are stagnant in the status quo. The universe is always moving along, and the story is always progressing and being built upon. It seems like an ongoing narrative and not just a bunch of stories that happen to exist in the same universe, creating a real saga that is going on to this day.
2. Consequences
Marvel in cinematic form has allowed things to more or less have a lasting impact compared to their comic counterparts. The biggest example of this being Thanos’ Snap or the Blip. In the comics, this event was really short-lived and did not really affect the Marvel comic universe. In the MCU, however, not only did the Blip affect the MCU for five years, but when it was reversed people still had memories of it. The Blip is still a part of the history and will be affecting the stories moving forward. This is evident in Far From Home, Hawkeye, and WandaVision.
1. Character Death
No one dies in the comics. Everyone is pretty much immortal or comes back to life in a few years. So far in the MCU that has not been the case. When someone dies in the MCU they have stayed dead. The characters have been allowed to move on and grow. Captain America ages up into an old man and Iron Man dies. That is a big thing to happen in a comic-inspired universe. This is the number one reason why the MCU is an improvement over the comic book universe which inspires it in the first place.
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