It can be in the video games, TV, Movies or animation.
It can be in the video games, TV, Movies or animation.
I suppose it depends on what you mean by "better." If it's about broader pop cultural consciousness, then it's probably everybody in the MCU not named Spider-Man or the Hulk.
If it's about characters being improved upon in some way in the adaptation... well I think that can be heavily YMMV. For my money. though, it'd probably be Venom: the 90s cartoon streamlined his origin and basically invented the idea that the symbiote brings out the darker elements of your personality. It's overridden his original appearance such that everything from Raimi's Spider-Man 3 to Spider's Shadow borrow heavily from it.
Pull List:
- Action Comics
- Moon Knight
Inferno was better handled in Marvel Rising than in the comics. Making him afraid of his powers and giving him a connection with the HULK helped focus him.
Rayshaun felt more interesting as Mr.Rules in Marvel Rising.
I thought Avengers Assemble handled the Inhumans pretty well. I thought Thor and Black Bolt had a good dynamic.
Spectacular Spiderman was pretty great.
The 90s Spiderman cartoon handled Peter's dynamic with his parents pretty well.
I liked Bullseye more in Daredevil season 3 than in the comics. Same with Davos in Iron Fist.
Whiplash was pretty lame in the comics. Iron Man 2 made him look intimidating at least.
Definitely, my choice would be Firestar from Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends (1981-1983):
Last edited by K7P5V; 07-31-2021 at 07:19 PM. Reason: Made Adjustments.
Speaking of Whiplash, I did think Iron Man: Armored Adventures --- say what you will about Tony Stark as a teenager --- generally had a better grasp, at least visually speaking, on Iron Man's rogues gallery and made a lot of them more compelling as characters and threatening as villains, so there was that.
The spider is always on the hunt.
Avengers Assembles versions of Hank and Janet were many times better than they've been treated over the last decades in the comics, IMO.
Rogue also came across as a serious dynamic powerhouse in the cartoons, from what I recall, and has been kind of 'meh' for a long time in the comics.
The Runaways Pride parents sure got a much better showing in the TV series than in the comics!
Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts have been utterly revitalized as characters from the Iron Man movies, after the comics had more or less given up on them. I just feel bad that Mrs. Arboghast, Tony's no-nonsense-taking executive assistant from the '80s, didn't make the cut!
And then there's Colleen Wing, who only mildly interested me in the Iron Fist/Power Man stuff she appeared in, but holy crap, she owned that Netflix Iron Fist show, and now I want to see more of her!
Several of the Netflix villains really impressed me. Kingpin, Cottonmouth, Bullseye, Jigsaw, Davos, Madame Gao, Killgrave. All super-memorable villains, most of who managed to pull off the sort of 'villain presence' that only accrues after many years for comics villains like Doom.
Scarlet Witch in the MCU. There, she has a bright future ahead after WandaVision. As compared being a pretender in the comics.
Miles Morales in ITSV and in the games.So an improvement from his comics which are..... bland to be polite.
The Sentry. He's not been in live media, which is better than how he gets treated in comics by default.
Iron Man: B-lister at best in the comics, but he's the face of the MCU - and even before then, he did have the Marvel Action Hour and Armored Adventures cartoons.
Doctor Strange: Doesn't consistently have a comic. Can't deny his movie was a hit.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Would they even have a comic now if not for the MCU?
Ones done badly in adaptations:
Spider-Man: He shouldn't need a mentor or someone to provide his gear, like he has in the MCU. And the cartoons keep making Miles and Peter the same age, when Peter should be quite a bit older.
Inhumans: Their TV show was a flop, to the point that when Disney bought 20th Century Fox and got the X-Men movie rights, the Inhumans, except for Ms. Marvel and Moon Girl (who are both getting their own shows), were dropped like a stone, even in the comics. If the TV series had done well, they could've easily co-existed with the X-Men. Their comics, by Soule, were actually pretty decent.
Quicksilver: Killed off in his first full appearance. He should be Marvel's answer to The Flash. Sure, the comics don't treat him all that well either, but they treat him better than the MCU did.
Appreciation Thread Indexes
Marvel | Spider-Man | X-Men | NEW!! DC Comics | Batman | Superman | Wonder Woman
I think you mean Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Hank and Janet never showed up in Assemble.
Well, comparatively while they're not lead characters both are treated with respect and reverence which isn't always consistent in the comics (especially with Hank).
Last edited by Iron Maiden; 08-01-2021 at 11:13 AM.