THE UCM created unique superpowers unprecedented in comics for some of its characters. Superhuman abilities and sci-fi technology have evolved greatly throughout the history of the MCU. Phase 1 launched the MCU with an armored millionaire, a Gamma monster, a Super Soldier, and a Norse god, and Phase 3 ended with Avengers: EndgameThere are dozens of totally different characters from all corners of the universe, including wizards, witches, aliens and monsters. Tony Stark's Iron Man armor alone has exhibited incredible evolution, from a pile of scraps to state-of-the-art nanotechnology.
The MCU has generally been pretty faithful to the source material when it comes to superpowers. Even skills that are difficult to explain on screen, like Scarlet Witch's Chaos magic and Vision's density-shifting powers, or strange abilities like Ant-Man's size-changing suit, have been translated into live action in the most realistic as possible. However, Marvel Studios also took creative liberties with the abilities of several characters, whether due to the drastic difference in their powers compared to the comics or their complete absence from the source material.
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Star-Lord's Near-Omnipotent Celestial Powers
Peter Quill's Discovery of His Celestial Heritage Is Just as Shocking for Comic Book Fans
Chris Pratt's Star-Lord meets his father in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2where Ego the Living Planet reveals Peter Quill's true heritage. Embracing his semi-celestial biology, Star-Lord learns to control cosmic energy, regenerate his body, fly, and manipulate all states of matter.. Star-Lord even transforms into a giant Pac-Man to fight Ego in space. For a short time, Star-Lord is one of the most powerful heroes in the entire MCU. However, Star-Lord decides to give up his near-omnipotence to defeat Ego after Ego confesses to killing Peter Quill's mother when the hero was a child.
In the comics, Star-Lord is a half-human, half-alien hero whose real father is the Spartax king, J'son. Peter Quill has relied on his space pirate skills for most of his comic book history. It was only very recently that Star-Lord developed superhuman powers such as power generation, levitation, cosmic consciousness, and an extended lifespan - as well as a glowing left eye that regenerated on its own after he lost it in one of his many adventures. Still, the Star-Lord of the comics is far from an omnipotent celestial descendant.
9
Ms. Marvel's Power Constructs and Mutant Gene
MCU's Kamala Khan Lacks Size-Changing Abilities and Inhuman Comic Book Origins
The most notable power shift in the MCU might be that of Kamala Khan. While Kamala gains size-changing and super-stretching abilities from the Terrigen Bomb that awakened her Inhuman powers in the comics, the MCU's Ms. Marvel gets energy-based abilities from the bracelets she inherits from her family. Instead of stretching her body like Mister Fantastic and turning into a giant like Ant-Man, Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan can create energy constructs and switch places with Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau. Kamala can also use her energy constructs as projectiles and platforms, as well as a wide range of tools.
In the comics, Ms. Marvel can now use her inhuman and mutant powers simultaneously
Shortly after Kamala Khan made her MCU debut in Ms. Marvelhis comic book counterpart developed similar abilities. Marvel Comics recently revealed that Kamala always had a dormant mutant gene, which was activated after she came back from the dead. In the comics, Ms. Marvel can now use her Inhuman and Mutant powers simultaneously, so she is able to create light love around her. "aggrandized" body. Given that Ms. Marvel referencing Kamala Khan's mutant gene, it's possible she could end up developing super-stretching powers in the MCU as well.
8
Janet Van Dyne's Quantum Energy Manipulation
The original wasp harnessed energy from the quantum realm
When Michelle Pfeiffer's Janet van Dyne returns from the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man and the Waspshe displays energy manipulation powers that help her stabilize Ghost's transformation abilities. Janet also heals Hank Pym and manages to survive for decades in the Quantum Realm without food. Additionally, Janet van Dyne communicates with Scott Lang remotely and even possesses his body while still inside the Quantum Realm. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania reveals that Janet van Dyne befriended Kang the Conqueror in the Quantum Realm, which suggests that Kang gave her a power boost at some point.
In the original Marvel Comics Ultimate universe, Janet van Dyne is a mutant with real Wasp physiology.
Wasp doesn't have quantum energy abilities in the comics, but she does have a different set of abilities beyond size changing. Normally, Wasp is capable of firing bioelectric blasts that she calls "Wasp Sting", and her wings are attached to her body. In the original Marvel Comics Ultimate universe, Janet van Dyne is a mutant with real Wasp physiology. Ultimate Wasp is able to shrink and grow without Pym Particles and even lay eggs.
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The power of Shang-Chi and Wenwu's ten rings
The Ten Rings have very different abilities in the comics
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings introduced a modernized version of the titular weapons. In the MCU, all ten rings are connected, and together they provide their bearer with super strength, flight, energy manipulation, and force field creation, among other abilities. In addition to granting Xu Wenwu the power to become a nearly invincible, slow-aging conqueror, the MCU's Ten Rings also serve as an apparently multiveral beaconas Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings', suggests the post-credits scene. However, its exact origin has not yet been discovered.
Ten Original Rings from Marvel Comics |
Skills |
---|---|
Recreator |
Remodeling of matter |
Influence |
Shape change |
Rotate |
Time shift |
Spectral |
airbending |
Nightbringer |
Manipulation of darkness |
Zero |
Void manipulation |
Liar |
Illusion creation |
Ray |
Electricity |
Glowing |
Firebending |
Daimonic |
Mind control |
In the comics, the original Ten Rings were more similar to the Infinity Stones (Infinity Stones in the source material). Instead of a set of identical discs, the original Marvel Comics Ten Rings are actual finger rings with a unique ability and a specific color each. The Ten Rings of the comics comprise the matter-modifying Remaker, the shape-shifting Influence, the time-shifting Spin, the air-based Specter, the darkness-creating Nightbringer, the void-based Zero, the illusion-creating Liar, the Electric Lightning, the heat-based Incandescence, and the mind-controlling Daimonic.
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Praying Mantis Empathy and Mind Reading Abilities
Mantis' MCU powers aren't as physical as they are in the comics
Pom Klementieff's Mantis is known for her empathic and telepathic powers in the MCU. With just a touch of her hand, Mantis is able to not only read and feel what other beings are feeling, but also influence those feelings. For example, Mantis feels Drax's pain for his family in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and is key to the Avengers' plan to steal the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos in Avengers: Infinity Waras she can also put her targets to sleep almost immediately.
Mantis was introduced in 1973 The Avengers #12 as a martial arts expert. Later, the comics turned Mantis into an alien with false memories of a human life, but she maintained her destiny to become the Celestial Madonna - mother of a messiah-like figure who is destined to bring peace to the world. The MCU completely ignored this aspect of Mantis, which may have been for the better due to the artificial nature of the Mantis. Celestial Madonna plot in the source material.
5
Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch's Dreamwalking
The MCU's Dreamwalking ability is based on a Marvel villain who has yet to appear in the films
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness introduces the concept of Dreamwalking - the ability to possess the body of your alternate self in another universe, specifically through dreams or death. Scarlet Witch of Earth-616 uses Dreamwalking to take over the body of Wanda Maximoff of Earth-838 and steal her children, while Earth-616's Doctor Strange uses him to possess one of his dead variants and stop Wanda. Dreamwalking is an extremely dangerous and prohibited practice as it can lead to an incursion. Earth-838's Doctor Strange nearly destroyed his universe after relying on Dreamwalking to defeat Thanos.
Nightmare often tries to use his connection to dreams as a bridge to other universes and dimensions.
Possession is a well-known ability in comics, but its connection to dreams is more specific to a Marvel supervillain. Nightmare, the ruler of the Nightmare World in the Dream Dimension, gets his power from people's nightmares. Nightmare often tries to use his connection to dreams as a bridge to other universes and dimensions. Given that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness originally featured Nightmare as the main villain instead of Scarlet Witch, the MCU's Dreamwalking ability appears to be an element that survived the sequel's rewrites and was adapted for Scarlet Witch's use of the Darkhold.
4
Red Skull's connection to the Soul Stone
The MCU Twice Tied the Red Skull to the Infinity Stones
In World War II, Red Skull steals the Tesseract from Norway and uses it to provide an infinite source of energy for his weaponry, including several bombs that he plans to drop on major cities around the world. When Red Skull grabs the Tesseract with his bare hands, the artifact creates a portal that teleports him to Vormir and forces him to be the guardian of the Soul Stone for eons.. By the time Thanos, Gamora, Black Widow and Hawkeye arrive to retrieve the Soul Stone, Red Skull has already become a spectral entity.
Red Skull's obsession with the Tesseract in Captain America: The First Avenger has its basis in the comics, where the Tesseract is not an Infinity Stone, but a separate artifact called the Cosmic Cube. In the source material, the Cosmic Cube is an artifact more similar to the Reality Stone in that its power can be used to reshape reality. Red Skull did not become a guardian of the Infinity Stone in the comics, but he has defied death multiple times through cloning and resurrection.
3
Captain Marvel's Tesseract Energy
Carol Danvers' powers aren't connected to the Infinity Stones in the comics
Captain Marvel showed how Carol Danvers obtained her immense power from the Tesseract's energy after she accidentally fired a Light-Speed Engine built by Kree scientist Mar-Vell. Infused with the Tesseract's energy, Carol Danvers gains abilities such as flight and energy projection, as well as a binary transformation. In addition to her energy-based powers, Captain Marvel's body is also enhanced by a Kree blood transfusion, which gives her super strength, super speed, and super durability.
Unlike Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers' powers in the MCU have always been very similar in the comics. However, Carol Danvers increased her energy by being subjected to the Psyche-Magnitron machine by Yon-Rogg while the villain fought the original Captain Marvel. Thanks to Mar-Vell's presence near the machine, Carol Danvers' body copied the hero's powers. Instead of a high-tech engine designed for cosmic travel, the Psyche-Magnitron machine was a Kree device that materialized anything its user desired.
2
Echo's Ancestral Communication and Healing Abilities
Maya Lopez received a significant power-up in her MCU series
In EchoAlaqua Cox's Maya Lopez displays mystical abilities that complement her impressive combat skills and photographic reflexes. MCU's Maya Lopez Can Communicate With Her Ancestors and Connect With Their Memoriesas well as healing the minds of even the most vicious criminals. This is how Maya Lopez explores Wilson Fisk's deep unconscious and tries to heal his childhood trauma in Echo end. However, the Kingpin's resistance to Maya's efforts diminishes the effects of her powers. Maya also has an ingrained instinct that gives her clues about where to go and when to hide.
At one point, Maya Lopez was the host of the Phoenix Force in the comics
In the comics, Maya Lopez's photographic reflexes and eidetic memory are much more advanced than in the MCU, to the point of matching Taskmaster's. On the other hand, Maya does not possess any particularly mystical abilities such as ancestral communication or healing in the source material. At one point, Maya Lopez was the host of the Phoenix Force in the comics, which gave her many of the powers that X-Men hero Jean Gray usually possesses, such as flight, super strength, and pyrokinesis.
1
Thor's power-granting abilities
Thor develops Odin's best ability at the end of his MCU journey
Near the end of Thor: Love and ThunderChris Hemsworth's Thor Odinson frees a group of captive Asgardian children and grants them his power so they can help him fight Gorr the God Butcher. Although Thor's possession of Zeus's thunderbolt suggests that the weapon of Olympus is allowing Thor to do this, it appears that Thor has only just learned how to bestow his powers as he has matured. Previously, Odin cast a spell on Mjolnir to make it inaccessible to unworthy warriors, including Thor himself.. This spell inspired Thor to do something similar with his powers in his final battle against Gorr.
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February 14, 2025
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July 25, 2025
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July 24, 2026