How the Avengers are like comics

Marvel movie fans don't have anything on Marvel comic fans. Aficionados of superhero cinema have only really been paying attention since 2008's Iron Man, but these live-action versions are just a screen-friendly shadow of their ink-and-paper origins, with movie costumes that don't always do their originals justice. Here are a few big ways in which the MCU's Avengers differ from their comic counterparts, along with a few more ways they're right on the money.

If there's one on-screen Avenger who looks significantly different from his comic counterpart, it's Hawkeye. For the big screen, Clint Barton dropped his garish pointy mask and uniform for a more tactical look. The two Marvel universes converged a bit in 2012, when Hawkeye's comic costume was redesigned to look more like the film's version, and less like a scaly, purple Wolverine. There's a reason we never saw that old-school mask on the big screen, either in Avengers or X-Men: it's ridiculous.

Both versions of Hawkeye are really good at shooting arrows, for whatever that's worth, and both are former agents of SHIELD. It's revealed that movie Hawkeye has maintained a secret family, while all comic book Hawkeye has maintained are romantic relationships with Black Widow and Mockingbird, a.k.a. Bobbi Morse. The latter appeared on Agents of SHIELD for awhile, but in a completely separate relationship, diverging the two universes once again.


Equally unrecognizable is Falcon, who couldn't possibly be more different in the MCU than he is in the comics. It's an over-the-top superhero costume: red and white, with enormous red wings and a plunging neckline that leaves a whole lot of unprotected bare chest. Top it off with a real pet Falcon and you have comics at their most ridiculous. MCU Falcon is a guy in army clothes and a set of highly-advanced, technical wings. Goggles look a whole lot cooler than that white facemask anyhow.

Falcon's comic history is surreal in ways that the MCU would never be able to handle. Rather than being a retired paratrooper, comic book Falcon is an ex-criminal who was mentally fused with a falcon by a cosmic-cube-wielding Red Skull…and like Aquaman on land, Falcon also has limited control over all birds, and can psychically see through their eyes. Try bringing that to the big screen without looking absolutely ridiculous.