Sometimes literal adaptations
are not the best adaptations.
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Here are our picks for the Top 10 Differences
between the Infinity War Movie and Comic.
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For this list,
we're looking at the major discrepancies between
the blockbuster "Avengers: Infinity War" movie
and the comics it's based on.
The film is not based on
the 1992 "The Infinity War" comic
written by Jim Starlin.
Rather, the bulk of the plot that makes up the blockbuster movie
is taken from "The Infinity Gauntlet" story arc
which was released a year earlier
and also penned by Starlin.
"The Infinity War" comic is quite a different story
to the one played out in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
but it's the better title of the two comics
and likely to draw more butts to the cinema.
In the movie, Earth is warned of Thanos' arrival
in a slightly different way than the comic
with the Hulk crash-landing into Dr Strange's Sanctum
and alerting the world that Thanos is coming.
This scene is lifted directly
from "The Infinity Gauntlet" comic
with the main difference being that it's the Silver Surfer
who crashes into Strange's Sanctum
and warns of Thanos' arrival, not Hulk.
Also, in the comic, the Silver Surfer plays a large role
in bringing down the Mad Titan
alongside the heroes of earth.
This central figure in the comics
isn't in the movie,
although we do know that he's coming
to the MCU eventually.
Warlock is crucial to the plot of "The Infinity Gauntlet" comic
as he's the holder of the Soul Gem
and is the one to rally the remainder of Earth's forces against Thanos
after the Mad Titan kills half the universe's population.
So, his exclusion from "Avengers: Infinity War"
is disappointing,
but hopefully, we'll see how he fits
into the MCU sooner rather than later.
Seeing as the storyline from the comics had to be greatly condensed
to fit into a two-and-a-half-hour film,
it was no surprise to learn
that not all of our favorite superheroes would be included
in the cinematic take of the battle against Thanos.
Like we've mentioned,
Silver Surfer and Adam Warlock were no-shows,
but the film also left out She-Hulk, Firelord, Nova,
Sub-Mariner, Cloak, Cyclops,
Quasar... you get the idea.
Granted, the film did bring the Guardians of the Galaxy
into the fight to make up for it, so we shouldn't complain.
Thor's new weapon in the movie has a pretty creative lineage
but it doesn't draw on the comics for inspiration.
After his trusty Mjolnir was destroyed by his sister Hela in "Thor: Ragnarok,"
Odin's son needed a new, flashy weapon for "Avengers: Infinity War"
and he got one in the form of Stormbreaker.
But, in the comics, Thor never wielded Stormbreaker.
In fact, that weapon belonged to Thor's ally Beta Ray Bill
who managed to beat Thor in combat
and lift Mjolnir before having his own weapon crafted.
In the movie, Stormbreaker looks very different
but Thor's epic return with his new weapon in hand was jaw-dropping.
After the snap, the film ends with Thanos' bright, smiling face
his goal of wiping out half of all life in the universe achieved.
In the comics, however,
he's smiling is because he's happy to be left alone as a farmer
after faking his own death.
Pretty different, huh?
The movie needed a major cliffhanger
to keep people interested
and by rolling credits after such a devastating series of events,
they've greatly succeeded,
while also paying homage to the source material.
The Black Order was only introduced years
after "The Infinity Gauntlet" storyline,
making their first full appearance in 2013's "Prelude to Infinity".
Their inclusion in the movie is yet another case of borrowing elements
from the larger Marvel universe.
And, like a lot of the elements the movie borrowed,
The Black Order largely works on the big screen
but its importance was greatly diminished to fit the film's runtime.
A lot of fans were disappointed
with the Order's portrayal
and hoped to see a more powerful version of "The Children of Thanos."
Gamora plays a significantly greater role in the movie than in "Infinity Gauntlet."
In fact, she doesn't make it past the first issue
as she is among the victims of the snap.
Thanos' adopted daughter has been a mainstay
of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
since "Guardians of the Galaxy" won us over in 2014,
so it only makes sense that she gets much more screen time than in the comics
as fans have come to love her character
played by Zoe Saldana.
Though she's killed by Thanos in the movie,
you can expect that she'll still have a role to play in the Avengers 4
since she's listed in the film's credits.
Flashback?
Resurrection?
It's too early to tell.
Oh, snap, it's THE snap!
Yes, that moment when Thanos snaps his fingers
and instantly wipes out half the universe
is similar in the movie and the comic
– how different can snapping fingers be?
But in the movie, the snap happens at the end
whereas in the comic it's at the beginning.
In "The Infinity Gauntlet," the snap sets in motion
all the events that will take place in the Infinity Series,
but in the movie, it serves to bring a close to everything.
Though the timing is different, the snap works well in both the comic and the movie.
In the movie, Thanos' motivations are pretty straightforward:
kill off half the universe's population to prevent running out of resources.
In the comic, however, it's a little more complicated than that.
Since childhood,
Thanos was in love with Death
– the female embodiment of Death, that is.
The Mad Titan spends a great deal of his time and energy trying to woo Death
and what better way could there be in winning over her heart
than by wiping out half of all life in the universe?
Honestly, we can't think of any…
Do you agree with our picks?
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