10 Comic Book Characters Who Look Nothing Like Their Big-Screen Counterparts

Here’s an example of a studio going overboard in trying to bring some believability to an outlandish costume from the comics. Certainly, seeing Paul Giamatti don the Rhino’s classic duds in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is something that – if handled improperly – could have translated terribly to live-action, so it makes sense that Sony decided to take a more practical approach to the Spider-Man villain’s design. The problem, however, is that the tank-like exoskeleton was an absolute eyesore, leading many fans to wonder if the studio would have simply been better off sticking with the original, anthropomorphic rhinoceros look.

To be fair, this change wasn’t too offensive, but regardless, there were still some pretty sizable liberties taken with the Enchantress’ look in Suicide Squad. Gone was the classic green cloak, instead replaced by a costume that can best be described as tribal witch meets sexy cosplayer. And that’s not to say that the character’s appearance was necessarily bad, but one certainly has to wonder why Warner Bros. opted to deviate from such a simple design. Then again, the film did win an Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, so maybe they’re on to something.

While we get some hints of the character’s look from her first appearance in Sensation Comics #2 (February 1942), the depiction of Doctor Poison in Wonder Woman bears little to no resemblance to the version most of us remember from the comics. In this case, though, it made sense to alter the character’s design, as it falls more in line with the film’s World War I setting and relatively grounded tone. Not all changes are bad, and this one actually works out quite nicely.

X-Men: Apocalypse managed to take one of the most fearsome-looking, physically imposing X-Men villains of all time and turn him into nothing more than a poor man’s Ivan Ooze (or rich man’s, depending on your feelings towards Mighty Morphin Power Rangers). Giving him a bluish-purple hue was one thing, but scaling down the traditionally hulking mutant to the size of an average human made him appear far less threatening than his comic book counterpart. What’s more, as good an actor as Oscar Isaac is, there’s something off about seeing his face framed by that biomechanical pharaoh-style armor. 

The iteration of Baron Helmut Zemo fans got in Captain America: Civil War was the iconic Captain America villain in name only. Seriously, if his name was never spoken in the film, not even the most hardcore comic book fans would know which character he was supposed to be. Does that mean they should have stuck a purple sock on Daniel Brühl’s head? Absolutely not – it would have looked ridiculous. However, the fact that Zemo’s characterization and origin differed from the source material, coupled with the fact that he looked nothing like the version from the comics, left many fans feeling understandably cheated. 

The casting of the androgynous actress Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One in Doctor Strange drew the ire of many fans, not so much because of the gender swap, but because the Ancient One from the comics is of Asian descent, hailing from a village in what would eventually become Tibet. Given the unfortunate Hollywood trend of whitewashing, particularly when it comes to Asian actors, the outrage extended far beyond the physical discrepancies, so dwelling on those would be a fruitless effort. Instead, let’s just hope that Marvel learned from their mistake and that we’ll soon see increased Asian representation in Hollywood.

The Lex Luthor from the comics is an imposing, powerful, bald businessman, and that’s exactly what fans were hoping for in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Instead, they got Jesse Eisenberg, whose scrawny frame and moppy hair lends itself more so to the CEO of a hot new mobile app startup than to the CEO of Lexcorp. His portrayal certainly didn’t help, either, as he basically played Lex as his Mark Zuckerberg from the Social Network meets Jim Carrey’s Riddler from Batman Forever. Even getting his head shaved at the end of BvS did little to wash away the bad taste, though if he were to bulk up just a bit, it would definitely help him look the part.

This is probably the most forgivable entry on this list, for three reasons: 1.) an actual living planet in live-action would have been absurd. 2.) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 does give fans a shot that homages Ego’s look from the comics. 3.) It resulted in Kurt Russell coming to the MCU. All things considered, the way Ego was handled worked just fine in the context of the film, and while he deviated heavily in both appearance and backstory, we can all agree that this one gets a pass.

Remember when 20th Century Fox turned one of Marvel’s most imposing cosmic forces into a giant gas cloud in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer? If not, consider yourself lucky, because seeing the purple and blue-clad titan from the comics depicted as a swirling, dark grey cloud is the absolute biggest offense in terms of inaccurate page-to-screen character adaptations. In fact, it’s even more offensive when you consider the fact that Galactus’ herald, Silver Surfer, was practically a spitting image of his comic book counterpart in the very same film. Then again, we shouldn’t really put anything past Fox, given their treatment – or more appropriately, butchering – of the Fantastic Four intellectual property over the years.