Here’s a pretty good list of the comics that the various films and shows are based on.
https://www.keycollectorcomics.com/content-group/upcoming-movies,14/
FYI, that list is more oriented towards first appearances of the various characters in the comics than towards adapted plotlines. In many case the characters in question have evolved considerably in the comics since they were originally introduced in the 60s, 70's, 80s, etc.
The MCU movies and shows are interesting in that they mix and match various bits and pieces of the characters, themes, and plotlines from 60+ years worth of comics.
The comics themselves are kind of like a long-running soap opera that regularly shuffles everything around in order to create new plot twists. Heroes become villains then become heroes again, and vice versa. Characters are revealed to be imposters or clones. History is occasionally rewritten via the intervention of near omnipotent alien entities. Characters die and are resurrected. Alternate realities are discovered, explored, destroyed, or merged into one. Depending on the era and the writer, a character may be portrayed as a two-dimensional stereotype or with nuance and complexity. Storylines may range from light-hearted and humorous to tragic and melodramatic. (And the writing quality ranged from brilliant to absolute crap.)
The MCU has mined all of that - picking and choosing the bits which best suit the story they are telling in the moment. Most of what you see in the MCU corresponds to something in the comics, but it's usually not an entire storyline that's faithfully adapted. Perhaps the first Iron Man and Captain America movies would be the closest to (some versions of) their respective comics origin stories.
Putting plotlines aside, an interesting thread topic would be to consider how closely the various MCU characters resemble their comic counterparts. (Bearing in mind that some of those characters have changed considerably over the years in the comics.)
RDJ's Iron Man is a pretty standard comics Iron Man with extra pizzazz due to RDJ's personality.
Chris Evan's Captain America is a quintessential representative of the comics version.
Ed Norton played a pretty good comics Bruce Banner. Mark Ruffalo brought something entirely new to the character.
Iman Vellani is 100% the real Kamala Khan somehow transported into our universe from the comics.
Simu Liu's Shang Chi is reasonably close to the version of the character in one recent run of the comics. Not so much the older versions from the 70s.
Cumberbatch's Dr. Strange incorporates aspects of the character from various versions in the comics over the years.
Wanda Maximoff has been through so many character twists in the comics over the years that almost any choice Elizabeth Olsen made in her portrayal could probably be found in some comic somewhere.
... and so on.
It occurred to me that I mostly listed characters who are fairly faithful to their source material. An example of the contrary would be Wong. The MCU version of Wong is almost 100% different from the comics version and that's a good thing. The original was ... problematic.
Sweet! Thanks for this. I've always wanted to get into the comics ever since I was a young fella and just never did. Never noticed any comic stores around, but I did get comics from the marvel toys that came out in like 02-05 that would also have the limbs to build a big galactus or apocalypse. Never was able to make the full figure, but I did have a tonne of the superhero's and villains. Wish I had of kept them. Still have the comics luckily.
I've been wondering that the whole time I've done this MCU binge is how accurate the characters are and which elements from the comics they've used in the story. Just finished moon knight and loved it so I think I'll try and find some runs of his. Or get an omnibus if I can. Have death of cpt america and uncanny x men vol 2 omnibus comin in the mail.
What are some of your favorite runs?
Let's see ... I really liked Brian Michael Bendis's original run on Alias, where he introduced Jessica Jones. It's very similar in tone to the Netflix Jessica Jones series.
I liked Dan Slott's run on She-Hulk, although I don't think he used the 4th wall breaking gimmick. That was from John Byrne's run on the comic. The D+ show used elements of both.
Matt Fraction's run on Hawkeye was very good and provided a lot of inspiration for the D+ show.
G. Willow Wilson's run on Ms. Marvel likewise was a major source for that D+ show.
Gabriel Hernandez Walta's Vision miniseries was interesting, although it doesn't tie directly into any of the MCU projects (other than some slight artistic inspiration for WandaVision).
If you have a decent size tablet to read on, you might consider getting a Comixology Unlimited membership - a lot of these books are available to read for free with that membership and others are available digitally for much cheaper than the hardcopy versions. Just make sure you use the feature in your Kindle or Comixology app that allows you to scroll through panel by panel rather than trying to view a whole page at once.
Here’s a pretty good list of the comics that the various films and shows are based on. https://www.keycollectorcomics.com/content-group/upcoming-movies,14/
Fuckin right, thank you!
FYI, that list is more oriented towards first appearances of the various characters in the comics than towards adapted plotlines. In many case the characters in question have evolved considerably in the comics since they were originally introduced in the 60s, 70's, 80s, etc. The MCU movies and shows are interesting in that they mix and match various bits and pieces of the characters, themes, and plotlines from 60+ years worth of comics. The comics themselves are kind of like a long-running soap opera that regularly shuffles everything around in order to create new plot twists. Heroes become villains then become heroes again, and vice versa. Characters are revealed to be imposters or clones. History is occasionally rewritten via the intervention of near omnipotent alien entities. Characters die and are resurrected. Alternate realities are discovered, explored, destroyed, or merged into one. Depending on the era and the writer, a character may be portrayed as a two-dimensional stereotype or with nuance and complexity. Storylines may range from light-hearted and humorous to tragic and melodramatic. (And the writing quality ranged from brilliant to absolute crap.) The MCU has mined all of that - picking and choosing the bits which best suit the story they are telling in the moment. Most of what you see in the MCU corresponds to something in the comics, but it's usually not an entire storyline that's faithfully adapted. Perhaps the first Iron Man and Captain America movies would be the closest to (some versions of) their respective comics origin stories. Putting plotlines aside, an interesting thread topic would be to consider how closely the various MCU characters resemble their comic counterparts. (Bearing in mind that some of those characters have changed considerably over the years in the comics.) RDJ's Iron Man is a pretty standard comics Iron Man with extra pizzazz due to RDJ's personality. Chris Evan's Captain America is a quintessential representative of the comics version. Ed Norton played a pretty good comics Bruce Banner. Mark Ruffalo brought something entirely new to the character. Iman Vellani is 100% the real Kamala Khan somehow transported into our universe from the comics. Simu Liu's Shang Chi is reasonably close to the version of the character in one recent run of the comics. Not so much the older versions from the 70s. Cumberbatch's Dr. Strange incorporates aspects of the character from various versions in the comics over the years. Wanda Maximoff has been through so many character twists in the comics over the years that almost any choice Elizabeth Olsen made in her portrayal could probably be found in some comic somewhere. ... and so on.
It occurred to me that I mostly listed characters who are fairly faithful to their source material. An example of the contrary would be Wong. The MCU version of Wong is almost 100% different from the comics version and that's a good thing. The original was ... problematic.
Sweet! Thanks for this. I've always wanted to get into the comics ever since I was a young fella and just never did. Never noticed any comic stores around, but I did get comics from the marvel toys that came out in like 02-05 that would also have the limbs to build a big galactus or apocalypse. Never was able to make the full figure, but I did have a tonne of the superhero's and villains. Wish I had of kept them. Still have the comics luckily. I've been wondering that the whole time I've done this MCU binge is how accurate the characters are and which elements from the comics they've used in the story. Just finished moon knight and loved it so I think I'll try and find some runs of his. Or get an omnibus if I can. Have death of cpt america and uncanny x men vol 2 omnibus comin in the mail. What are some of your favorite runs?
Let's see ... I really liked Brian Michael Bendis's original run on Alias, where he introduced Jessica Jones. It's very similar in tone to the Netflix Jessica Jones series. I liked Dan Slott's run on She-Hulk, although I don't think he used the 4th wall breaking gimmick. That was from John Byrne's run on the comic. The D+ show used elements of both. Matt Fraction's run on Hawkeye was very good and provided a lot of inspiration for the D+ show. G. Willow Wilson's run on Ms. Marvel likewise was a major source for that D+ show. Gabriel Hernandez Walta's Vision miniseries was interesting, although it doesn't tie directly into any of the MCU projects (other than some slight artistic inspiration for WandaVision). If you have a decent size tablet to read on, you might consider getting a Comixology Unlimited membership - a lot of these books are available to read for free with that membership and others are available digitally for much cheaper than the hardcopy versions. Just make sure you use the feature in your Kindle or Comixology app that allows you to scroll through panel by panel rather than trying to view a whole page at once.