10 Marvel And DC Superhero Movie Actors Who Look Nothing Like The Characters They Play

Over the years, there have been a lot of actors playing heroes and villains in Marvel and DC movies who look like they've been torn straight from the pages of the comics. This lot, however, did not...

By JoshWilding - Mar 09, 2020 07:03 AM EST

Filed Under: Marvel Studios

There was a time when superhero movies were a rarity each year, but the genre now dominates theaters to great success. Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe is beginning to find its footing, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues growing from strength to strength as it massively expands.

For the most part, both Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios constantly hit the nail on the head when it comes to casting (just look at Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man), but there are some actors who, for a multitude of reasons, look nothing like the comic book heroes and villains they've been chosen to play on the big screen!

We're not saying that's a bad thing as everyone here did an amazing job and made these characters their own. Instead, we're delving into what led to the changes, whether they were for the best, and what could be done moving forward to possibly even adhere to the source material.

So, to take a look at this feature, all you guys need to do is click the "Next" button down below.

Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco)

Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey's version of Cassandra Cain was awesome. Ella Jay Basco is a talented young actress, and clearly someone it's going to be worth keeping an eye on moving forward. However, her version of the character is nothing like the youngster's comic book counterpart.

As you'll no doubt be well aware, that Cassandra is a mute better known as both Batgirl and Orphan.

There's nothing to say Basco's portrayal couldn't evolve in a possible sequel (not that one is looking particularly likely at this point), but as comic book writer Gail Simone has pointed out on social media, this movie's Cassandra simply isn't the version fans know and love either in terms of personality or appearance, and that's something which understandably disappointed a lot of people.

The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum)

There were certainly some visual nods to The Grandmaster's comic book appearance in Thor: Ragnarok (just look at the image above), but there's one big problem here: Jeff Goldblum isn't blue!

His costume and hair all pay homage to the source material - which is definitely appreciated - but that blue skin would have resulted in a nearly perfect take on this mischievous comic book baddie.

Why only "nearly" perfect? Well, The Grandmaster has typically been portrayed as looking quite a bit older! Other than that, we obviously loved what Golblum did with the character in this threequel.

MJ (Zendaya)

Spider-Man: Homecoming's "My friends call me 'MJ'" reveal was more than a little cringe-worthy, but Zendaya more than made up for that with a fantastic performance in Far From Home.

She's incredibly likeable and a great love interest for Tom Holland's Peter Parker, but she's not exactly the Mary Jane Watson we know and love from the comic books. There's nothing wrong with Marvel Studios putting a fresh spin on the character, but if we're talking about sheer accuracy to the source material, you don't need us to tell you that Zendaya isn't a redhead supermodel!

She is, however, stunning, but not exactly portrayed that way in this franchise. Simply put, this MJ isn't a match for her comic book counterpart in terms of appearance or personality.

Aquaman (Jason Momoa)

We love Jason Momoa's Aquaman (he's a motherf***ing badass, for starters!), but when you think of Arthur Curry, a guy with dark hair and tattoos isn't what instantly springs to mind.

The DC Universe's Aquaman was always portrayed as being a blonde haired, blue eyed, clean cut superhero (well, up until he lost his hand), but is this change a big deal? Absolutely not, because like Zendaya as MJ, Momoa does a phenomenal job as this Justice League member. Now, he's made the character his own, and more diversity in the superhero movie genre is no bad thing.

It's impossible to imagine anyone else as this iconic comic book character at this point, but it is easy to understand why at least some fans are still hoping for a slightly more accurate version.

The Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley)

Man, this was a controversial one! When Sir Ben Kingsley was cast as The Mandarin in Iron Man 3, there was a lot of backlash regarding Marvel Studios' decision to cast a non-Asian actor as the villain, but it was explained that the villain was simply borrowing imagery and iconography from various cultures (making him an amalgamation of sorts).

The decision to cast Kingsley helped ease the minds of many fans, but the big reveal that he wasn't the leader of the Ten Rings and was, instead, a British actor called Trevor.

Give some of the racial stereotypes associated with The Mandarin, it's not hard to understand why Marvel Studios went down this route, but it just didn't land for a lot of people. Now, they're looking to make up for that by introducing a comic accurate version in the Shang-Chi movie.

Wolverine (Hugh Jackman)

Hugh Jackman's time as Wolverine ended with 2017's Logan, but with so much talk surrounding the character's return as Marvel Studios looks to reboot the X-Men, we can't help but look back at how wrong Fox got it when they cast this Aussie actor as the clawed mutant hero.

Now, before you think about jamming your own claws through our skulls, bear with us; we don't disagree that Jackman was a great Wolverine (he really was), but he wasn't exactly comic accurate!

Considerably taller than that version of Logan, Jackman had the complete wrong body type, and the fact he never donned that costume also didn't help matters. From the neck up, he was perfect for the role, but Marvel Studios needs to look for less of a hunk when he debuts in the MCU.

Hank Pym (Michael Douglas)

Michael Douglas being part of the MCU is no bad thing, but his Hank Pym is a major departure from the source material. The decision to make him older basically changes everything, and means he's not the slightly unhinged scientist in his 30s we know as a founding Avenger in the comics.

There's nothing wrong with his portrayal of the character, but it's a completely new interpretation of the hero, and you won't find any comic books with Hank looking anything like he does here.

For some fans, the decision to change Hank and Janet to such a large extent is unforgiveable, especially as they no longer have any sort of involvement with the forming of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

The Joker (Jared Leto)

Could the moment that Jared Leto's Joker was first revealed be one of the most controversial unveilings of a comic book movie character ever? It certainly felt that way at the time because the response to Suicide Squad's take on the Clown Prince of Crime was overwhelmingly negative.

From the grills on his teeth to the tattoos covering his body (not to mention the controversial "Damaged" tattoo scrawled across his forehead), fans hated everything about this Joker.

While most of Leto's performance ended up on the cutting room floor, what we did see wasn't what anyone expected from the Oscar-winner. Director David Ayer clearly wanted to deliver a slightly more realistic version of Batman's greatest foe, but what he went for just did not work.

Aunt May (Marisa Tomei)

Marisa Tomei is a great actress, and we'd like to see her version of Aunt May get a bigger role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward (especially now her nephew is on the run).

You can understand why Marvel Studios chose to make this version of the character younger - it never really made sense for her to be ancient as she is the web-slinger's aunt, not his grandmother - but a lot of fans were still upset. After all, Peter Parker trying to look after his ailing mother figure and fretting about stressing her out was a staple of many of his earliest adventures.

On the plus side, while the MCU's May Parker isn't exactly comic accurate, Captain America: Civil War had good fun with Tony Stark pointing out that Spidey's aunt was surprisingly hot!

Supreme Intelligence (Annette Bening)

Captain Marvel took the Supreme Intelligence in a very interesting new direction, and the reveal that the A.I. appears as whoever the person speaking to "her" most admires was a clever one. Unfortunately, as great as Annette Bening was here, this wasn't the version of the villain fans wanted.

The concept of the Supreme Intelligence essentially being a giant green face in a jar is a hard one to sell even in a Marvel Studios movie, but a deleted scene has confirmed it was considered.

For reasons which remain unclear, that didn't make it into Captain Marvel, and we're now hoping that the sequel will make up for this. The Bening reveal was a fun one (especially when we learned that the A.I. was basing its appearance on Mar-Vell), but not remotely comic accurate.

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115 Comments

1 2 3

knocturnalzen10 - 3/9/2020, 7:31 AM

brainstorming time with Josh :)

Mrcool210 - 3/9/2020, 7:42 AM

"She is, however, stunning, but not exactly portrayed that way in this franchise. Simply put, this MJ isn't a match for her comic book counterpart in terms of appearance or personality. "

There is no "comic counterpart". She's not Mary Jane Watson. She's michelle jones, just cause she has the nickname doesn't make her the same character.

bcom - 3/9/2020, 1:58 PM

@Mrcool210 - Josh once again displaying his deep comic book knowledge in this article LOL!

Origame - 3/13/2020, 6:54 AM

@Mrcool210 - oh come on. At this point its semantics. This is clearly meant to be the mcu equivalent of mary jane. Or what, you think she'll leave and we'll get another character that goes by the nickname mj?