Throughout the years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has adapted numerousMarvel Comicsstorylines, both popular and unpopular, but there are other comic book events that are simply too controversial to translate to live-action. Some ofthe famous comic storylines Marvel Studios has adapted to live-actionincludeAge of Ultron,Civil War, andThe Infinity Gauntlet. Events like these have served as franchise-defining stepping stones in the MCU.
While Marvel Studios continues to draw inspiration from Marvel Comics to build the MCU, there are many famous and obscure comic book storylines that remain unexplored on the big and the small screen. Predicting which comics Marvel will use as inspiration for MCU movies and shows is difficult, as essential details can get lost in translation, while unpopular events can be transformed into box office gold. Still,some comic book storylines are simply too poorly devised or controversial to be revisited.
9Secret Empire
Written by Nick Spencer; Art by Rod Reis, Daniel Acuña, Steve McNiven, Leinil Francis Yu, and Andrea Sorrentino
Secret Empireis mostly remembered for its central twist: Steve Rogers being revealed to have been a Hydra agent all along. While shocking,the “Hydra Cap” twist quickly backfired.Marvel attempted to market the change as a permanent evolution of Steve Rogers' story, but it was evidently a temporary shock tactic to generate buzz.The storyline ultimately resolved with a separate “real” Steve Rogers defeating his Hydra counterpart, rendering the entire premise a high-profile bait-and-switch.
At most, an alternate-universe Hydra Cap could appear briefly as a minor villain or cameo in multiverse-heavy stories, but making him a central antagonist would feel redundant.
Secret Empireis fundamentally incompatible with the MCU’s version of Steve Rogers, whose narrative arc concluded perfectly withAvengers: Endgame. The MCU has no reason to gamble with one of its most beloved heroes, especially when it has already explored villainous super soldiers through characters like John Walker and the Winter Soldier. At most, an alternate-universe Hydra Cap could appear briefly as a minor villain or cameo in multiverse-heavy stories, but making him a central antagonist would feel redundant.
8Inhumans vs X-Men
Written by Charles Soule and Jeff Lemire; Art by Leinil Francis Yu, Kenneth Rocafort, and Javi Garron
Back in 2016,Marvel tried to position the Inhumans as a top-billing team, pushing them as replacements for mutants in comics and other media.Inhumans vs X-Mendepicted the Inhumans as sympathetic despite the fact that their Terrigen mists were causing mass mutant deaths. Hence,Marvel tried to kill off mutants in one fell swoop, but accidentally made the Inhumans appear outright villainous. Ultimately,“IvX"felt like a forced conclusion to Marvel’s ill-fated attempt to sideline the X-Men.
Marvel’s sudden Inhumans push has been attributed to the fact that Marvel Studios had no access to the X-Men’s movie rights at the time.
AdaptingInhumans vs X-Menin the MCU would be a lose-lose situation for both teams. The Inhumans have already struggled to gain mainstream popularity after the failure of ABC’sInhumansseries and Black Bolt’s brutal demise inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Attempting to spotlight the Inhumans again, only to have them immediately enter into a universe where they’re overshadowed by the X-Men, would risk burying the Inhumans permanently in public perception.
7Civil War II
Civil War II; Written by Brian Michael Bendis; Art by David Marquez and Justin Ponsor
Civil War IIis widely regarded as one of Marvel Comics' most controversial crossover events, primarily because of its forced conflict and out-of-character behavior from many heroes.Captain Marvel becomes almost authoritarian as she arrests individuals based on predictions alone, while Iron Man suddenly takes a hard anti-surveillance stance, reversing his originalCivil Warposition.Civil War IIalso features gratuitous shock deaths, likeBruce Banner being killed by Hawkeyeand War Machine’s sudden death at the hands of Thanos.
AdaptingCivil War IIin the MCU would likely cause more harm than good.Captain America: Civil Waris already one of the franchise’s most respected entries, so revisiting a similar"hero vs. hero"storyline withCivil War IIwould risk diluting that success, especially since the MCU doesn’t have the exact lineup to make the comic’s plot work. The central conflict of preemptive justice could easily feel like a rehash ofCivil War’s surveillance and accountability themes.
6Ultimates 3
Written by Jeph Loeb; Art by Joe Madureira
Ultimates 3was heavily criticized for abandoning the political and grounded tone of the first twoUltimatesseries in favor of shock value. The series drastically changed the tone of the Ultimate Universe’s premier superhero team. Characters behaved in ways that contradict previous development, and gratuitous deaths and betrayals took center stage. For instance, Scarlet Witch was suddenly assassinated by a sniper, which turns out to be revealed as part of an unnecessarily convoluted plot involving Ultron.
Ultimates 3stands as a low point in the Ultimate Universe. While the MCU has derived plenty of inspiration from Marvel Comics' originalUltimateuniverse,Ultimates 3is mostly remembered for shallow characterizations and out-of-place, gratuitous violence that would contribute little to the franchise. Not to mention, the sexual tension between characters like Wolverine, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver would be entirely out of place in the MCU.
5The Clone Saga
Written by Terry Kavanagh, Joey Cavalieri, Todd Dezago, J. M. DeMatteis, and Tom DeFalco
Spider-Man’s “Clone Saga” is one of the most infamous storylines in Spider-Man’s Marvel history due to its convoluted plot twists and editorial mismanagement. What began as a short arc about Spider-Man confronting a clone of himself ballooned into a two-year-long event wherePeter Parker was revealed to be a clonewhile Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider, was the real Peter Parker. Even worse,the Clone Saga spawned multiple Spider-Man lookalikes that ultimately lost prominence in their own story.
Eventually, Marvel was forced to reverse the major twists, admitting Peter Parker was the real Spider-Man all along.
Bringing the Clone Saga into the MCU would be a risky or even disastrous move given the franchise’s current landscape. The MCU’s Spider-Man is already in a delicate position due to Sony and Marvel Studios' shared ownership of the character. Introducing clones could alienate general audiences and overcomplicate Peter Parker’s MCU journey, which has already been partially reset afterSpider-Man: No Way Home.
4Heroes Reborn
Art by Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld
Heroes Rebornis remembered as a desperate attempt to revamp the Marvel universe during Marvel’s mid-1990s financial crisis. After the Onslaught event, Marvel outsourced several of its flagship titles for a complete reinvention that presented altered origins, personalities, and designs.While ambitious, Marvel’sHeroes Rebornis filled with ’90s clichés both in art style and writing, as it ignores the characters' arcs in favor of loud, action-heavy plots with little substance.
Captain America’s long-parodied “chest anatomy” cover became symbolic of the era’s art excesses.
A direct MCU adaptation ofHeroes Rebornwould be a tonal mismatch, even though Marvel Studios may eventually “reset” parts of its continuity. And while Franklin Richards' Phase 6 debut opens the door to massive retcons,Heroes Reborn’s outdated 1990s reinventions don’t fit the modern cinematic landscape. Audiences today expect reboots and reimaginings to bring new ideas to the table, not just new costumes and exaggerated personalities.
3Spider-Man: Reign
Written and Illustrated by Kaare Andrews
Spider-Man: Reignpresents an aged Peter Parker in a dystopian future where New York is under authoritarian control, and most of Peter’s allies are dead. However,Reignis mostly remembered forMary Jane’s death from prolonged exposureto Peter’s radioactive body fluids, which continues to be widely regarded as both absurd and tasteless.Spider-Man: Reignjoined an ever-growing list of unnecessarily tragic Spider-Man stories where Marvel editorial seems determined to ensure Peter Parker never finds lasting happiness.
While tragedy is inherent to Spider-Man’s story, forcing Holland’s Spidey into aReign-style future would negate years of careful character-building
AdaptingSpider-Man: Reignin the MCU would be counterproductive to both the character’s role and the shared universe’s tone. The MCU’s Spider-Man has always emphasized Peter Parker’s innocence. While tragedy is inherent to Spider-Man’s story, forcing Holland’s Spidey into aReign-style future would negate years of careful character-building. Beyond that,Reignportrays a broken world where nearly all other heroes are dead or irrelevant, which means adapting it would require dismantling the MCU’s entire heroic landscape.
2Avengers: The Crossing
Written by Bob Harras and Terry Kavanagh; Art by Mike Deodato Jr.
Avengers: The Crossingis one of the lowest points in Iron Man’s comic history. This storyline revealed that Tony Stark had secretly been a pawn of Kang for years. This abrupt shift turned one of Marvel’s flagship heroes into a murderer overnight, with Tony killing his longtime ally, Yellowjacket, in a poorly foreshadowed twist. To course-correct the backlash, Marvel introduced a teenage version of Tony Stark, which confused readers even further.
AdaptingThe Crossingin the MCU would be a narrative disaster. Marvel Studios has already crafted a better twist on Iron Man’s legacy with Robert Downey Jr.’s return as Doctor Doom inAvengers: Doomsday. Introducing a second, nearly identical twist would make little sense, especially considering Downey’s Doctor Doom replaced Jonathan Majors' Kang as the Multiverse Saga’s main villain. With multiversal variants already saturating the MCU,The Crossingwould only add confusion.
1Ultimatum
Written by Jeph Loeb; Art by David Finch
Without a doubt,Ultimatumis the most grotesque and mean-spirited event not only in Marvel, but perhaps in comic book history as a whole. Characters like Magneto, Wolverine, Professor X, and Doctor Strange are killed in brutally graphic ways, whileWasp is literally eaten alive by the Blob, and Hank Pym retaliates by biting off Blob’s head.Fans and critics alike sawUltimatumas an unnecessarily destructive end to the Ultimate Universe’s potential, wiping out large parts of the cast with no thematic payoff.
Even if a live-actionUltimatumwere toned down to avoid the grotesque excesses of the comic, it still wouldn’t make sense to kill off a large portion of the MCU’s heroes so abruptly. The MCU has dabbled in similar territory, notably with Earth-838’s Illuminati massacre inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessandMarvel Zombies' undead-infested universe. However, these kinds of stories work better in alternate timelines, where the consequences don’t derail the mainMarvelcontinuity.
