Taking liberties with comic-book related movies and tv shows is more commonplace than people realize. Time and again, these liberties are used to change a character so that they are compatible not just for comic fans but to casual viewers as well.
It’s something juggernauts like DC and Marvel and their studios, Warner Bros. and Disney have become masters of. Over the years, the realms of the DCEU and MCU have introduced some villains that, by comic standards, were either bizarre, stereotypical, or pure evil. Thanks to the liberties taken, those villains have and are becoming some of the best out there.
DCEU: Black Mask
Sometimes, all it takes for a character to be changed for the better is to just be on the big screen. When it was announced that crime lord Black Mask would be the villain for Birds Of Prey, considered to be one of the best movies of 2020 (which isn’t saying much), audiences were curious but not all that interested.
Yet, Ewan Mcgregor and the writers managed to make Black Mask more than just a crime lord and a psychopath like his comic counterpart. Instead, the character had a twisted charm that could easily become rage that made him a great villain.
MCU: Zemo
Truth be told, Captain America: Civil War, a great movie filled with great action pieces and hilarious gags didn’t need a villain beyond Iron Man or Cap, depending on the stance one took. The inclusion of Helmut Zemo working in the background though was an intriguing decision that was aided by Zemo’s new character stance.
The obvious change was that Zemo was no longer a Nazi but the less obvious one was his reasoning. Rather than targeting the Avengers out of pure evil and spite, Zemo was deadset on proving their hypocrisy in a bid to avenge his dead family.
DCEU: General Zod
When audiences’ minds turn towards General Zod in Man Of Steel, they usually see the same angry General from the comics coming after Kal-El. That being said, Zod did have something to him that changed from the comics: reasoning.
While both versions of Zod are somewhat empathetic, MOS’s Zod was more of a broken man. He’d lost his entire civilization and all he really wanted to do was get it back. Perhaps his plan was a little more grandiose than the comics but his reasoning was still somewhat plausible.
MCU: Ego
It’s easy to forget sometimes how weird comics can be, with none being as weird as Guardians Of The Galaxy, a movie that has a fantastic post-credit scene. A talking tree and raccoon are weird enough for sure but put up against the sentient planet known as Ego and the weirdness levels skyrocket.
Granted, Ego could’ve been way worse. He could’ve just been a sentient planet. Reworking him to be Peter’s psychotic father who could take on a human form grounded Ego in a sense. What would’ve been incredibly bizarre was only a little bizarre by Guardians standards.
DCEU: Ares
Now, this may be an odd choice. Ares in Wonder Woman was a bit of a cliche villain. He hid in the body of Remus Lupin for eighty percent of the movie and only made his appearance at the end to announce himself as the orchestrator of World War One.
In comparison to the comic book Ares though, this is a definite change. In the comics, Ares never hid in the form of a human. Even though it was a bit cliched, it was an interesting idea to utilize.
MCU: Ghost
Before their appearance in the MCU, very few people knew who Ghost was. Although they appeared in Ant-Man And The Wasp, they are primarily an Iron Man villain that’s a master thief and is pretty much a terrible human being.
The MCU Ghost, although a trained assassin who can move through walls, is a pretty sympathetic villain. She is really just an antagonist out to sustain their life before they die from their powers, consequences be damned, and by the end, it’s hinted at that she is putting her “villainous” ways behind them.
DCEU: Maxwell Lord
What is it with Wonder Woman movies having divisive villains? Now, Wonder Woman 1984 is… not the best film. Not to mention that it left viewers still asking questions. Its interpretation of Maxwell Lord though isn’t half bad. In the comics, L0rd is a sociopath with psychic abilities who’s deadset on controlling the world.
In the film, however, Lord’s not any of that. He’s a man down on his luck who just wants what he thinks he and his son are due. It added to his character and let him be a somewhat better character, despite the nonsensical wishing powers.
MCU: Vulture
Audiences tend to think that the cosmic side of Marvel is the strangest out there when the weirdness exists on earth as well. Villains like Stiltman, The Orb, and the old guy in a green bird suit, Vulture, are among some of the zaniest.
Despite the oddness of his character though, Micheal Keaton’s Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming (One of the best Marvel movies ever made according to Metacritic) is one of the MCU’s best villains. Shown as a simple man turned thief pushed out by Tony Stark, Vulture is relatable and even gets a realistic and terrifying metal suit.
DCEU: Dr. Sivana
At the end of the day, supervillains are always going to be villains but that doesn’t mean some development can’t be put in place. Dr. Sivana, a brilliant scientist bestowed with magical powers, is one such baddie given some development.
In Shazam!, Sivana is shown as a bullied child who was almost given the power of a God… but had it stripped away from him at the last second. It puts Sivana, a somewhat unseen DC villain in a new light that begs the question: was he in the wrong?
MCU: Thanos
Of course, the Mad Titan was going to be on this list. Thanos, the big bad of the MCU and considered one of the best rivaled only by Kingpin, is depicted in the comics as a psychopath dead-set on pleasing the embodiment of Death no matter what and having some serious questions about his powers.
Now, it was always going to be hard to fit in the embodiment of Death into the MCU. So making Thanos into a villain who thought he was saving the universe lifted his character. Now, erasing half the population isn’t good but the way Thanos explains it almost makes his actions heroic. Almost.
