Marvel movies aren't always totally accurate to the comics they adapt and lots can change
between the page and the big screen. Unfortunately, this means that some characters end up having
some of their best powers removed. Here are the Marvel movie characters with powers you
didn't know about.
While he's a formidable hero in the MCU, Falcon actually doesn't have any bona fide super
powers to speak of. In the comics, however, Sam Wilson has a much greater range of abilities.
Captain America: Civil War introduces Redwing, a flying drone that Falcon uses against Crossbones'
terrorists and later in the fight against the pro-Accords heroes. In the comics, however,
Redwing is an actual hawk with whom Sam Wilson shares a telepathic bond. Without saying a
word, Sam can communicate with Redwing, give him commands, and see through his eyes.
Not only does Wilson have powers, but for a time, the Falcon believes he's actually
a mutant, too. The reveal comes in the 1983 through 1984 Falcon mini-series when Wilson
becomes a target of the mutant-hunting Sentinel robots. This was revised, however, before
Falcon could join any X-teams.
In 2003's Avengers Number 64, it's revealed that, while Falcon isn't a mutant, he's still
more powerful than ever. Initially believing his telepathic bond only worked between himself
and Redwing, Falcon learns his abilities can work on any bird, as well as whole flocks
of birds simultaneously.
Both the comics and the films depict an Incredible Hulk who's tough to kill, but in 2018, the
job of Hulk's enemies got that much tougher. In Avengers Number 684, the Hulk is brought
back from the dead, having been put in the ground two years previous by Hawkeye in Civil
War Two Number 3.
As part of the story of his resurrection, it's revealed the Hulk can't be killed at
least, not for good. Reaching far back into comics of the past, the writers showed multiple
times that the Hulk died, only to soon return, often with little or no explanation. The story
then leads directly into the series Immortal Hulk, in which both Bruce Banner and his alter
ego are repeatedly killed, often more than once in the same issue, only to return within
a few hours.
Ironically, a little bit of this has been reflected in the films, but it was actually
before the Hulk's immortal status was established in the comics. In the final battle of 2017's
Thor: Ragnarok, Banner leaps from the Grandmaster's spaceship onto the Bifrost, apparently expecting
to transform into the Hulk before he lands. Hey, it's happened before.
Instead, Banner hits the rainbow bridge head-on, and it looks like he might genuinely be dead…
until moments later, when the Hulk emerges.
Eddie Brock and his alien symbiote showed no shortage of strength in 2018's Venom. But
in the comics, his list of powers is even longer. For one, Venom has the ability to
mimic the super powers of any enhanced humans he bonds with, which is why in the comics,
long after the symbiote separated from Peter Parker, Venom still uses Spider-Man's abilities.
While bonded with the symbiote, Eddie can make himself appear to be wearing any clothing
he chooses, and can even disguise himself as other people. And while Venom shows that
the symbiote can heal its human host, when Flash Thompson takes on the symbiote in the
comics, it proves able to do something even more extraordinary.
Thompson lost his legs as the result of wounds he suffered during the Iraq War. But after
Thompson bonds with Venom, the symbiote grows legs whenever Thompson uses its powers, giving
the veteran the chance to walk whenever he wishes.
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, the MCU's version of the Scarlet Witch uses a range of powers,
such as telekinesis and telepathy, which only seem to get stronger as the franchise progresses.
But in the comics, Scarlet Witch's abilities are even more complex and staggeringly powerful,
too.
"There's nothing more horrifying than a miracle."
In the source material, Wanda uses chaos magic to warp reality. On a smaller scale, she might
do something like causing metal to rust so she can break through a solid wall. Or if
she was threatened by a crowd of enemies, she could release a blast of magical energy
to take them all down without ever breaking a sweat.
But on a larger scale, Scarlet Witch's powers can have literally world-changing consequences.
On multiple occasions, for example, she has brought the dead back to life. In the 2004
event Avengers Disassembled, she generates whole armies of enemies like Ultron robots
and Kree warriors to attack the Avengers.
In the following year's House of M, she changes the face of the world, including making her
fellow mutants the dominant world power. Then, toward the end of the event, she takes away
every mutant's powers by infamously stating: "No more mutants." Only the intervention of
a certain Sorcerer Supreme allows a handful of mutants to retain their powers.
In The Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner and Betty Ross go to scientist Samuel Sterns for help
in finding a cure for Banner's condition. After Banner is captured by the military,
Emil Blonsky forces Sterns to inject him with Banner's blood, turning him into the Abomination.
The last time Sterns appears, the Abomination knocks him to the ground, and Banner's blood
begins dripping into an open wound on the scientist's head…causing his skin to start
bubbling.
So what's all that about? Well, in the comics, Samuel Sterns is the Hulk's arch-nemesis,
the Leader. When he first appears in the comics, he's the polar opposite of Banner. Rather
than a brainy scientist turned into a super strong monster by gamma rays, he's a high
school dropout made highly intelligent by the same radiation.
As well as taking on a radically different appearance, the Leader enjoys beyond-genius
intelligence and a host of psychic powers. He's been shown to use telekinesis, and can
also take over people's minds and have them do his bidding. The only limitation to his
mental control over others is that it doesn't work on people affected by gamma radiation
such as the Hulk himself.
One of the few actors from The Incredible Hulk to have made a return later in the MCU
is William Hurt's Thaddeus Ross. Thunderbolt is one of the Hulk's oldest enemies, and in
the comics, he eventually becomes a little more than just the Secretary of State. In
2008's Hulk Number 1, a new, red-skinned Hulk shows up to wreak havoc and it looks like
he's even more powerful than the original.
It's eventually revealed that this monster is the general himself. As it turns out, Ross
got the powers from a group calling itself the Intelligencia, composed of brainy Marvel
villains like M.O.D.O.K., the Red Ghost, and the Mad Thinker.
Red Hulk has abilities comparable to that of the original, but with one major difference
he can absorb energy to keep making himself stronger and stronger. This added advantage
makes him capable of beating the heck out of the original Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor,
among others.
After eventually being defeated by the original Hulk, the Red Hulk becomes something of a
hero, and he's soon welcomed into the ranks of the Avengers. After the events of the 2012
line-wide event Avengers Vs. X-Men, Ross forms his own version of the Thunderbolts as a means
of fighting injustice, without the legal and moral constraints of the Avengers. Which would
be a pretty ironic turn-up for the MCU version of the character.
In her earliest comic book appearances, Betty Ross is little more than Bruce Banner's love
interest, and usually takes on the role of damsel in distress. But her role in the Hulk's
life has led to a number of transformations for Betty, some of which have made her physically
powerful enough to handle the green goliath one-on-one.
In 1973's Incredible Hulk Numbers 168 and 169, Betty is brainwashed by the villain M.O.D.O.K.
and transformed into the Harpy, a gamma-irradiated, flying creature with claws, super strength,
and the ability to fire energy blasts from her hands. While her tenure as the avian monster
is brief, she proves powerful enough to KO the Hulk twice in that time.
For a much longer stretch, Betty takes on the role of Red She-Hulk. This goes down when
M.O.D.O.K. and the Leader revive her from death and give her similar powers to Red Hulk.
As Red She-Hulk, Betty is brainwashed and largely portrayed as a villain. Eventually,
however, she strikes out on her own as a hero, briefly joins the Defenders and even teams
up with the original Hulk.
"Best of both worlds."
While Betty's Red She-Hulk powers are forcefully stripped away from her in 2014's Hulk Number
8, in later comics, she proves even more powerful. In 2019's Immortal Hulk Number 14, Betty is
shot in the head and killed by the mercenary Bushwacker. She returns in later issues as
the monstrous Red Harpy, with a form similar to that she took on as the Harpy only red
instead of green. And that definitely didn't happen in the movie.
The movie version of Beast has a lot in common with his comic counterpart. One aspect of
Hank McCoy that isn't depicted in the films, however, is his tendency to dramatically change
his physical appearance. Sometimes, these changes are explained by plot, and other times,
they're explained simply by the character undergoing a secondary mutation.
When he first appears in 1963's Uncanny X-Men Number 1, the Beast doesn't look particularly
different from other humans. Later, Hank drinks a serum that makes him more powerful and covers
his body in gray fur. After a clash with the villainous Quasimodo in 1972's Amazing Adventures
Number 14, Beast's gray fur turns blue, leading to the classic "bouncing blue" Beast look
most fans are familiar with. He remains in this form for many years, with a brief break
during X-Factor when he's temporarily made to look more human.
When Beast becomes a regular in Grant Morrison's game-changing New X-Men, premiering in 2001,
McCoy is still covered with blue fur but his features take on a more feline appearance
as a result of that secondary mutation. The change makes McCoy fear he's losing his grip
on humanity, and he actually considers looking into a cure for his mutant gene in Astonishing
X-Men.
In All-New X-Men, premiering in the early 2010s, Beast undergoes yet another secondary
mutation. It frees him from the feline form, giving him a bulkier look, less hair on his
head, and a face that looks a little like a bat's.
The MCU Drax definitely isn't a guy you'd want to mess with.
"Die, spaceship!"
This version of the character is mostly inspired by the 2005 Drax the Destroyer miniseries,
in which the titular hero is killed and subsequently resurrected in a less powerful but more intelligent
form. But there is an older version of the hero and this one is far stronger.
Unlike the version depicted in the movies, the Drax of the comics is specifically created
to destroy Thanos by Kronos, the Mad Titan's grandfather. In this iteration, Drax could
fly and fire powerful energy blasts out of his hands. While Drax rarely seems quite up
to the task of defeating Thanos, he holds his own against him, which is pretty impressive
in of itself.
After being resurrected just before 1991's Infinity Gauntlet event, Drax is more powerful
than ever, though he's afflicted by diminished intelligence. Still, he proves himself the
physical equal of Marvel's most powerful heroes, including the Hulk, Thor, and the Silver Surfer.
Drax also seems to have the built-in capacity to revive himself after death, though he usually
changes significantly after a resurrection. There's never any real explanation as to why
he keeps coming back to life again and again, other than his quest to kill Thanos. Presumably,
as long as Thanos is alive, Drax will never be able to stay dead.
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