10 Avengers Moments Ripped from the Comics
For this list, we'll be looking at moments and concepts that appeared in Avengers movies that mimicked events and ideas from the comics. Please note, as we will be discussing moments from “Avengers: Endgame”, there are major spoilers ahead.
#10: Hulk vs the Avengers “The Avengers” (2012)
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In the comics, like in the MCU, Dr. Bruce Banner’s gamma-irradiated other half is one of the original Avengers. Unfortunately, much like in the films, he proved to be something of a wildcard and liability. The team assembled in 1963, only for Hulk to leave in the second issue after it becomes clear that his peers don’t trust him. Hulk has squared off against his teammates repeatedly in the comics and films, but the onscreen instance that perhaps most immediately resembles the source material is the conflict that occurs in the very first Avengers comic when Loki manipulates Hulk into fighting his allies. The first Avengers film moved the action to the SHIELD Helicarrier, but the idea of Loki playing them off each other is very similar.
#9: Thanos is Coming! “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
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In the first act of Infinity War, Hulk gets his butt handed to him by Thanos but is sent to earth by Heimdall to warn the Avengers of the Mad Titan’s imminent arrival. Making quite the dramatic entrance, Hulk crashes through the iconic circular window of Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum in New York City, after which Banner declares, wide-eyed and terrified: Fans of the comics surely recognize this scene from Infinity Gauntlet #1, in which the exact same thing occurs, just with Silver Surfer serving as the messenger. If only Marvel had reacquired its characters sooner!
#8: Ebony Maw Tortures Doctor Strange “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
Speaking of the Sorcerer Supreme, Infinity War featured another scene that paid homage to the comics. While we can only assume that the good Doctor appreciates the Russo Brother’s reverence for the source material as much as the fans, something tells us that he would have preferred that they adapt a less painful moment. After being captured by Ebony Maw and taken aboard his ship, Doctor Strange finds himself restrained and at the mercy of the sadistic servant of Thanos, who uses microsurgery needles to agonizing results. In the 2013 comic book event, “Infinity”, Maw similarly tortures Doctor Strange in his quest to secure the Doctor’s stone for his master.
#7: Professor Hulk “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
To say that Bruce Banner and the Hulk have a complicated relationship would be a gross understatement. Throughout the history of the MCU, we’ve seen them go through major ups and downs, with Banner trying to suppress Hulk, learn to control him and repeatedly lose to the green goliath. After his trouncing at the hands of Thanos, Infinity War even saw the Hulk refuse to come out. Considering how bad they were doing in the 2018 film, the last thing fans expected to see was the unification of Hulk and Banner, but hey, Endgame was indeed full of surprises. Professor Hulk, as he’s been dubbed, is basically Bruce Banner’s intelligence in Hulk’s body, and this “Merged Hulk” is taken straight from the comics, where he debuted in The Incredible Hulk #377.
#6: Hawkeye Becomes Ronin “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
Clint Barton is a character who has too often been short-changed and sidelined in the MCU. Sure, he might not have powers or a fancy suit, but the character is extremely compelling and something of a fan-favorite, with Marvel devotees regularly campaigning for him to get more screen time or even his own solo features. In “Endgame”, after being entirely absent from “Infinity War”, Hawkeye finally underwent a transformation into Ronin, one of his alter egos from the comics. Barton first took up the mantle of the Ronin identity in New Avengers Vol 1 #27 - though we wouldn’t learn his true identity for a few issues. As Ronin, like in the film, Barton wields a sword and leans more into his martial arts skills.
#5: Cap’s Shattered Shield “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
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In both the comics and the films of the MCU, Captain America’s shield is often depicted as being nearly indestructible. But in Endgame, Thanos really puts an emphasis on the word “nearly” by smashing it to bits. Despite having previously been bested by the Mad Titan during the events of “Infinity War”, Cap once again stands tall and dukes it out with Thanos, taking a serious beating that reduces his iconic shield to a half circle of scrap metal. This is Steve Rogers we’re talking about though, so you can bet that he keeps getting up. In the Infinity Gauntlet story arc in the comics, Thanos similarly destroys Cap’s shield - though, in the source material, the encounter proves a fatal one for Rogers.
#4: Cap's Hail Hydra “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
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Considering how incredibly controversial it was for Marvel to make Captain America an Agent of Hydra, we have to commend the Russo Brothers for finding a way to make reference to it in a way that very few fans could take issue with. In the pages of the Secret Empire storyline, it was revealed, much to the shock and dismay of fans everywhere, that Captain America was a Hydra sleeper agent. With two little words, “Hail Hydra”, the world of Marvel comics was turned upside down - at least temporarily. So when MCU Cap travels back in time, armed with the foreknowledge that Hydra is operating within SHIELD, he utters the same to words to manipulate his enemies. Well played Cap!
#3: Old Man Rogers “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
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Endgame, true to its name, really delivered a sense of closure for a number of characters. In Steve Rogers case, it was thankfully a happy ending, with him traveling back in time to live out the life that was taken from him - a lifetime of happiness with Peggy Carter. We learn about this from Cap himself, who, after disappearing into the past, is next seen as an elderly man sitting on a bench. Though the setup is rather different, comic book readers had already met “Old Man Rogers” in 2014 when an encounter with Iron Nail robbed him of the super-soldier serum and age caught up with him. Like in the film, Steve’s comic book counterpart similarly passed the mantle of Captain America on to Sam Wilson.
#2: Cap Wields Mjolnir “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
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To wield Thor’s magic Asgardian hammer, Mjolnir, one must be worthy. And really, is there any other Marvel superhero more well-intentioned, pure of heart or “worthy” than Steve Rogers? At the end of the second Avengers film, during a moment of bonding, the heroes all attempted to lift Thor’s hammer, the god of thunder confident that none could. But when Steve touched it, the hammer moved - ever so slightly. Ever since, fans have been anxiously awaiting the moment when Cap would wield Mjolnir, just like he did in the comics. Caps managed to wield Mjolnir a few times in the comics, but the one that came to mind when fans saw the film occurred during the crossover event “Fear Itself,” when Steve picked up Mjolnir and assembled the Avengers in an epic battle for the fate of the world.
#1: Tony Wears the Gauntlet “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
Like we were saying, Endgame was indeed the end of the road for a number of our beloved Avengers. And while Iron Man received a hero’s farewell worthy of his character and the development he’s undergone over the years, it wasn’t an easy scene to watch. In order to save the universe, Tony dons his own version of the Infinity Gauntlet and snaps Thanos back to his own timeline/reality. Though it was an incredibly emotional and intense scene, this wasn’t the first time that Tony has worn the gauntlet, having previously used it in 2010’s Avengers #12. Like the film, Tony uses it to send the villain away, though, unlike in Endgame, the cost isn’t nearly as great.
