In 2008, Marvel released the first Iron Man film that not only breathed life back into the career of Robert Downey, Jr., but it also became the first film in a series that would make the official Marvel cinematic universe.
Since then, Marvel has released box office smashes and hit TV series, tying all of their properties into one large connected cinematic universe. The success of this new cinematic universe also transformed Marvel Comics — especially after the company started incorporating key concepts from its movies and TV shows into the comic books.
Marvel started tweaking its comic books to reflect movies as far back as 1999 with Blade, changing the character's skills to match those seen in the movie. The company also changed the costumes of its X-Men comics to match what the characters wore in the films. Even Spider-Man's comic-book powers became more like those in the Sam Raimi films starring Tobey Maguire.
Now that Marvel is bigger than ever, its comic books even more closely resemble its movies and TV series. Read on to see the ripple effect.
Nick Fury
Nick Fury was originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the '60s as a white war veteran/superspy, but when writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch helped launch Marvel's Ultimate Universe back in 2000, Fury was reimagined as an African American character based on Samuel L. Jackson. When it came time to cast Fury in the first Iron Man, though, it was the Ultimate model that Marvel used as the basis for the character, not the classic version from the '60s.
So how did Marvel reconcile the fact that there was a white Nick Fury in the mainstream non-Ultimate comic book universe, and a black version in a billion-dollar film franchise and the Ultimate comics? They introduced Nick Fury, Jr. in the mainstream U — a character who is the son of the original white Nick Fury, but looks exactly like Samuel L. Jackson. Coincidence, right? Then, the original Fury was done away with during the Original Sin comic event, leaving Nick Fury Jr. as the sole Fury of the Marvel Universe. Comics: they'll always leave you reaching for an Aspirin.
The Guardians of the Galaxy
Up until Marvel released a film about the Guardians of the Galaxy, the characters were pretty obscure in the comic books. After the film's release, though, Guardians of the Galaxy was suddenly everywhere and the comic books saw renewed interest. Now, Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord have their own titles, with new titles planned for Gamora, Drax and Groot.
Agents of SHIELD
S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson never appeared in the comics, but he quickly became a fan favorite in several Marvel films, including The Avengers. His character died in that film — but because he was so popular, Marvel brought him back for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series. Marvel even added the character to their comics, along with his Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. buddies Melinda May, Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz. Now, the character in the comics looks similar to Clark Gregg, the actor who portrays him on screen.
Quake Becomes A Human Named Skye
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series storylines went over so well, Marvel decided to change their existing Inhuman character Quake (aka Daisy Johnson) to become like the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. character Skye, the TV series version of that Inhuman. The comics now mirror the TV show's origin story for the character, with her mother being an Inhuman as well. Also, now Quake's father, Mister Hyde, looks a lot like Kyle MacLachlan — who plays Skye's dad on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series.
Scarlet Witch And Quicksilver Are No Longer Mutants
Because the Marvel cinematic universe and the X-Men universe are two distinctly separate entities, it didn't make sense for Marvel to include both Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, because the two were previously members of the merry band of mutants. However, Marvel decided to change all that in the comics and finally stated that Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are not mutants in Uncanny Avengers #4, which highlighted Wanda and Pietro's origins. Now, like in the films, these two were experiments by a deranged scientist.
Marvel Releases New Comics Starring Characters With Upcoming Films
Marvel recently announced 45 new and relaunched comic book titles coming later this year. Some of these names seem familiar because they'll soon get their own solo movie outings. One of the most anticipated Marvel movies is probably Doctor Strange, and we're sure it's no coincidence that the character is getting his own new title this fall. If we had to guess, we'd say he's going to look a lot like Benedict Cumberbatch.
There's also a Captain Marvel movie in the works, and that comic book, too, sees a relaunch later this year. There's Scarlet Witch #1 coming out, probably due to the popularity of the character in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, as well as The Vision #1, for the same reason. Daredevil gets a relaunch, too, thanks to the popular Netflix series, along with a relaunched Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Deadpool (who has a film coming out in 2016).
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