Whose abilities have changed the least?

[DrNewGod]

There was a time Iron Man was a dude in a clunky metal can with some over muscled magnets, that also made him pretty strong, but whose battery was constantly running out. Since then, he's had armors that hide inside his bones, and armors made out of nanites.

Weird things used to happen around The Scarlet Witch if she was careless about pointing at people or things, and she could only do her trick two or three times in a given - unspecified - period. Then she started remaking reality to suit her fits of pique.

Clearly, some of Marvel's finest have undergone big changes. I'm interested in the other guys.

Whose abilities have been the most consistent, or changed the least from their introduction until today? (both sides of the hero/villain divide are welcome)

[Journey]

There was a time Iron Man was a dude in a clunky metal can with some over muscled magnets, that also made him pretty strong, but whose battery was constantly running out. Since then, he's had armors that hide inside his bones, and armors made out of nanites.

Weird things used to happen around The Scarlet Witch if she was careless about pointing at people or things, and she could only do her trick two or three times in a given - unspecified - period. Then she started remaking reality to suit her fits of pique.

Clearly, some of Marvel's finest have undergone big changes. I'm interested in the other guys.

Whose abilities have been the most consistent, or changed the least from their introduction until today? (both sides of the hero/villain divide are welcome)

Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Wolverine, Cyclops, Wasp, Ect

[XPac]

That's actually a tough question. I was initially going to say Punisher... but he's been some sort of Angel an some sort of Frankenstein if I'm not mistaken. And I believe he briefly wore War Machines armor.

Maybe Black WIdow?

[Alan2099]

The Thing.

He's still just a rocky guy that punches thing.

[JudicatorPrime]

Has Spider-Man's powers really changed all that much?

What about Luke Cage? I know he's supposed to be a little stronger now than when OHOTMU was first published, but he's still basically the same character, right?

I guess that also applies to the Thing as well. Maybe a little stronger, but nothing like the massive power-ups that we've seen with Thor or Hulk.

And then there's the Falcon. No, expanding on his "bird-o-vision" doesn't count. Pathetic! Captain America gets the Super Soldier Serum. Winter Soldier gets the Infinity Formula. What does Sam get? Jack $#^%, that's what! Just another opportunity to operate as someone else's shadow. Maybe his wings did get some tweaks here and there, but it's not like he's using any type of weaponry that your basic WWI or WWIII soldier couldn't get their hands on over 70 years ago. Even his wings aren't really cutting edge technology by in-universe standards. You'd think Stark or the Wakandans would step up their game and design something for Sam on the order of the Raptor armor. Send Redwing to the Tree of Shadows and let's make it happen. Or maybe since Sharra and K'ythri are supposedly in deity time-out, maybe have them make Sam their avatar -- their eyes and ears -- in the main universe, complete with a nice, respectful power up. I know some think that Sam is "just fine as he is", but if that's truly the case, you won't like him any less if there's more to him than just a hover pack and turn of the century arms.

[davew128]

Daredevil hasn't really changed. He added ninja type fighting skills but what makes him superhuman is pretty much unchanged.

Spider-Man hasn't changed. He's gotten physically stronger but thats a function of him growing up and maturing.

With the exception of Sue, the Fantastic Four hasn't changed. Reed and Johnny have had more creative uses of their powers but they and Ben's abilities are otherwise the same.

Odinson is the same fundamentally as is Steve Rogers.

[DrNewGod]

That's actually a tough question. I was initially going to say Punisher... but he's been some sort of Angel an some sort of Frankenstein if I'm not mistaken. And I believe he briefly wore War Machines armor.

Maybe Black WIdow?

Black Widow started out as an unarmed, I-Have-Boy-Toys-For-The-Rough-Stuff Femme Fatale.

[DrNewGod]

Has Spider-Man's powers really changed all that much?

What about Luke Cage? I know he's supposed to be a little stronger now than when OHOTMU was first published, but he's still basically the same character, right?

I guess that also applies to the Thing as well. Maybe a little stronger, but nothing like the massive power-ups that we've seen with Thor or Hulk.

And then there's the Falcon. No, expanding on his "bird-o-vision" doesn't count. Pathetic! Captain America gets the Super Soldier Serum. Winter Soldier gets the Infinity Formula. What does Sam get? Jack $#^%, that's what! Just another opportunity to operate as someone else's shadow. Maybe his wings did get some tweaks here and there, but it's not like he's using any type of weaponry that your basic WWI or WWIII soldier couldn't get their hands on over 70 years ago. Even his wings aren't really cutting edge technology by in-universe standards. You'd think Stark or the Wakandans would step up their game and design something for Sam on the order of the Raptor armor. Send Redwing to the Tree of Shadows and let's make it happen. Or maybe since Sharra and K'ythri are supposedly in deity time-out, maybe have them make Sam their avatar -- their eyes and ears -- in the main universe, complete with a nice, respectful power up. I know some think that Sam is "just fine as he is", but if that's truly the case, you won't like him any less if there's more to him than just a hover pack and turn of the century arms.

Falcon changed huge. He was your basic acrobat who happened to have a pet bird. The wings didn't come along for years. The bird telepathy (beyond Redwing) didn't come along for years after that.

I will grant you, it's less than he deserves, but he has changed.

[DrNewGod]

Has Spider-Man's powers really changed all that much.

What all could that Stark Spider suit do again? True, he usually returns to baseline, but he's had upgrades along the way, starting with The Symbiont.

[XPac]

Daredevil hasn't really changed. He added ninja type fighting skills but what makes him superhuman is pretty much unchanged.

Spider-Man hasn't changed. He's gotten physically stronger but thats a function of him growing up and maturing.

With the exception of Sue, the Fantastic Four hasn't changed. Reed and Johnny have had more creative uses of their powers but they and Ben's abilities are otherwise the same.

Odinson is the same fundamentally as is Steve Rogers.

Spider-Man had a couple of changes. For awhile he had stingers and organic webbing, though One More Day changed all of that.

[Digifiend]

Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Wolverine, Cyclops, Wasp, Ect

Steve has had four stints without his famous shield - when he became Nomad, The Captain (USAgent was Cap at this time), when he was supposedly dead (Bucky was Cap), and when he was depowered and aged (which meant Falcon was Cap).

Black Widow was originally a raven haired femme fatale in fishnets. She switched to her spy suit and red hair later.

Hawkeye used to use trick arrows a lot (he was basically a Green Arrow knockoff). Not nowadays. He was also Ronin for a while, using melee weapons.

Wolverine lost his adamantium and became more bestial at one point.

Wasp didn't originally have her stingers and actually grew antennae when she shrunk. Nowadays she only grows wings. Also, she can go giant, an ability she didn't use until the 2000s.

Cyclops is the only one of those to have never really changed at all.

[Riv86672]

Spider-Man had a couple of changes. For awhile he had stingers and organic webbing, though One More Day changed all of that.

^^^so something good actually came from One More Day? I’m actually shocked.

Cyclops is the only one of those to have never really changed at all.

^^^Other than becoming a raging douche nozzle for over a decade.

The Thing.

He's still just a rocky guy that punches thing.

^^^He’s been powered up as pineapple Thing, and depowered/wore an exo skeleton.

I’m trying to think of one but, most characters have been tinkered w. to some degree.

[Frontier]

Didn't Ben mutate or get stronger at one period? I might be mis-remembering.

[ed2962]

The first person that came to mind is Hawkeye ( if you discount when Clint was Goliath 2). He was a guy that shot arrows and now he's a half deaf guy that shoots arrow.

[DrNewGod]

Daredevil hasn't really changed. He added ninja type fighting skills but what makes him superhuman is pretty much unchanged.

Yes, but...Pre-Miller, this was Daredevil knowing how to box and figuring the rest out, versus being taught. I'm good with calling that a draw if you are.

Withthe exception of Sue, the Fantastic Four hasn't changed. Reed and Johnny have had more creative uses of their powers but they and Ben's abilities are otherwise the same.

Yes

Odinson is the same fundamentally as is Steve Rogers.

Ummm. Thor has gone up and down. Cap...is agonizing, but I gotta say no.

Ignoring the MCU, where he's essentially 1938 Superman with softer skin, Cap went thru a phase where Viper (the first one)'s venom got mixed up with the super-soldier serum making him super-strong. Then, long about 1990 (Republicans Hate Drugs) time frame, they leaked the SSS out of him. Since then,he's gyrated between being The Best At Every Olympic Sport and being superhuman, depending on the writer.