If there’s anything true about comic books, it’s that the power-scaling of the characters in the universe is consistently and constantly fluctuating. The heroes and villains in Marvel Comics are far more overpowered than their counterparts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, this striking difference is particularly noticeable with the villains.
With how often Marvel villains are coming back to face heroes, the writers need to constantly find new ways to keep them interesting and engaging. Thus, it’s common for enemies to get an upgrade either temporary or permanent. With the nature of the stories in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, villains often aren’t as powerful as they are in the comic books. Still, some foes in the Marvel Studios films are considerably weaker, to the point where it’s shocking. This list will mention those villains who are far weaker in the MCU than in the comics, addressing just how different they are and why.
10 Helmut Zemo
First Comic Appearance: Captain America #168 (1973)
Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) was already relatively favored as a Marvel Cinematic Universe villain after his introduction in Captain America: Civil War but became a fan favorite when he took a more protagonist-like role in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, because he is mostly confined to the soldier corner of the MCU, Zemo has none of the powers he does in the comics.
On the page, Baron Zemo’s main power is slow aging. By taking the Compound X serum, Zemo has lived significantly longer than any normal human, surviving since the origin days of Captain America during World War II, given his first appearance in Captain America #168 (1973). Zemo is also proficient in other disciplines, but his longevity makes him a considerable threat and a treasure trove of knowledge and experience.
- Release Date
- May 6, 2016
- Cast
- Martin Freeman , Daniel Brühl , Robert Downey Jr. , Sebastian Stan , Elizabeth Olsen , Chadwick Boseman , Chris Evans , Paul Rudd , Frank Grillo , Scarlett Johansson , William Hurt , Paul Bettany , Anthony Mackie , Emily VanCamp , Tom Holland
- Runtime
- 147 Minutes
- Writers
- Stephen McFeely , Christopher Markus
9 Darren Cross/Yellowjacket
First Comic Appearance: Marvel Premiere #47 (1979)
In Ant-Man, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) has the same abilities as Ant-Man (Paul Rudd, thanks to the Yellowjacket suit. However, his powers in the comic books are not only better and more visually engaging but also far more complex and interesting.
Due to (from the result of a very long story) receiving the heart of Cassie Lang, which was oversaturated in Pym Particles, Darren’s size alteration, super strength and enhanced senses are biological, meaning he can willfully alter his size. He also sports a healing factor, and his size alteration is far more interesting, as he controls it based on his highly unstable and ever-shifting emotions.
- Release Date
- July 14, 2015
- Runtime
- 117 minutes
- Writers
- Edgar Wright , Joe Cornish , Adam McKay , Paul Rudd , Stan Lee , Larry Lieber
8 Wilson Fisk/Kingpin
First Comic Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #50 (1967)
Easily the most famous crime lord in the Marvel Comics Universe, Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) is also one of its most menacing figures. And yet, he is far weaker than his comic book counterpart. While it seems they’re attempting to rectify that with his adaption in Hawkeye, Kingpin is still far less powerful in the television shows.
The most fun fact about Fisk is that he has no powers in either adaptation. Kingpin’s abilities are all-natural, which is even more impressive. While he has a large size (even larger in the comics), it’s all made up of pure muscle–no fat (as much as Spider-Man likes to joke about it). Aside from the size of this strength, Kingpin is a master martial artist, has willpower that has kept him safe from psychic meddling, and knows multiple different languages, all of which are yet to truly be depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- Release Date
- November 24, 2021
- Creator
- Jonathan Igla
- Seasons
- 1
7 Quentin Beck/Mysterio
First Comic Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #2 (1963)
While both iterations of Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) use illusions, the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the character can do far less than the comics’ original. Their origin stories are also far different. While Mysterio may be one of the best Spider-Man movie villains in live-action, he’s far cooler in the comics.
First off, his illusions in the comics are far more intricate, emerging from a complex combination of hallucinogens, robotics, and real people. Rather than making a simple visual with Stark drones, the comic book Quentin Beck genuinely affects one’s brain, making his illusions feel even more real and tricking even the cleverest of heroes. He also happens to be a master hypnotist, giving him another layer of mental abilities to use against people.
Spider-Man: Far from Home
- Release Date
- July 2, 2019
- Writers
- Erik Sommers , Chris McKenna
- Runtime
- 129 Minutes
6 Herbert Wyndham/The High Evolutionary
First Comic Appearance: Thor #134 (1966)
One of the most despicable MCU villains appears in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). Everything he does to Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) makes him an incredible and utterly inhumane villain and one of the strongest post-Endgame characters in the MCU. But, if he had his comic book counterpart’s powers, the MCU’s Guardians would have had no chance to beat him.
Within the pages of Marvel Comics, the High Evolutionary possesses superhuman strength, durability, healing factor, telepathy, astral projection, levitation, force fields, size manipulation, psychokinesis, force blasts, plasmatic rays, dimensional travel and, at one point, full-blown immortality. This is on top of the super-genius intelligence he displayed in the movie. In short, the comic book version of the High Evolutionary is a one-man army that might be too tough for even the Guardians.
- Release Date
- May 5, 2023
- Runtime
- 150 minutes
5 Antonia Dreykov (MCU) – Anthony Masters (Comics)/Taskmaster
First Comic Appearance: Avengers #195 (1980)
Some may think the biggest change the Marvel Cinematic Universe adaptation made to Taskmaster was changing his identity to Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko), but they’d be far wrong. In the Marvel Studios world, Antonia does have some abilities relating to photographic reflexes, but they’re far more toned down from where they’re at in the comic books. Not to mention, the suit she wears helps her vastly in battle.
On the contrary, Anthony Masters’ photographic reflexes allow him to perfectly replicate a move he sees immediately afterward, without practice. As far as it’s shown, the Marvel Cinematic Universe adaptation does not have this strength with her reflexes. Not to mention, Masters has superhuman speed, is a master martial artist, has the strength of a modified Super Soldier Serum, and is an overall master spy.
4 Ultron
First Comic Appearance: Avengers #54 (1968)
Ultron (James Spader) was featured in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Age of Ultron, where he is already pretty powerful. Indeed, Ultron posed a huge challenge for the Avengers thanks to his superior intellect, domain over “the net,” as the film puts it, and vibranium body. Thus, one may be surprised to discover that he is absurdly stronger in the books.
The Marvel Comics iteration of Ultron is borderline unkillable. He constantly uploads himself somewhere else and upgrades at all times, always finding a way to come back to poke at the Avengers. To make matters worse for the team, Ultron can shoot radiation and plasma beams, manipulate electromagnetic radiation into electricity, and even technoform (meaning he can transform his body into different weapons and other tools). This is one robot with a severe god complex.
- Release Date
- May 1, 2015
- Director
- Joss Whedon
- Cast
- Chris Hemsworth , Clark Gregg , Robert Downey Jr. , Cobie Smulders , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Jeremy Renner , Thomas Kretschmann , Chris Evans , Don Cheadle , Mark Ruffalo , Elizabeth Olsen , Scarlett Johansson , Paul Bettany , Samuel L. Jackson , James Spader
- Runtime
- 141 minutes
- Writers
- Joss Whedon
3 Kang the Conqueror
First Comic Appearance: Avengers #8 (1964)
Unfortunately (due to real-world complications), there is a good chance that Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) will most likely not make a comeback to the Marvel Cinematic Universe–at least not how he was going to originally. In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Kang was very easily defeated by Ant-Man, Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), and Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton).
However, Kang poses far more of a challenge in the comic books, where he is a multiversal threat who usually requires more than one heavy-hitter to bring down. Typically, the Marvel superheroes of the comic book medium have an incredibly hard time bringing this time tyrant down. Controlling time itself, Kang has summoned warriors, armies, and creatures from all across time to fight for him and take over New York City–and even the planet.
- Release Date
- February 17, 2023
- Runtime
- 135 minutes
- Writers
- jeff loveness
2 Gorr the God Butcher
First Comic Appearance: Thor: God of Thunder #2 (2012)
One of the more recently comic-introduced Marvel Cinematic Universe villains, Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) was one of the only enjoyable parts of Thor: Love and Thunder for many. Such a development is wildly unfortunate, as, compared to his source material, the character was done a ridiculous disservice with an overly loose and unsatisfying adaptation.
The fourth Thor installment spends too much time talking about how powerful Gorr is rather than actually showing it. Thus, the true power of the God Butcher and his mighty Necrosword is quite unknown in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What little appears in the film is a far cry from the comic book version, where he has thousands upon thousands of years of combat mastery. Gorr even tortured a God of Torture once, meaning his comic book version would eat Bale’s iteration and then spit it out.
- Release Date
- July 8, 2022
- Runtime
- 118 Minutes
1 Thanos
First Comic Appearance: Iron Man #55 (1972)
The overall villain of the entire Infinity Saga needed to be particularly powerful, and that is quite true about Thanos (Josh Brolin). The Mad Titan took down The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in mere seconds without any Infinity Stones and made it look easy. In fact, Thanos’ most rewatchable scenes are usually massive displays of power, from taking on the MCU Trinity (and besting them) to single-handedly beating multiple heroes at once on Titan. The idea that he may be stronger in the comics is wild.
Indeed, at full power and sometimes without even needing the gauntlet, Thanos is practically a god. He’s kicked the butts of the likes of Odin, Galactus, Adam Warlock, and far more countless times. Thanos is one of the most powerful Marvel Universe characters, a true despot who lives up to his moniker of the Mad Titan. He has about 30 different powers and is absurdly strong, to boot, meaning he would pretty much dogwalk his MCU counterpart.
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