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"I promise I won't become a villain and try kill you."
Whether to streamline the story, surprise comic-savvy fans, or just get around characters it can't use, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is no stranger to assigning one character attributes of another.

Films

  • Across movies, there is the Infinity Stones. In the comics, the items of power that turn out to be (or contain) an Infinity Stone in the films did not have any connection to each other or the Infinity Gems. Most notably, the Mind Stone pulls a threefer, being a combination of the Mind Gem, Loki's staff and the solar gem on Vision's forehead.
  • The Avengers
    • The titular team itself is based on the classic Earth-616 version (the founding members and Loki as their first Arch-Nemesis) and The Ultimates of Earth-1610 (the costumes, the SHIELD strike team origin and everything about Hawkeye). Hawkeye and Black Widow also share the status of founding members with Ant-Man and the Wasp from the comics.
    • This extends to MacGuffins. The Avengers (and the films immediately before it) introduce an alien device called the Tesseract or "the Cube", standing in for the Cosmic Cube of the comics. Thor: The Dark World then reveals that it's also the Space Stone, one of the Infinity Stones.
    • This movie introduces Maria Hill as Nick Fury's Number Two, a role usually hold by Dum Dum Dugan (or better his Life Model Decoy). Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier she also goes on to work for Stark Industries and their security, making her very similar to Bethany Cabe from the Iron Man-comics.
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron:
    • Iron Man creates Ultron instead of Hank Pym.
    • Subverted with Black Widow, who wields a pair of batons much like those used by her fellow Avenger, Mockingbird. Mockingbird would show up as a separate character in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s second season.
    • Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch start off as a pair of superpowered twins working for Baron Strucker. This is much like the Fenris twins, Strucker's own mutant children from the comics.
    • Ulysses Klaue has taken many elements of his father, Fritz Klaue such as being a smuggler and ally to Baron Strucker, the unique spelling of his surname and overall look.
    • Helen Cho has undergone the reverse, taking elements of her son, Amadeus, supreme intellect in particular. She also essentially becomes the MCU version of Phineas Horton, being the one who created the Vision's synthetic body.
    • The Vision is made by implanting the remains of the J.A.R.V.I.S. A.I. inside of the aforementioned synthetic body. He also has one of the Infinity Stones embedded in his forehead, much like Adam Warlock (albeit with Vision having the Mind Stone instead of the Soul Stone) note .
  • Avengers: Infinity War:
    • In another non-character example, Thor's replacement for the destroyed Mjolnir is an axe like Jarnbjorn, the weapon he used after becoming unworthy of Mjolnir in the comics. However, here the axe is called Stormbreaker, which was the name of Beta Ray Bill's hammer. Despite having the same name as Beta Ray Bill's hammer, its design takes more cues from the Mjolnir used by Ultimate Thor.
    • Ebony Maw was originally a Badass Normal in the comics. Here, he instead has powerful mental abilities, much like Supergiant, the only member of the original Black Order who doesn't appear in the film (though Maw's powers are telekinetic in nature, while Supergiant's were closer to telepathy).
    • Hulk takes the Silver Surfer's role as the hero who crashes through Doctor Strange's roof and warns him about Thanos' plot.
    • The Red Skull being cursed to act as the guardian of the Soul Stone while wearing a black cloak is very reminiscent of Nick Fury's transformation into the Unseen after the events of Original Sin.
    • Thanos' motive to bring balance to the universe by wiping out half its life is similar to that of Mistress Death, who he was in love with in the comics, but they seem to be his own beliefs rather than hers, which he would carry out in devotion.
  • Avengers: Endgame: Hawkeye's new Ronin persona is influenced by both his classic and Ultimate incarnations. The name and look come from Clint's time in the New Avengers, while the premise of Clint adopting a new costume and a darker, more murderous personality following the death of his family comes from The Ultimates 3.
  • Ant-Man:
    • Darren Cross had no supervillain alias in the original comics, but in the Ant-Man movie, he is given Sizeshifter abilities and the Code Name Yellowjacket. Both of these come from Hank Pym, who used the name Yellowjacket in the comics. This is a rare case of Decomposite Character as well, since Pym is in the movie, just as a civilian scientist rather than a costumed superhero. (He used to be Ant-Man but retired; he never took the identity of Yellowjacket in this universe.) Darren eventually took the Yellowjacket identity in the comics after the movie came out, while an alternate version of Hank Pym (as Yellowjacket) would be seen in What If...?. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania then takes this even further by bringing back Darren Cross as the MCU version of M.O.D.O.K., a separate character named George Tarleton in the comics.
    • In another example of Composite/Decomposite Character, Cross also takes some traits from the comic book version of Ultron, specifically his "daddy issues" relationship with Hank Pym (in the comics, Hank Pym created Ultron, but that role was given to Tony Stark in the movies). Even the face of the Yellowjacket armor more closely resembles the 616-Ultron's face than MCU-Ultron's does.
    • The Wasp is seemingly a Posthumous Character, much like Maria Trovaya, Hank's first wife in the comics.
    • Speaking of Janet. In another case of Composite/Decomposite. She takes Bucky's role as the partner of a hero who is seemingly killed trying to take down a missle heading for the US. Though here, she is lost in the Quantum Realm rather than seemingly blown up with the rocket.
    • The Wasp's daughter, Hope Van Dyne, has her mother's trademark hairstyle. She also becomes the new Wasp in one of the post-credits scenes.
    • The title character himself, by virtue of the fact that in this continuity, Hank Pym lacks any connection to the Avengers. Instead, Scott is the Ant-Man who is associated with the team, and even takes on Pym's Giant-Man identity from the comics in Civil Warnote . Scott also was never partnered with a Wasp in the comics (again, that was Hank), but here, he is.
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania sees Kang the Conqueror take on some of the characteristics of Lord Gouzar from Brian Bendis' Avengers run. Like Gouzar, Kang is the tyrannical ruler of the Quantum Realm (the Microverse in the comics) with a connection to Janet van Dyne from her time trapped there. This version of Kang has a lot similarities and characteristics to Doctor Doom being a scarred Noble Demon Tin Tyrant in a Badass Cape with his own kingdom.
  • Black Panther:
    • In the comics, T'Challa's birth mother was named N'Yami, while Ramonda is his stepmother. In the movies, Ramonda is T'Challa's biological mother.
    • Nakia is completely reimagined as T'Challa's ex-lover who acts as a Wakandan agent overseas. That backstory was lifted from Malaika, an obscure character who only ever appeared in the 1988 Black Panther mini-series by Peter B. Gillis. Nakia also takes some characteristics from Storm being not only T’Challa love interest since childhood but also as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reveals the mother of his child, as Ororo was in two Alternate Universe continuities.
    • Okoye is combined with Chandra, W'Kabi's wife from the comics.
    • In the comics, Zuri is a Boisterous Bruiser who has served as a warrior for many years. The film instead depicts him as an herbalist and shaman who is in charge of overseeing the Black Panther's Rite of Ascension, a role that was filled by two characters named N'Baza and Medinao in the comics.
    • Erik Killmonger takes on elements of T'Shan as T'Challa's cousin who seeks the Wakandan throne. Likewise, this makes Killmonger's father N'Jobu one with S'Yan, T'Chaka's brother in the comics.
    • Shuri's sarcastic personality, as well as her Trollish tendencies (particularly towards Ross), come from Queen Divine Justice.
    • In The Stinger, Bucky Barnes is called "White Wolf" by the Wakandan children, the same alias as Hunter, T'Challa's adopted brother from the comics.
  • Black Widow (2021):
    • Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian is a combination of the original character and Ivan Petrovich, Natasha's mentor and father figure in the comics.
    • Antonia Dreykov has the appearance, abilities, codename, and a gender-flipped variant of the first name of Tony Masters/Taskmaster, but her backstory as the daughter of a Red Room leader tied to Natasha's past is taken from Anya/Recluse. In the comics Anya with her mother created the Dark Room as an independent successor to the Soviet-backed Red Room, while in the MCU Antonia's father rebuilds the Red Room as an independent organization after a failed assassination attempt. Additionally, her being a Brainwashed and Crazy Dragon for a Nebulous Evil Organization with a relationship to the hero that is later freed makes her a Distaff Counterpart to the Winter Soldier.
  • Captain America: The First Avenger:
    • Captain America takes the original Nick Fury's place as the one who assembles the Howling Commandoes.
    • The version of the Red Skull has a lot in common with Baron Strucker (the founder of HYDRA) and the first Baron Zemo (a disfigured Mad Scientist in charge of the Nazis' super-weapon development), though he retains his disfigured appearance and status as Cap's Arch-Enemy. Strucker still appears in the MCU later as one of the HYDRA leaders following the exposure of HYDRA to the world, as did Heinrich Zemo, who is a Posthumous Character in Captain America: Civil War while Helmut Zemo, his son, was featured as a Sokovian colonel avenging his family from the indirect actions of the Avengers.
    • The film's take on Peggy Carter combines the inherent Action Girl-ness and relationship to Sharon Carter of her namesake (Sharon still appears later on in the present day of later films), along with the appearance and role of Lt. Cynthia Glass from the Adventures of Captain America: The Sentinel of Liberty miniseries released in the early 90s.
    • Howard Stark, Tony Stark's father, creates Captain America's iconic shield, much like Dr. Myron MacLain in the original comics.
    • Montgomery Falsworth, the pencil-moustached, red-bereted British officer in the movie's Howling Commandos, is an amalgam of Montgomery Falsworth, the costumed hero Union Jack, and Percy Pinkerton, the pencil-moustached, red-bereted British officer in the comic's Howling Commandos. In fact, given it contains Falsworth, Cap and Bucky Barnes, the Commandos could be considered an amalgam of the comic-book Commandos and The Invaders.
    • Bucky is an amalgamation of James Buchanan Barnes and Arnold Roth, a childhood friend of Steve's who used to protect him from bullies before he became Captain America.
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Alexander Pierce is given elements of Aleksander Lukin, namely his role as the Winter Soldier's handler and the mastermind behind the entire plot. This also means that HYDRA takes on a few traits from Roxxon, as not only was Lukin the head of a subsidiary that belonged to Roxxon, which made him the owner of Roxxon in much the same way Pierce was the one commanding HYDRA, but HYDRA is also shown to have murdered Howard and Maria Stark, an action done by Roxxon executive Simon Krieger.
  • Captain America: Civil War:
    • Crossbones takes Nitro's place as the one whose bombing is the final straw to get the Super Registration Act passed.
    • Everett K. Ross fills a role similar to that of Henry Peter Gyrich, the Avengers' government liaison from the comics.
    • Helmut Zemo takes Klaw's role as the one who kills Black Panther's father. Klaw, renamed to Klaue, still has involvement with Wakanda however as seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where Ultron severs his arm instead of Black Panther.
    • During the airport battle, Scott Lang becomes Giant-Man, one of Hank Pym's identities in the original comics.
  • Captain Marvel:
  • Doctor Strange (2016):
    • Kaecilius replaces Baron Karl Mordo as Dormammu's servant, although Mordo makes an appearance anyway, albeit with Adaptational Heroism where he performs a Face–Heel Turn in The Stinger.
    • In another non-sentient example, Strange's iconic Eye of Agamotto is also the Time Stone in this continuity.
    • Dormammu has elements of Galactus, due to his purple color scheme and status as the "devourer of worlds."
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness:
    • The film sees Doctor Strange battle a tentacled Eldritch Abomination that merchandise identifies as Gargantos, an extremely obscure monster that showed up in an issue of the Silver Age Sub-Mariner comic book. However, the entity much more closely resembles Strange’s enemy Shuma-Gorath, with a number of articles and online commenters even assuming that’s who it was after the first trailer dropped. In fact the reason it couldn’t be Shuma-Gorath in the film was due to Heroic Signatures owning the rights to the character.
    • The film adapts the plot point from Jonathan Hickman's New Avengers run about incursions between alternate Earths. However, unlike in the comics, where the incursions were the work of the Beyonders, the movie reveals that they were inadvertently caused by various iterations of Doctor Strange using the Darkhold to access the Multiverse.
    • One of the members of the Illuminati is a version of Maria Rambeau who became her world's Captain Marvel rather than Carol Danvers. On a more team based level, Captain Marvel and Captain Carter replace absent Illuminati members from the comics like Namor, Black Panther and Captain America (whose role Carter most obviously fills).
    • The Doctor Strange of Earth-838 is said to have founded The Illuminati. In the comic books, the founder was Tony Stark whose role in the Illuminati got Adapted Out in the movie version. Also, the way Black Bolt kills Strange in the flashback is taken from Namor in Jonathan Hickman's Avengers-run.
    • Wanda’s role in the story as the Fallen Hero Big Bad who is corrupted by an ancient cosmic force and becomes unstoppable Psychic Powers powerhouse who has a telepathic duel with Charles Xavier all before having a Heel Realization and a Death Equals Redemption Heroic Sacrifice — is all taken from Jean Grey (who hasn’t appeared yet in the MCU) with Multiverse of Madness adapting some story ques from The Dark Phoenix Saga. The fact that Wanda was already quite similar to Jean, certainly helped this.
  • Zuras had to be cut from Eternals due to the movie having too many characters, so his title of Prime Eternal and role as the group’s leader were given to Ajak. This also entails her playing a motherly role to the rest of the team, including Thena, who was Zuras' daughter in the comics.
  • Guardians of the Galaxy: Ronan the Accuser is the one who killed Drax's family, rather than Thanos. Despite this, since Ronan did it while working for Thanos, Drax blames them both.
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2:
    • The film version of Ego combines elements of the comic book Ego the Living Planet with J'Son of Spartax, who is Peter Quill's father in the comics, and the Priests of Pama, who raised Mantis in the comics. He also resembles Ord Zyonz, the Elder of the Universe known as the Gardener, and seeds various planets throughout the universe.
    • The Sovereign seem to be a composite of the Enclave and the Universal Church of Truth. In the comics, both have links to Adam Warlock.
  • The Incredible Hulk: General Ross wishes to capture and dissect the Hulk, similar to John Ryker.
  • Iron Man:
    • J.A.R.V.I.S. is a combination of Edwin Jarvis (Tony's butler from the comics) and H.O.M.E.R. (Tony's A.I. from the '90s comics. It even had a British accent in the cartoon). The real Edwin Jarvis would later be introduced in Agent Carter, implying the A.I is a Legacy Character of some sort (an actual JARVIS AI does eventually appear in the comics).note 
  • Iron Man 2:
    • Whiplash (Ivan Vanko) is both a Composite and Decomposite Character, and it didn't help that the comics introduced a similar character around the time the film was released.
      • Ivan is loosely based on the first Crimson Dynamo, Anton Vanko, and is also a decomposite of the same character who, in the MCU, is his father. In both continuities, Anton defected from Russia to work for Stark Industries, but while the comic version sacrificed himself to prevent the Russians from stealing back his Dynamo armor, the MCU version had a falling out with Howard Stark, and returned to Russia where he would die in anonymity.
      • Ivan's whips are, of course, a signature of the comic book version of Whiplash, a name used by several characters (most of which were female), but best known as the identity of Mark Scarlotti, who also operated at times under the name Blacklash. Scarlotti was also employed by Justin Hammer; guess who busts Ivan out of prison and employs him in this film?note 
  • Iron Man 3:
    • War Machine wears Norman Osborn's Iron Patriot armor. He also goes by that moniker, but makes it clear he preferred War Machine, which he returns to in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Rhodey would later briefly use the name in the comics.
    • Aldrich Killian is a composite of the scientist who created Extremis, the Extremis-powered terrorist Mallen, and The Mandarin.note  As the leader of A.I.M., Killian also has elements of the Scientist Supreme.
  • The Marvels (2023):
    • Similar to the Multiverse of Madness example mentioned above, The Stinger of finds Monica Rambeau in an alternate universe where her mother Maria is a superhero called Binary, which was the moniker used by Carol Danvers during Chris Claremont’s X-Men run. Even her costume is a dead ringer for Danvers’.
    • The villain Dar-Benn is a Gender Flip of a minor Kree general but her vengeful personality and weaponry make her a Composite Character of both Ronan the Accuser (who Carol previously met earlier in the MCU, but had been killed by the Guardians of the Galaxy since) and Hala the Accuser from Bendis’ Guardians of the Galaxy run. Her streaked white hair and ability to absorb Carol’s powers and use them against her are lifted from Rogue, Carol’s longstanding rival in the comics.
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings:
    • Because Fu Manchu is off-limits due to legal issues, and way too rooted in anti-Chinese racism even if he was available, the Mandarin (who has no connections to Shang-Chi in the comics AND has been considered an Expy of Fu Manchu to begin with) fills his role as Shang-Chi's unnaturally long-lived Arch Nemesis Dad. It's also mentioned that one of his many titles throughout the centuries was Master Khan, the name of an Iron Fist villain in the comics.
    • Likewise, this makes Shang-Chi's sister Xu Xialing a Composite Character of Fu Manchu's daughter Fah Lo Suee (who was later renamed in the comics to Zheng Bao Yu / Cursed Lotus) and the Mandarin's daughter Sasha Hammer.
    • Death Dealer is combined with Cho Lin, the man who trained Shang-Chi in the comics.
    • An organization example, but the Ten Rings are combined with the Celestial Order of the Si-Fan, the criminal group Fu Manchu commanded in the original comics.
    • Shang-Chi himself takes Temugin's role of the Mandarin's estranged son.
    • In another composite item example, the comics (especially modern ones) often depict Shang-Chi wearing a pair of metal bracelets on his wrists, with the Jonathan Hickman Avengers run giving him a new pair that enhance his natural combat strength. By the end of the film, he begins wearing his father's ten rings on his wrists, serving as a visual callback to his comic design and also granting him superpowers like in the Hickman run.
  • Spider-Man: Homecoming:
    • In the comics, Ned Leeds is an adult reporter at the Daily Bugle. Here, he's one of Peter's classmates and is his Fat Best Friend and confidant, like Ganke Lee is for Miles Morales.
    • Peter himself, by his relationship with Ned and attendance of a gifted school, makes him one with Miles Morales. He was also recruited by Tony Stark shortly after becoming Spider-Man, like how Ultimate comics Peter and later Miles were mentored by Nick Fury. He would later be mentored by Nick Fury in Far from Home, although it turned out to be the Skrull Talos posing as Fury under Fury's orders.
    • Vulture is Adrian Toomes, but much like the Ultimate version of Blackie Drago (who is the sole Vulture in the Ultimate Universe) is a career criminal with a suit given to him by the Tinkerer. Additionally, much like the Blob of the Ultimate Marvel universe, he's Liz Allan's father. This, in turn, fuses Liz with 616 Adrian's daughter, Valeria. The way the suit's wings are attached to his back rather than under his arms is also taken from the Ultimate version of Drago.
    • The Tinkerer himself is Phineas Mason as in the traditional Marvel universe, but is also significantly younger than Mason, as is the Ultimate Tinkerer, who is Elijah Stern.
    • Word of God confirms's that Michelle's nickname of "MJ" is an intentional nod to Mary Jane Watson, which becomes more pronounced when MJ ends up becoming Peter's love interest in the sequel, but her rebellious and tomboyish personality is much closer to that of Ultimate Gwen Stacy.
    • Betty Brant is this to her comic book counterpart (i.e. her relationship to Ned) and Gwen Stacy (blonde hair).
    • Although he goes unnamed in the film itself, Logan Marshall-Green's character is named Jackson Brice, who used the alias Montana in the comics as a member of the Enforcers. Here, he's the original Shocker, before Herman Schultz takes up his gauntlet and moniker (possibly as a nod to The Spectacular Spider-Man where Montana and Shocker were the same person).
    • Mac Gargan has the name of the 616 Scorpion, but is a Latino Tattooed Crook like the second Ultimate Scorpion (Maximus Gargan).
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home:
  • Thor: Ragnarok:
    • The Grandmaster takes the Red King's role as the ruler of Sakaar and the one behind the Hulk's enslavement.
    • Valkyrie starts off working for the Grandmaster, but eventually switches sides after developing a bond with one of the heroes. That character arc is lifted from Caiera, who served the Red King in the comics before betraying him after falling in love with the Hulk.
    • Hela is a composite of multiple Thor characters from the comics. Her backstory of having been sealed away for many years comes from Cul, Odin's brother from Fear Itself; her use of Skurge the Executioner as an enforcer comes from the Enchantress; her ability to instantly manifest a large amount of weapons was taken from Gorr the God Butcher; and like the Marvel version of Angela, she's Thor and Loki's older sister instead of the latter's daughter or creation.
    • Hulk's role is ironically flipped around from what it was in the original comic. In Planet Hulk, the Hulk was forced to battle his old teammate Silver Surfer after ending up in the Red King's gladiatorial games. Here, Thor serves as the newly-arrived hero who is forced to battle a former teammate in the arena, while the Hulk serves as the teammate in question.

Live-Action TV

  • Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.:
    • Donnie Gill is named after the second Blizzard, but has a science and engineering background like Gregor Shapanka, the original Silver Age Blizzard.
    • The Ghost Rider used on the show is the Robbie Reyes version, but the creators explicitly incorporated elements of Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch as well. Notably, Robbie's flaming skull looks much more like Blaze and Ketch's, and he actually has a true Spirit of Vengeance.note  His backstory of having become Ghost Rider after making a Deal with the Devil to save the life of a dying loved one is also much closer to Johnny's origin story.
    • The Patriot, Jeffrey Mace, serves as the US Government's replacement for Captain America like he did in the comics, but while he's a regular human in the comics, here he's explicitly a superhuman who derives his powers from a strength-enhancing super drug while claiming to have a more heroic source (being an Inhuman), much like the modern Patriot, Eli Bradley. In addition, the drug is specifically based on Cal Johnson's; the patriotic hero Jack Flag got his powers from accidental exposure to Calvin Zabo's Mr Hyde formula. (It helps that Cal was an adaptation of Zabo.)
    • The Inhumans as a race serve as a mix between the classic depiction of them (a genetically-modified offshoot of humanity who gain random superpowers through exposure to Terrigen) and Mutants (hated and feared race of superbeings constantly facing Fantastic Racism), the latter of whom couldn't be used themselves due to corporate red tape. Season 3 even had a subplot dealing with Daisy and Lincoln becoming divided over a possible "cure" for Inhuman powers, an idea clearly lifted from Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men run (and which had already been adapted before in X-Men: The Last Stand). Many at the time noted that, during this same era in the comics, the X-Men were seemingly being sidelined in favor of the Inhumans, who were getting a big push by editorial and being proliferated across the entire universe. note 
    • Hive has the Puppeteer Parasite powers of his comic counterpart and, when he unveils his true form, the appearance of him as well, along with his status as a creepy HYDRA leader and one of the biggest threats facing the Secret Warriors. However, his status as the ancient leader of the Inhumans whose history was covered up, and who plans to turn humans into Alpha-Primitive slaves, are definite characteristics of the Unspoken. Keeping with the X-Men parallels, his gray skin and backstory also call to mind Apocalypse.
    • Madame Hydra still retains her green-tipped hair, is named Ophelia, and wears a tight green outfit whenever she ventures outside the office. However, she is merely an avatar/aspect of Aida, who is a completely unrelated character in the comics.
    • Holden Radcliffe is a composite of the comic book Radcliffe, a roboticist and industrialist who was the villain of Machine Teen; Tom Thumb, a Multidisciplinary Scientist on Squadron Supreme's Earth who created Aida; and the Inhuman geneticist Adavar, creator of the Alpha-Primitives.
    • Glenn Talbot behaves more like Thunderbolt Ross than his comic counterpart. Furthermore, he becomes the show's version of Graviton, taking the role from Franklin Hall.
    • The Superior (the disembodied head of a man called Anton who controls an army of LMD bodies) is a composite of the fourth Red Guardian (an LMD called Anton last seen as a disembodied head) and M.O.D.O.K. Superior (a giant floating head who was first seen in command of an army of LMDs - Superior even calls his LMD bodies "designed only for killing").
  • Daredevil:
    • The show combines Night Nurse, an obscure character from the comics who specializes in helping injured superheroes, with Claire Temple, one of Luke Cage's old love interests. She initially serves as Daredevil's love interest, but their romance breaks up while she later goes on to date Luke.
    • Elliot "Grotto" Grote from season 2 is a combination of Grotto (a low level street thug) and Dino Gnucci (a criminal who the Punisher murders after chaining up Daredevil on a rooftop and forcing him into a Sadistic Choice).
    • Season 3 adapts elements of the Born Again storyline from the comics, but with a few changes. A significant one is that the Costume Copycat that Wilson Fisk recruits to frame Daredevil is Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter, rather than the unnamed psychopath who posed as Daredevil in the original comic (while Bullseye did impersonate Daredevil in the comics, this happened later in the Ann Nocenti run). In addition, since Nuke had been transplanted to Jessica Jones, Dex takes on some of Nuke's comics traits, given Fisk manipulates him with similar speeches to the ones he gives Nuke in the "Born Again" story about how Dex “sacrifices for his country” and “nobody appreciates him for it”.
  • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier:
    • Battlestar takes the place of John Walker's parents as his Morality Chain and the person whose death causes him to go berserk.
    • John Walker has a few similarities to William Burnside, the 1950s "Commie-Smasher" Captain America. This includes Burnside's arc as the crazed replacement Captain America who is ultimately taken down by Bucky and Sam.
    • Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine is introduced in Episode 5 as Walker's new handler, similar to Val Cooper from the original comic storyline. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever subsequently reveals that she's Everett Ross' boss and ex-wife, combining her with Nikki Adams, Ross' boss and ex-girlfriend from Christopher Priest's Black Panther run.
    • The Power Broker is revealed to be an embittered Sharon Carter.
  • Hawkeye (2021)
    • The titular character takes Daredevil's place as the costumed vigilante Maya Lopez believes killed her father.
    • The final episode reveals that Clint's wife Laura was originally a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative codenamed Agent 19, indicating she's the MCU's version of Mockingbird.
  • Jessica Jones (2015):
    • Trish Walker is a composite of both her main and Ultimate comic counterparts and Carol Danvers, gaining the latter's blond hair and role as Jessica's best friend. This is because Trish originally was going to be Carol before complications with the Captain Marvel movie necessitated replacing her with a different character. She's also Jessica's adoptive sister, who was a separate, unnamed character in the comics.
    • Will Simpson is a former soldier who takes Psycho Serum pills and becomes Ax-Crazy, like Nuke aka Frank Simpson. Like Mad Dog, he was involved in a romantic relationship with Trish before going off the deep end. His role as Jessica Jones' Friend on the Force is similar to that of Clay Quartermain.
  • Luke Cage (2016): In the comics, Willis "Diamondback" Stryker is Luke's nemesis and former childhood friend. The show keeps this aspect, but with the added twist of Diamondback also being Luke's hateful brother, much like Coldfire, another villain from the comics.
  • Loki (2021):
    • Sylvie Laufeydottir, the female Loki seen in the show is based on two characters from the comics: Lady Loki (particularly the version seen in A-Force) and Sylvie Lushton, otherwise known as the second Enchantress. Her costume and core premise as a female version of Loki from an alternate timeline come from the former, while her blond hair, name and Mind Manipulation powers (which are even referred to as "enchantments") come from the latter.
    • He Who Remains is an existing character from the comics and plays the same role as the head of the Time Variance Authority who lives at the end of time, but his true identity as a future version of Nathaniel Richards also makes him an analogue of Immortus.
  • Moon Knight (2022):
    • The Big Bad has the name of obscure one-off baddie Arthur Harrow, but his status as a cult leader aiming to bring judgment on humanity calls to mind more notable Moon Knight foe the Sun King. His ties to Ammit bring to mind Dr. Emmet, a psychiatrist who was tied into Sun King's origin. The last of these becomes more prominent in the asylum sequences in the latter half of the series, which draw from the arc that introduced Emmet, but use Harrow in her place.
    • Layla El-Faouly is original to the series but draws from two canon characters; her role as Marc's love interest is taken from Marlene Alraune, and it's furthermore hinted (and eventually confirmed) that she's a Gender Flipped version of Mehemet Faoul, the second Scarlet Scarab. By extension, her late father Abdallah El-Faouly is a combination of Peter Alraune (archaeologist father of Marc's love interest, who was killed by Raoul Bushman during Marc's origin story) and Abdul Faoul, the first Scarlet Scarab (his name is a clear nod to the character, although there's no indication that his MCU version had any secret identity).
  • The Punisher (2017):
    • William "Bill" Rawlins/Agent Orange takes his codename from a set of characters who used it in the comics. His overall look and scheme (bankrolling CIA operations with drugs smuggled in cadavers) are taken from Robert Bethell.
    • Oddly, Billy Russo acts more like the comics' Rawlins than the one who appears on the show, being a dark-haired womanizer who personally partakes in corrupt CIA operations.
  • Secret Invasion (2023)
    • Gravik, the Skrull rebel leader, turns out to be the MCU version of Super-Skrull, a Fantastic Four villain with multiple combined powers. But with the Fantastic Four not yet introduced, Gravik's powers draw from different sources that mostly achieve some of the same powers. A sample from Guardians of the Galaxy member Groot is used in place of Mister Fantastic's elasticity, DNA taken from Cull Obsidian's severed arm from Avengers: Infinity War replicates the strength of Thing, and the Extremis formula from Iron Man 3 fulfills the same fiery powers used by Human Torch, with a DNA sample taken from an Ice Beast from Thor: The Dark World rounding the powerset out but otherwise not matching with Invisible Woman.
  • WandaVision:
    • In the second episode of WandaVision, the couple perform a magic act in a talent show under the stage names Glamour and Illusion. In the 1984 The Vision and the Scarlet Witch mini-series, Glamour and Illusion were a separate husband and wife magician duo that befriend Wanda and Vision after the heroes moved to the town of Leonia.
    • Agatha Harkness takes on a more villainous role in the show than she is usually known for, similar to her alternate reality self in the Ultimate Marvel comics, studying and isolating Wanda so she can take Wanda's power for herself. She also has some traits of her son from the comics, Nicholas Scratch, being a Self-Made Orphan who uses dark magic.
  • In another non-character example, Ms. Marvel (2022) hints that Kamala's bangle is the MCU equivalent of the Kree Nega-Bands.

Western Animation

  • What If...?, following on from the comic, contains instances of certain characters taking on other identities or aspects of other characters than the ones they traditionally hold in the mainline comics or films:
    • One episode deals with a timeline where Peggy Carter received Professor Erskine's Super Serum instead of Steve Rogers, becoming a Captain Patriotic superhero with a British motif. Steve instead becomes a WWII era Iron Man known as HYDRA Stomper. Captain Carter being trapped in another dimension after World War II is taken from Samantha Wilson, the Captain America of the Spider-Gwen universe. Her universe also has Steve Rogers eventually becoming a hero of his own through an armor built by Howard Stark, a Diesel Punk Iron Man nicknamed "HYDRA Stomper".
    • Another features young Prince T'Challa being abducted from Earth by Yondu instead of Peter Quill, with T'Challa later becoming Star-Lord as an adult.
    • A complicated example with Zombie Janet van Dyne. In Marvel Zombies, the source of the zombie was through a time loop where the plague would be contained to two Earths, meaning it doesn't have a true beginning or end. However, the first universe where the comics were set showed that the first zombie was Sentry, who was the last surviving zombie of the second universe after the rest were killed. So technically Janet takes on the role of patient zero from him.
    • Vision is the one who amputates body parts from T'Challa to feed a zombie similar to Hank Pym in Marvel Zombies (in this case, not himself, but a zombie Wanda).

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