MCU Changed Iconic Weapons From Marvel Comics:
When a movie is being adapted from a book or a graphic novel, there tend to be some inevitable changes. That is a fact that we have grown to live with as movie fans. With love action adaptations of popular books and comic books becoming the new cash cows of Hollywood, there are quite a few numbers of sacrifices we have had to live with. And one of those changes is the way Marvel Studios changed the characteristics and properties of Major Weapons from Marvel Comic Book Lore.
1. The Destroyer
The Destroyer Armour is one of the greatest weapons that Earth has against outside cosmic invaders. It was the Destroyer, powered by the essence of the three Sky Fathers – Vishnu, Zeus and Odin, that once fought the Celestials to a standstill. The Destroyer armour ha a local name in the Norse Mythology. It is another term for Indestructible. The Destroyer armour was anything but indestructible in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A weapon that was durable enough to take multiple strikes from the might Celestials, who can destroy a planet with just a snap, was made so weak in the movie that one strike from Mjolnir was enough to take it down for good.
2. The Casket of Ancient Winters
The Casket of Ancient Winters was first seen in the first Thor movie. The Casket lied deep within Odin’s personal treasure trove of powerful artefacts he had collected over the past couple of centuries during his age of conquests. The Casket contains the Fimbulwinter of Ymir, a mighty ice based deity from Norse Mythology. The Casket is said to contain the might of a thousand eternal winters. Its power is so strong that once unleashed, it could incapacitate even the Frost Giants, who literally live in the coldest of environments. The Casket’s power can never be fought by anyone until and unless a person possesses the Gem of Infinite Suns. The movie did not show us even a fraction of the Casket’s powers, which was a huge let down.
3. Yondu’s Yaka Arrow
While controlling an arrow with nothing but a flurry of whistling sounds does sound cool, it is not how it went down in the comic books. Yondu does not just rely on one arrow in the comics. Instead, he has an entire quiver of such arrows. And he most certainly cannot use the arrows like the way he does in the movies. If Yondu knew how to take down an elite squad of Kree special-forces with such relative ease, he would be a freaking King of a planet by now. Sadly, the comic books differ from the movies when it comes to how Yondu relies on his weaponry.
4. Hofund
Hofund is the weapon wielded by the guardian angel of Asgard – Heimdall. Heimdall was blessed by Odin himself and his gaze pierces every soul in the nine realms. His abilities to gather knowledge is immensely useful since he is the only person that guards the only gateway into and out of Asgard – the Bi Frost Chamber. Heimdall is not just a brute force. He is equipped with Hofund, an enchanted sword made out of the mythical Uru metal. The Sword grants Heimdall the ability to not only control the Bi Frost Gate but also project and manipulate a mystic blue flame that is said to be hot enough to put a star’s core temperature to shame. The Sword also gives Heimdall the ability to shape-shift when he is in human society. Only one of the swords’ many abilities are shown in the MCU.
5. Captain America’s Shield
In the movies, Captain America’s shield is made out of vibranium. While it does make the Shield super durable and completely shockproof, it shows poor comic book accuracy. In the comics, the shield is not made out of pure vibranium but a vibranium-steel alloy of unknown proportions. The shield was itself created by accident when a Tank Operator, who was working on said alloy, accidentally spilled the material over a tank hatch and it solidified overnight. Not even the Tank Operator knew its composition and it was almost impossible to damage it. In short, there is no other weapon like the Shield and it could never be reproduced perfectly by anyone else, much like the Super Soldier Serum. The movies show us that the Shield is easily replaceable by using Wakandan Technology.
6. Gungnir
Odin has several weapons at his disposal that complement his vast reservoir of magical energy and boost his abilities. Gungnir is the mystical sear of Odin. It was made by the Dwarf Smiths of Nidavellir for Odin. Just like Thor’s Mjolnir hammer and the Storm breaker axe, it is also made out of Uru and is enchanted with multiple spells. Only Odin alone has the power to summon it and control it. Gungnir made only a few limited appearances in the movies. Had they shown the legendary spear of Odin in a better light, we could have better understood the might of the All Father.
7. Black Widow’s Bite
First of all, the MCU changed the very way Black Widow’s gauntlets look. The Gauntlets are actually pretty much bracelets in the comics. They have arranged functions that include but is not limited to – a massive electrostatic discharge to incapacitate opponents, a radio transmitter, tear gas shell dispensers as well as a retractable claw that Black Widow can use to climb steep surfaces and catch hold of people and objects. The weapon is not just made for offense but also has some crazy auxiliary abilities. None of those features were shown in the movies.
8. Winter Soldier’s Left Arm
Bucky Barnes became Hydra’s asset number one after he was brainwashed by the terrorist organization and turned into an assassin. The Bionic Arm is one of Hydra’s greatest inventions and they even claim it in MCU related graphic novels. But the Winter Soldier is not actually a Hydra asset in the comic books. He was brainwashed by the Soviets. Bucky Barnes’ almost lifeless body was salvaged by the Russians who put him in charge of high-level missions and even tasked him with training the Red Room candidates, the same program that created the Black Widow. The left arm was also not made out of vibranium like it is now in the MCU since the Soviets had no access to it. It was actually made out of a super hard metallic alloy instead. They completely turned the tables on hos the arm was made and functioned.
9. Stormbreaker
Where do we begin with this one!! First of all, the Stormbreaker is not Thor’s weapon of choice. It is the weapon of Beta Ray Bill, the Guardian of the Korbinite race who was worthy enough to lift Mjolnir and earned the respect of Thor. Stormbreaker has all the abilities that Mjolnir has and it had a different design than the one showed in the movies. The fact that they did not show us even a small glimpse of Beta Ray Bill was hard enough. The fact that they only teased the existence of Beta Ray Bill in Thor Ragnarok was harder still. The fact that they changed the very origin story of Stormbreaker was sheer blasphemy.
10. Black Panther’s Suit
When it comes to battle suit, no one comes close to Tony Stark aka Iron Man. But there is a reason we put Black Panther in the list. In the comic books, Black Panther’s suit was more than just a claw holster. It had a miniature supercomputer within its internal mesh just like Iron Man had J.A.R.V.I.S in his Iron Man suit. Black Panther also had the ability to perform short-distance spatial jumps via teleportation, an ability that is missing in the movie version of the suit. There were a lot of tips and tricks within the suit that was also absent in the theatrical version, which also includes the abilities to create daggers made out of pure energy.
