History TruerToTheText / MarvelUniverse

!!Multiple Media
!!!Franchise/SpiderMan

!!!''Franchise/XMen''

!!Anime and Manga

!!Comic Books

!!Films

!!Live-Action TV

!!Video Games

!!Western Animation

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' is a more faithful adaptation of the Creator/MarvelComics series as well as ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' (along with the members of the group as well as their mythos, costumes, origins, enemies, etc) and the Mainstream Marvel Universe in general than older Marvel adaptations such as the ill-fated ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersUnitedTheyStand''. ''Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' is also notable for providing faithful adaptations of stories such as "ComicBook/TheKangDynasty" and "[[ComicBook/SecretInvasion The Secret Invasion]]", among others, despite AdaptationDistillation.

TruerToTheText in this series.

* Franchise/SpiderMan:
** ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' got a lot of attention in its day for being the most faithful ''Spider-Man'' adaptation ever produced at the time, particularly compared to the two animated adaptations that came before it. It was the first adaptation that really highlighted Peter Parker's [[DeadpanSnarker snarky, wisecracking personality]], the first to include most of his classic supporting cast (Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, Flash Thompson, Eddie Brock, etc.), the first to utilize nearly all of his classic {{rogues gallery}}, and the first to portray Peter as an eligible bachelor with multiple potential love interests (although it [[CompositeCharacter combined]] Gwen Stacy and Felicia Hardy into one character for simplicity's sake).
** ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' is the most faithful adaptation of ComicBook/SpiderMan in comparison to most of the Spider-Man adaptations that have been created before. Just like in the comics, Peter is a loner hero who solves his problems on his own without adult mentors or sidekicks, and he balances his school and life himself. It also presents the most comic-book-accurate takes on the titular character, his supporting casts, and villains (such as ComicBook/NormanOsborn, who is portrayed for the first time as "a bad man made worse" rather than a literal split personality).
** ''WesternAnimation/MarvelsSpiderMan''
*** Zig-Zagged. The series is about Peter balancing his superheroics with his normal life, which is something that ''[[WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012 Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' had downplayed for a majority of its run, but still takes itself in a fairly different direction due to Peter's enrollment into Horizon High.
*** Gwen Stacy's portrayal as a somewhat stuck up, condescending bookworm actually reflects parts of her early portrayal in the comics, but differs in both kind and degree[[note]]Before [[CharacterizationMarchesOn Characterization Marched On]], Gwen was snobbish because she was a beauty queen and a kind of UptownGirl[[/note]].
*** Jack O'Lantern's portrayal is much closer to the comic version than in ''[[WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012 Ultimate Spider-Man]]''; the one in ''USM'' was created by magic and shared the name and appearance but otherwise [[InNameOnly had no other resemblance to his comic counterpart]], while the version here is a mercenary like in the comics.
** ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' also gave Spider-Man a more snarky and wisecracking personality, as well as web-shooters, in contrast to the [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy previous Spider-Man]] (who's web shooting was organic and part of his powers).

** ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' is likewise a fair bit more accurate to multiple iterations of Spider-Man than before. Its portrayal of ComicBook/MilesMorales and ComicBook/SpiderGwen is truer than the animation series, ''WesternAnimation/MarvelsSpiderMan'', where both were teen contemporaries of Peter. Likewise, it is the first version of any cinematic Peter to show him as an adult superhero, which is what the vast majority of comics stories covers, whereas previous adaptations had emphasized Peter as a high school and college student. Both of the film versions of Peter married Mary Jane Watson, who was his wife in the mainline continuity for twenty years (1987-2008) and in a number of long-lived alternate versions ([[ComicStrip/SpiderMan the newspaper strip]], ''ComicBook/SpiderGirl'', ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManRenewYourVows'').
** ''Film/{{Venom|2018}}''[='=]s version of its title character, especially compared to [[Film/SpiderMan3 its last silver screen adaptation]], where it wasn't even clear if the symbiote was sapient and a much worse Eddie Brock was behind all the villainy. Here, it's its own character, and is one of the few adaptations to faithfully portray the Venom symbiote's trait of genuinely caring for its hosts, and the only one to make a HeelFaceTurn like the comic character has.
** PlayedWith in the case of the ComicBook/GreenGoblin regarding his film appearances. In ''Film/SpiderMan1'', he wore a solid green costume that was lacking in both purple details (e.g., the hood and tunic) and satchel from his classic design. In ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', the Green Goblin wears this costume in his intro scenes wearing the same costume from ''Spider-Man 1''...before upgrading it in the second act to look more like the one from the comics, purple hood and satchel included. However, the main difference between the comics costume and the ''No Way Home'' costume is that the latter design [[MarqueeAlterEgo dispenses with the green mask]] from the original ''Spider-Man'' movie, allowing the audience to see Norman Osborn's NightmareFace.
* ''Franchise/XMen''
** ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009'' was largely made with this in mind, being much more faithful to the comics than ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' and [[Film/XMenFilmSeries the live-action movies]], and much more up-to-date than [[WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries the animated series from the 1990s]] (which mainly adapted older stories from the comics, while generally avoiding more recent ones). Although the MythArc of the series involves an original story, its EnsembleCast includes nearly every major Mutant character from the comics, and the later episodes freely incorporate plot points from classic storylines like ''ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast'', ''ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga'' and ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse''. It also fits in several relatively obscure characters from Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/NewXMen'', like the Stepford Cuckoos, Dust, and Rover the Sentinel. Not to mention that it features ''every'' major Mutant faction from the comics--the X-Men, the Brotherhood, the Acolytes, the Marauders, and the Hellfire Club[[note]] Called "The Inner Circle" in the show[[/note]].
** ''Anime/MarvelAnimeXMen'', the next animated depiction of the X-Men, goes even further, despite the change of setting as the show takes place mostly in Japan and giving two characters an AdaptationalNameChange and RaceLift. Still, it follows the same plot point as WATXM, set shortly after Jean Grey's apparent death due to the Phoenix Force, but focuses on a much smaller cast of X-Men resembling the ''Astonishing X-Men'' comic (though replacing Kitty Pryde with Storm), and with much more attention given to Cyclops' characterisation rather than Wolverine, fixing a major complaint about how Cyclops was handled in the previous show to make Wolverine look better. However it ''also'' avoids doing the same to Wolverine, treating him with respect and characterising him as TheLancer to Scott, to avoid just flipping the problems. It also made use of Armor, a character from ''Astonishing'', and had the relatively obscure villains, the U-Men, as the main villains.
** ''Film/{{Logan}}'' portrays ComicBook/{{X 23}} as this compared to other adaptations. Laura is prepubescent, unlike her comic version but like her original ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' incarnation. While she uses the EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette comic design, she is Canadian-Mexican. The ethnicity of her character in the cartoon was never stated however she was AmbiguouslyBrown, making fans pin her as either Latina or First Nation. Backstory wise she is a mix of the cartoon and comic version (for example, she {{Self Harm}}s like the comic version but has no background in prostitution like her).
** The 2016 ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'' movie is much more faithful to the eponymous character than his reviled appearance in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''- [[InNameOnly not that this is very hard]]. For one, he's actually wearing his iconic costume from the comics; two, he doesn't have a sewn mouth, blades that pop out of his forearms, or any of the other changes that pissed off the fans the first time around; and three, he's been restored to his classic FourthWallObserver self.
** ''Film/Deadpool2'' sees [[spoiler:a version of the Juggernaut that's much closer to the original than the one from ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'', being an unstoppable force who's far bigger than all of the other characters. Also, he's actually ComicBook/ProfessorX's stepbrother this time around.]]
** While created to cash into ''Film/X2XMenUnited'', ''VideoGame/X2WolverinesRevenge'' takes after the comics more, including the costumes of several characters (though Wolvie's film suit is in as an unlockable suit), Xavier using his '90s hoverchair, and the settings.

** ''Anime/XMen'', the next animated depiction of the X-Men, goes even further, despite the change of setting as the show takes place mostly in Japan and giving two characters an AdaptationalNameChange and RaceLift. Still, it follows the same plot point as WATXM, set shortly after Jean Grey's apparent death due to the Phoenix Force, but focuses on a much smaller cast of X-Men resembling the ''Astonishing X-Men'' comic (though replacing Kitty Pryde with Storm), and with much more attention given to Cyclops' characterisation rather than Wolverine, fixing a major complaint about how Cyclops was handled in the previous show to make Wolverine look better. However it ''also'' avoids doing the same to Wolverine, treating him with respect and characterising him as TheLancer to Scott, to avoid just flipping the problems. It also made use of Armor, a character from ''Astonishing'', and had the relatively obscure villains, the U-Men, as the main villains.

* Within the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse itself, ''Film/IronMan3'' was notorious for its adaptation of the Chinese villain the Mandarin. In the comics, the Mandarin had long been a YellowPeril villain weilding ten [[RingOfPower Rings of Power]]; but the film dealt with the offensive stereotypes by making him an intentional in-universe mishmash of "evil foreigner" cliches set up for the media by the real villain, a white man. It was later revealed in ''Film/AllHailTheKing'' that they only "borrowed" the Mandarin image, angering the real one in the process. ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' (which could get away with it because its hero was also Asian) later introduced the true Mandarin, an actual Chinese man (without being a YellowPeril stereotype) who had the rings that ''Iron Man 3'' lacked (even if [[AdaptationalSuperpowerChange the nature of the rings themselves had changed]]).

** ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'': {{Zigzagged|Trope}}: On the one hand, Bill Everett, as related in the fifth issue of ''Saga of the Sub-Mariner'', never intended for Namor's underwater kingdom to be Atlantis, only inspired by it, and it was not identified as such until over two decades after the character's debut. On the other, its Antarctic location made it clear his kingdom was not intended to be of Mesoamerican origin, as it is in the film.

** Within the MCU itself, ''Film/IronMan3'' was notorious for its adaptation of the Chinese villain the Mandarin. In the comics, the Mandarin had long been a YellowPeril villain weilding ten [[RingOfPower Rings of Power]]; but the film dealt with the offensive stereotypes by making him an intentional in-universe mishmash of "evil foreigner" cliches set up for the media by the real villain, a white man. It was later revealed in ''Film/AllHailTheKing'' that they only "borrowed" the Mandarin image, angering the real one in the process. ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' (which could get away with it because its hero was also Asian) later introduced the true Mandarin, an actual Chinese man (without being a YellowPeril stereotype) who had the rings that ''Iron Man 3'' lacked (even if [[AdaptationalSuperpowerChange the nature of the rings themselves had changed]]).

* ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' portrays Zeus far closer to Myth/ClassicalMythology than the Marvel Comics version: a JerkassGod with a thunderbolt weapon, rather than a mostly benevolent deity with innate ShockAndAwe powers.

* While the ''Anime/MarvelAnimeBlade'' takes some cues from the [[Film/BladeTrilogy films]], it's truer to the comics in many respects, including Blade being African-English (even if Creator/HaroldPerrineau and several others are NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent) and Deacon Frost being physically middle-aged with white hair.

* The '90s ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFour'' animated series restored several elements lost in the team's '70s cartoons, ''WesternAnimation/TheFantasticFour1978'' and ''WesternAnimation/FredAndBarneyMeetTheThing''. (At the least, it marked the first time since [[WesternAnimation/TheFantasticFour1967 1967]] that all four members starred in the same cartoon.) The vast majority of the first season consisted of fairly faithful re-tellings and reinterpretations of classic 1960's stories by Creator/StanLee and Creator/JackKirby.

* Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' portrays Zeus far closer to the Myth/ClassicalMythology than the Marvel Comics version: a JerkassGod with a thunderbolt weapon, rather than a mostly benevolent deity with innate ShockAndAwe powers.

* While the ''ComicBook/{{Blade}}'' [[Anime/{{Blade}} anime]] takes some cues from the [[Film/BladeTrilogy films]], it's truer to the comics in many respects, including Blade being African-English (even if Creator/HaroldPerrineau and several others are NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent) and Deacon Frost being physically middle-aged with white hair.

*** Zig-Zagged. The series is about Peter balancing his superheroics with his normal life, which is something that ''[[WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012 Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' had downplayed for a majority of its run, but still takes itself in a fairly different direction due to Peter's enrollment into Horizon High. Although, it appears that this series is much more faithful to the comics than ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming''.

* ''VideoGame/Hulk'' and especially ''VideoGame/TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction'' are more faithful adaptations of the Marvel character compared to the divisive Ang Lee film.

* The ''Series/Daredevil2015'' Netflix series is more faithful to comics than the 2003 ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' movie. The show dives into Matt's training with Stick, how he met Elektra in college, as well as how his father is killed by the Fixer and not by the Kingpin as depicted in the movie.

** ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009'' was largely made with this in mind, being much more faithful to the comics than ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' and [[Film/XMenFilmSeries the live-action movies]], and much more up-to-date than [[WesternAnimation/XMen the animated series from the 1990s]] (which mainly adapted older stories from the comics, while generally avoiding more recent ones). Although the MythArc of the series involves an original story, its EnsembleCast includes nearly every major Mutant character from the comics, and the later episodes freely incorporate plot points from classic storylines like ''ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast'', ''ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga'' and ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse''. It also fits in several relatively obscure characters from Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/NewXMen'', like the Stepford Cuckoos, Dust, and Rover the Sentinel. Not to mention that it features ''every'' major Mutant faction from the comics--the X-Men, the Brotherhood, the Acolytes, the Marauders, and the Hellfire Club[[note]] Called "The Inner Circle" in the show[[/note]].

* In general (and save for exceptions like Spider-Man), movies within the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse (such as ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', ''Film/{{Thor}}'', ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', and ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'') are significantly more faithful to the source material than those characters' previous {{Live Action Adaptation}}s were, with the publisher given more direct creative control than for those owned by an independent studio.

** ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' takes its name from [[ComicBook/AgeOfUltron the 2013 comic event]] which takes place in an alternate future where Ultron has taken over the world. However, the movie shares little in common with the comic outside of featuring the titular robot. The eighth episode of ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021'', ''[[Recap/WhatIfS1E8WhatIfUltronWon What If... Ultron Won?]]'', errs closer to the comic, depicting an alternate take on the film where Ultron defeats the Avengers and moves on to conquer the universe ([[MultiversalConqueror and then some]]).

!!Franchise/MarvelUniverse
* ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelSuperHeroes'' is an extremely faithful adaptation of the original comics in comparison to what came before it, in the case of Captain America. The Hulk, Thor and Iron Man are all inversions as their segments were more faithful than what came between this and a few later portrayals.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' is a more faithful adaptation of the Creator/MarvelComics series as well as ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' (along with the members of the group as well as their mythos, costumes, origins, enemies, etc) and the Mainstream Marvel Universe in general than older Marvel adaptations such as the ill-fated ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersUnitedTheyStand''. ''Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' is also notable for providing faithful adaptations of stories such as "ComicBook/TheKangDynasty" and "[[ComicBook/SecretInvasion The Secret Invasion]]", among others, despite AdaptationDistillation.
* The ''Series/Daredevil2015'' Netflix series is more faithful to comics than the 2003 ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' movie. The show dives into Matt's training with Stick, how he met Elektra in college, as well as how his father is killed by the Fixer and not by the Kingpin as depicted in the movie.
* The '90s ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFour'' animated series restored several elements lost in the team's '70s cartoons, ''WesternAnimation/TheFantasticFour1978'' and ''WesternAnimation/FredAndBarneyMeetTheThing''. (At the least, it marked the first time since [[WesternAnimation/TheFantasticFour1967 1967]] that all four members starred in the same cartoon.) The vast majority of the first season consisted of fairly faithful re-tellings and reinterpretations of classic 1960's stories by Creator/StanLee and Creator/JackKirby.

* ComicBook/XMen:

* While the ''ComicBook/{{Blade}}'' [[Anime/{{Blade}} anime]] takes some cues from the [[Film/BladeTrilogy films]], it's truer to the comics in many respects, including Blade being African-English (even if Creator/HaroldPerrineau and several others are NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent) and Deacon Frost being physically middle-aged with white hair.

* Most Marvel versions of Laufey are {{Gender Flip}}ped into Loki's ''father''. The ComicBook/UltimateMarvel version is Loki's mother as in the original myths (although there, his birth father is Odin, so some liberties are still taken).