The Marvel Universe is among the most complex and fun to analyze. You’ve got plenty of heroes with specific character traits and interesting plots from American comic books, but it’s difficult to know them all by heart. However, true MCU fans know everything, and their passion goes beyond limits, which is why the oldest fans welcomed the Marvel films with open arms (and criticism).
But no matter how much you like the movies or comic books, there’s always something you’ve missed or haven’t noticed because, at that time, it seemed unimportant. So, let’s dive into some of the things you haven’t heard of before regarding the Marvel Universe.
The purpose of Captain America
The first introduction of Captain America to the world was in 1941 in “Captain America #1”. The two creators, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon made the character as a piece of propaganda for the US Army during the Second World War. This would force Americans reading the comics to expose themselves to pro-war propaganda, where certain historical groups were portrayed as villains and Captain America as the perfect patriot. It might be that Captain America was created for profit, and at that time, the subject of war was pretty controversial, so promoting it was the first step towards acceptance.
There’s more than one Thor
Walterson was a man like any other, with a beautiful wife and a promising future. But one day, he lost it all, and wanting to take his life back, he was cursed to turn into a frog. As he made his way to town, Walterson landed in the middle of a war between frogs and rats, which he won, and from now on, he would be called Throg. The story is linked with the Pet Avengers, with heroes similar to the ones we’ve seen on screen―only that they’re animals. Like Throg, which had Thor’s electric blasting abilities, other Pet Avengers had special powers that they used for fighting evil.
Venom is a fan’s creation
In 1982, Marvel Comics held a contest for fans to submit artistic concepts of heroes. One of them, Randy Schueller, created a storyline where Spider-Man would upgrade his suit to an all-black one. Schueller thought about the black costume being made out of unstable molecules to allow Venom to cling to walls better (increasing his sticking power). Back then, Marvel’s editor-in-chief bought the idea and wanted Schueller to write the comic, but things kind of fell off. However, after some years, when the Venom movie came out, there’s a line referencing the character’s original creator: “He’s in the alley behind the Schueller Building!”.
Hulk is green-skinned due to a mistake
Originally, Stan Lee envisioned Hulk as grey-skinned because he wanted to make him as neutral as possible. However, the first images of Hulk were printed inconsistently in green and grey tones, and it seems like the green version of Hulk appealed to fans more. Imagine what the Official Funko Pop Marvel figures would look like then! After this mistake, Stan Lee changed the original design and left Hulk green, leading to success in comics and movies. Still, some say that Hulk’s Grey and Green versions were actually his two personas fighting, and the Green Hulk won since it was the most savage one.
Area 51 was owned by Tony Stark
No wonder Tony Stark is the most eccentric character of them all. But would you believe that in Marvel Comics, he was the one to buy Area 51? In Avengers #19, it is revealed that Tony had bought the military facility a few years earlier so that he would hide the Reality Gem of the Infinity Gauntlet. The site was previously used for holding the In-Betweener and performing anti-Hulk operations. But Tony’s purchase of the site makes sense since it would’ve been the perfect space for his prototype armor trials so that he wouldn’t attract suspicions.
Wakanda is the most advanced civilization on Earth
The fictional country and home to the superhero Black Panther has been created to be the most technologically advanced nation on the planet, having the most potent military forces and eco-cities emerging across the continent. Because Wakanda has access to Vibranium, the mighty metal that can absorb, store and release impressive amounts of kinetic energy, the country has rapidly improved so that no other country can compete with it. Black Panther uses Vibranium for his suit, which absorbs vibrations and has the ability to lessen powerful kinetic attacks (bullet shots or penetrating blades), making him unstoppable, just like his country.
The Flash is faster than Quicksilver
In some of the JLA/Avengers crossover comics, the Flash and Quicksilver would compete against each other. Although it’s safe to say that Flash would win since he’s the fastest man alive, he can only use his powers when the Speed Force is activated. On the other hand, Quicksilver has his powers embedded in his DNA, so he can use them wherever he is. This kind of logic also applies to other heroes, like Batman and Black Panther― they might be the most powerful in their own universe, but when placed into another, their abilities are almost null.
What if…?
An animated series based on the Marvel comics entertains fans by simply asking the “What If?” question. The first season already premiered in 2021, and the second one is expected to air in 2023, so it had great success. The series would break down the possibilities of significant events in the comics and movies if something else had happened. For example, what if Peggy Carter became the first Super Soldier and Steve Rogers had taken another path? It may seem like a silly question, but such a small change could change the entire evolution of the series. The show’s creators are reimagining most of the scenes you love from the Marvel Universe, so it’s an exciting and creative way of exploring the MCU.
Wrapping up
What do you say about these facts? If you’re interested to know more about such things, there are plenty of unknown aspects of the Marvel Universe. And since all characters are special, we can conclude that the Marvel Universe is the most complex and thought-provoking creation.
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