Marvel fans who began with the movies share what surprised them when reading the comics

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ever-growing behemoth.

More than 29 films have already been released in the sprawling cinematic universe, alongside a hefty handful of Disney Plus series. It would be an impossibility for most other genres of media franchise, but the MCU maintains momentum thanks, in large part, to the wealth of existing content it has to pull from. Marvel comics stretch back decades, and boast a truly staggering number of releases, which gives the MCU all the inspiration it needs to continue pumping out superhero hits.

As longtime fans of Marvel films finally get around to enjoying the comics that inspired their favorites, they’re taking to the web to share the biggest reveals that took them off guard. The MCU never pretended to directly adapt the comics its releases are based around, after all, which leaves huge gaps between what transpires on the page and what officially makes it to the big screen.

A post on Reddit uses the Infinity Saga as inspiration, and asks “MCU fans” about the main things that “shocked you after reading the comics?” People were quick to provide their answers.

The top comment on the post notes that the power levels in comics vs the MCU offer up some pretty major alterations. In comics, characters like Thanos sport utterly devastating power levels that far outpace his abilities in the MCU. He’s tough in Infinity War, sure, but does he ever become “God” with a “capital G?” Not quite.

This was the main takeaway for many commenters, when referencing the Infinity Saga in particular. Numerous people noted that Thanos’ power level in comics blew them away, even after seeing how devastatingly capable he is in the MCU. That’s not the only thing people noticed, however. The comment section of the Reddit post is absolutely overrun with hilarious misconceptions prompted by the MCU’s changes.

A huge number of readers were staggered to learn that, not only is Hope van Dyne absent from Marvel comics, but also “Nick Fury is white?!?” This one really seemed to take people off guard, but longtime Marvel readers swooped in to help clarify things, noting that, back in the late 90s, David Hasselhoff took on the role of the one-eyed S.H.I.E.L.D. leader.

The conversation soon shifted, as commenters began to celebrate elements of the MCU that improved upon, or at least modernized, the beloved Marvel comics that inspired it. Changes like shifting Tony Stark from a “full-time dickhead” into the quick-talking, slightly-smarmy billionaire he is in films allowed the MCU to revive “what is essentially a role insanely hard to portray and [give] him a good rep,” per commenter eBICgamer2010.

More than anything, fans seem to think that the MCU has made the stories it tells its own. While it certainly takes heaps of inspiration—along with direct plot points and characters, of course—from Marvel comics, the media franchise is a beast all its own. Its spin on existing stories, like the Infinity Saga, made sometimes stellar changes that stuck with audiences for weeks after leaving the theater. As viewers, that’s really all we can ask for.