11 Best Things The MCU Did Differently To The Comics

5. The Sokovia Accords - Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War IMAX Poster
Marvel Studios

Civil War (the comic) is considered one of the biggest comics of last decade, but just because it was big doesn't mean it was good.

The story, penned by Mark Millar and drawn by the always-superb Steve McNiven, was written as a critique of post-9/11 US politics, particularly the policies of the Bush Administration and the enforcement of the Patriot Act. Given that Marvel has always been about 'reflecting the world outside our windows', Civil War looked as though it could genuinely make for compelling reading.

Unfortunately, by the time Millar wrapped things up 2007, the story was anything but. The message was ham-fisted, it was unnecessarily cruel, and the characterisations of Iron Man and Captain America in particular felt like a far cry from their usual selves. This is why the actual Civil War film is so impressive, because it takes the bungled concept of the comic and does something genuinely interesting with it, providing an actual voice to both Steve and Tony and playing the conflict out in a much more captivating manner.

In this case, it's not the switch from the Superhuman Registration Act to the Sokovia Accords that proves to be the best change, but rather the depiction of the story's two chief protagonists. They both have their own, completely understandable motivations, and it's what makes Civil War (the movie) the success it is.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.