History ReimaginingTheArtifact / MarvelUniverse

* In ''Franchise/XMen,'' the ''ComicBook/NewXMen'' series ditched the standard superhero threads, a [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] convention seen as {{Narm}} by the writer in light of today's DarkerAndEdgier comic stories, for black and yellow leather outfits. When the spandex returned in ''Astonishing X-Men,'' we're given a good reason for it: The people need to feel like they can ''trust'' their heroes, especially the hated and feared mutants, so a "DarkerAndEdgier kill squad" look was wrong for them.

ReimaginingTheArtifact in this series.

* ComicBook/{{Dazzler}} was created primarily to [[FadSuper cash in on]] the Disco music craze of UsefulNotes/TheSeventies, with her backstory being that of a disco singer. The problem? She actually debuted in 1980...literally months ''after'' disco music went out of popularity. As a result, later writers have kept Dazzler around by having her switch to different music genres that would be relevant within the contemporary period.

* The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' takes the comic-book re-imagining of ComicBook/BuckyBarnes one further and makes him a grown man--[[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier the sequel]] has it that he's actually a year ''older'' than Cap. He's also a ChickMagnet who enlists in the army before Steve does. He does look comparatively younger and [[BadassNormal less intimidating]] next to post-serum Cap, but that's about it. This AgeLift circumvents the uneasy moral conundrum of having Bucky as a KidHero. Furthermore, Steve Rogers properly earns the military rank of "Captain" here, rather than it just being his codename as "Captain America".
** In ''Film/IronMan3'', the Mandarin's YellowPeril persona is refitted for the 21st century by having this version of the character [[spoiler: ultimately revealed as an actor hired to play up foreign terrorist stereotypes to cover up for the real mastermind, the white Aldrich Killian]]. A short film, ''Film/AllHailTheKing'', would later reveal that [[spoiler: there was an actual Mandarin who was not happy about Slattery posing as him]]. [[spoiler:This true Mandarin]] would later appear as the lead villain of the 2021 film ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings''. This iteration also makes it clear that he's never called himself the Mandarin, [[spoiler:it was a Western invention that he specifically blames on Killian]], even mocking the Westerners who decided to name him after a type of duck/orange just because it's Chinese-sounding. He eventually accepts it as one of his titles because he thinks it's ActuallyPrettyFunny that [[spoiler:Killian managed to make such a silly name terrifying to the West]].
** ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'':
*** Baron Mordo, one of Strange's [[ArchEnemy biggest foes]], is a fairly FlatCharacter in the comics without much personality other than [[CardCarryingVillain Dormammu's willing servant]]. In the films, he is subject to AdaptationalHeroism as one of Strange's magic instructors at Kamar-Taj and they become FireForgedFriends while fighting against Dormammu's forces, before he ultimately undergoes a FaceHeelTurn and becomes a WellIntentionedExtremist due to his BlackAndWhiteInsanity. Per Kevin Feige, this was done to make him a rounded and complicated antagonist with a personal relationship to Strange.
*** Wong, for decades an infamous example of EthnicMenialLabor in the comics, is made an AdaptationalBadass and fellow sorcerer who [[TheLancer serves directly under Strange]] after he is made Master of the New York Sanctum. In ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' [[spoiler:it's revealed he also serves as a trainer for Emil Blonsky and assumes a Nick Fury-like role to Shang and Katy in the [[TheStinger mid-credits scene]]]]. ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' even reveals [[spoiler:he became the Sorcerer Supreme on a technicality after Strange's death at the end of ''Infinity War''.]]
*** In general, Doctor Strange's OriginStory is layered in some anti-Asian stereotypes and ugly Orrientalism. For this reason, the Ancient One was changed from a [[MagicalAsian mystical old Asian man]] to a mystical [[RaceLift white]] [[GenderFlip woman]] of ambiguous age, and the whole business with Wong has already been described above. Furthermore, Wong's later appearance in ''Shang Chi'' helps better integrate some of the originally Orientalist elements of the Doctor Strange mythos into actual Chinese, Tibetan, and Hindu mythologies so it comes across as less appropriative.
** ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' updates several aspects that originated in the Sixties but don't really hold up as well fifty years later:
*** Peter's supporting cast used to be [[HumansAreWhite entirely white]] in the initial comics. Several characters from the comics are given a RaceLift because times change, and given New York's status as a cultural melting pot with several immigrant communities it's more plausible for Peter's high school to be ethnically diverse.
*** Aunt May is YoungerAndHipper, which is more plausible in terms of her being Peter's aunt given his young age and the present setting. That and cultural views of a mother figure have aged down considerably. Peter keeping his identity a secret is therefore less about her being physically unable to handle it and more about him not wanting to give her something to worry about when [[WidowWoman she's still mourning the death of Uncle Ben]].
*** Originally, Peter being a nerd made him a social outcast. These days, nerdiness is more mainstream, and Peter's aptitude for science means he attends a [=SciTech=] magnet school. He also has a group of friends and classmates who genuinely like him, including his BestFriend Ned, with his social isolation translating to not being popular in general due to his dorky personality.
*** Michelle "MJ" Jones is a BroadStrokes modern reimagining of ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson. Original MJ was a '60s free spirit, more worldly and social than Peter despite coming from the same working-class background that he did, and was highly liked by fans for being a more modern character than the rest of Peter's gang who were still stuck in a late-50s time-warp. Since much of the context and dynamics have changed, a modern MJ represents a third-wave feminist, social activist common to the millennial generation, which still makes her stand out significantly among her peers, and is also [[RaceLift changed to]] a mixed race girl (played by {{Creator/Zendaya}}).
*** The comics version of Eugene "Flash" Thompson started as a grab-bag of old-timey ideas of how TheBully looked and acted -- i.e. a stereotypical blonde-haired, white-skinned, underwear-yanking meathead JerkJock who played American football a lot. This version of him is changed to a dark-skinned [[RichBitch smug rich kid]] and faux-intellectual NerdyBully who goes after Peter with verbal insults and name-calling, e.g. "Penis Parker". This not only gels better with the changes to Peter's high school setting, but also reflects new understandings of how bullies look and act and the understanding they can come from any walk of life. ''Far from Home'' reveals his FreudianExcuse has been adjusted to fit this new paradigm as well, going from a [[AbusiveParents physically-abusive father]] to [[ParentalNeglect two emotionally-negligent parents]].
** ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' also slightly alters some aspects:
*** The movie removes M'Baku's [[ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames "Man-Ape" pseudonym]] due to the UnfortunateImplications of associating a black man with an ape. Additionally, he [[AdaptationalHeroism is less of a supervillain]] and more of a HeroAntagonist [[spoiler:who [[HeelFaceTurn ultimately sides with T'Challa]] against Killmonger]], while his KillerGorilla motif is updated [[ScienceMarchesOn to be more in line with modern day understanding of gorillas]]; namely, they're generally peaceful unless provoked, which describes M'Baku very well here. Particularly, his first real interaction with Everett Ross, a white American agent who's in Wakanda for relevant reasons, has M'baku and several other Jabari hoot at him like gorillas and threaten to cannibalize him if he interrupts the Wakandans' conversation again, only to laugh off the man-eating ape stereotype a few seconds later and point out that the Jabari are vegetarians, much like real gorillas.
*** The Dora Milaje in the comics were a group of {{kid sidekick}}s that not only served as his bodyguards, but also served as ceremonial [[WifeHusbandry wives-in-training]] to the ComicBook/BlackPanther. To avoid any UnfortunateImplications involving the hero having a government-mandated harem made up of girls ''way'' younger than him (even if [[YoungerThanTheyLook they don't look like it]] and him never having pursued them romantically), they are simply made his normal bodyguards, are [[AgeLift aged up]] and shown to have their own romantic relationships, such as Okoye dating W'Kabi.
** ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'':
*** For decades, Carol Danvers' OriginStory has been criticized on the grounds that since she gained her powers against her will and that they are a copy of her male LoveInterest's powers, it sends the message that these powers are not truly hers, and that the most important experience of her life depended completely on a man. An important plot point in her movie is Carol realizing that her powers ''are'' her own, and that she must trust herself as the authority on how to use them. Her powers stem directly from a choice she made, and Mar-Vell (the above-mentioned love interest) is reworked into a radically different character. [[spoiler:This version of Mar-Vell is a woman, has no powers besides standard Kree physiology, and is Carol's mentor and ParentalSubstitute. She was sent to Earth to study the planet's resident Infinity Stone, the Tesseract, in hopes of weaponizing it for the Kree. When she learned that she was on the wrong side of an unjust war, she converted her space ship into a haven for refugees and enlisted Carol to help her destroy the Tesseract-based engine. This led to [[MentorOccupationalHazard Mar-Vell's death]] and Carol getting imbued with the engine's power as she destroys it.]]
*** The Skrulls were created in TheSixties and reflect Cold War paranoia of a Communist infiltration hiding in plain sight. The Skrulls of the MCU primarily draw on UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror: [[spoiler:they are refugees from a war-torn planet whose physical traits and culture are easily demonized by those in power, namely the Kree Empire. While the Skrulls admit that they have done unsavory things in the past, absolutely nothing justifies the intensity of the war that the Kree are waging. All they want is to reunite with their loved ones and find someplace to live in peace.]]
*** [[invoked]] A relatively minor case, but in the comics Carol Danvers has the rank of "Major" or "Colonel" DependingOnTheWriter instead of "Captain", making her use of the title fall a bit into FridgeLogic. Here, her rank and her codename align, justified by the fact that she was in the US Military in TheEighties when options were much more limited for women.
** ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'':
*** ComicBook/{{Mysterio}} is a villain who was widely thought to be a little ''too'' cheesy and gimmicky to be in the MCU, known for making comic book concepts believable, especially with his trademark FishbowlHelmet. Impressively, they managed to pull it off, albeit by making changes to the core concept. [[spoiler:Instead of being a failed actor, he's a former Stark Industries employee who designed the company's cutting-edge "B.A.R.F." hologram system before being fired. His illusions come from said holograms rather than smoke and mirrors, and he relies on a support team of artists and technicians who consider Mysterio a CollectiveIdentity. Even the costume, which is maintained faithfully to the source (fishbowl helmet and all), is lampshaded as being ridiculous; designed by a team of artists specifically to play into Superhero stereotypes.]]
*** [[invoked]] TheStinger, following the same vein of logic as [[Film/SpiderManHomecoming its predecessor]] [[spoiler: reimagines ''The Daily Bugle'' - which has been traditionally depicted as a standard newspaper - as a disreputable news website known for resorting to sensationalist news, which was also done previously in ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4''. The reason for this was that back in the 1960s, more people were more willing to take the news at face value than they were in the 2010s. Coming off of this and related to news media being increasingly corrupted by [[StrawmanPolitical Strawmen Political]], J. Jonah Jameson is reimagined from a semi-trustworthy LoveToHate media mogul to a loathsome HateSink whose operation are inspired by small-time far-right talk show hosts a la Alex Jones of ''Info Wars'' infamy.]]
** ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'':
*** In his original comics appearances in the 1970s, ComicBook/ShangChi was established as the heroic son of Literature/FuManchu who rebelled against his father and became a crime-fighter. However, there is a twofold reason why this backstory would not work in the 21st century; Firstly, there is Fu Manchu's reputation as the definitive YellowPeril villain. Secondly, there is how Marvel [[ExiledFromContinuity no longer has the rights to Fu Manchu]]. To do Shang-Chi's characterization as the "heroic son of a villainous father" justice ''and'' work around the lack of the Fu Manchu rights, the movie simply [[RelatedInTheAdaptation has Shang-Chi instead be the son]] of the Mandarin.
*** More on the Mandarin. The other reason why the Mandarin is the BigBad of ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' is because, as was the case with ''Film/IronMan3'', the Mandarin's YellowPeril persona would not resonate well with 21st century audiences, especially if he were to go up against a WhiteMaleLead such as ComicBook/IronMan. However, if the Mandarin [[RoguesGalleryTransplant instead fought]] an Asian lead, then the YellowPeril implications would be considerably mitigated.
*** The writers [[DoingItForTheArt wrote a list of stereotypes they wanted to avoid]] with the Mandarin. [[spoiler: Notably, he [[ActuallyPrettyFunny mocks the title in good humor]] [[AtrociousAlias as people being afraid of an orange]]. The character is [[ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames never actually called the Mandarin by anyone]] in the movie, [[NamedByTheAdaptation instead using his name Xu Wenwu]].]]

** One of the messiest backstories, yet crucial to that of an iconic character, was Betsy Braddock aka ComicBook/{{Psylocke}} having a FreakyFridayFlip with Kwannon that turned her from a wholesome Caucasian Brit to a very sexualized Asian ninja. Racial politics aside, this made her so popular that the change stuck, with Marvel even forbidding the writers from undoing it. However, escalating political correctness and the desire for authentic representation as the years passed eventually drew more attention to Psylocke, and in 2018 she was finally reverted to her original Caucasian body and made TamerAndChaster as a result. For many, however, [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks this didn't take]], and sexy ninja Psylocke proved to still be more popular than wholesome White Psylocke. ''Dawn of X'' decides to have its cake and eat it by having Betsy become the new ComicBook/CaptainBritain and headlining ''ComicBook/Excalibur2019'', while Kwannon becomes [[LegacyCharacter Psylocke II]] and becomes an AscendedExtra as the main character of ''ComicBook/FallenAngels2019''. Betsy remains white and develops as a character, while a recognizable version of Psylocke fans know and love for decades remains. (Your mileage may vary on how well it works - the character with the name and appearance of Psylocke has a totally different history than the Betsy you were hoping to see in an X-book.)

** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' takes the comic-book re-imagining of [[ComicBook/BuckyBarnes Bucky]] one further and makes him a grown man--[[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier the sequel]] has it that he's actually a year ''older'' than Cap. He's also a ChickMagnet who enlists in the army before Steve does. He does look comparatively younger and [[BadassNormal less intimidating]] next to post-serum Cap, but that's about it.
** In ''Film/IronMan3'', the Mandarin's YellowPeril persona is refitted for the 21st century by having this version of the character [[spoiler: ultimately revealed as an actor hired to play up foreign terrorist stereotypes to cover up for the real mastermind, Aldrich Killian]]. A short film, ''Film/AllHailTheKing'', would later reveal that [[spoiler: there was an actual Mandarin who was not happy about Slattery posing as him]]. [[spoiler:This true Mandarin]] would later appear as the lead villain of the 2021 film ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings''. This iteration also makes it clear that he's never called himself the Mandarin, [[spoiler:it was a Western invention that he specifically blames on Killian]], even mocking the Westerners who decided to name him after a type of duck/orange just because it's Chinese-sounding. He eventually accepts it as one of his titles because he thinks it's ActuallyPrettyFunny that [[spoiler:Killian managed to make such a silly name terrifying to the West]].

*** The Dora Milaje in the comics were a group of {{kid sidekick}}s that not only served as his bodyguards, but also served as ceremonial [[WifeHusbandry wives-in-training]] to the ComicBook/BlackPanther. To avoid any UnfortunateImplications involving the hero having a harem made up of girls way younger than him (even if [[YoungerThanTheyLook they don't look like it]] and him never having pursued them romantically), they are simply made his normal bodyguards, are [[AgeLift aged up]] and shown to have their own romantic relationships, such as Okoye dating W'Kabi.

*** TheStinger, following the same vein of logic as [[Film/SpiderManHomecoming its predecessor]] [[spoiler: reimagines ''The Daily Bugle'' - which has been traditionally depicted as a standard newspaper - as a disreputable news website known for resorting to sensationalist news, which was also done previously in ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4''. The reason for this was that back in the 1960s, more people were more willing to take the news at face value than they were in the 2010s.]]

** The first issue of ''[[ComicBook/JonathanHickmansXMen House of X]]'' provides clear and solid definition of what an Omega level mutant was. Before, it was a vague term that loosely meant "mutant who won the SuperpowerLottery", and yet it was inconsistently applied and done haphazardly only to be forgotten. Here, the definition is a mutant whose dominant power is deemed to register or reach an undefinable upper-limit of that power's specific classification (ex. Iceman to temperature manipulation, Storm to weather manipulation, Magneto to magnetism, Jean Grey to telepathy etc.) while presenting a list of those definitively considered Omega.

** In ''Film/IronMan3'', the Mandarin's YellowPeril persona is refitted for the 21st century by having this version of the character [[spoiler: ultimately revealed as an actor hired to play up foreign terrorist stereotypes to cover up for the real mastermind, Aldrich Killian]]. [[spoiler: A short film, ''All Hail the King'', would later reveal that there was an actual Mandarin who was not happy about Slattery posing as him. This true Mandarin would later appear as the lead villain of the 2021 film ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings''. This iteration also makes it clear that he's never called himself the Mandarin, it was a Western invention that he specifically blames on Killian, even mocking the Westerners who decided to name him after a type of duck/orange just because it's Chinese-sounding. He eventually accepts it as one of his titles because he thinks it's ActuallyPrettyFunny that Killian managed to make such a silly name terrifying to the West]].]]

*** Wong, for decades an infamous example of EthnicMenialLabor in the comics, is made an AdaptationalBadass and fellow sorcerer who [[TheLancer serves directly under Strange]] after he is made Master of the New York Sanctum. [[spoiler:In ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' it's revealed he also serves as a trainer for Emil Blonsky and assumes a Nick Fury-like role to Shang and Katy in the [[TheStinger mid-credits scene]]. ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' even reveals he became the Sorcerer Supreme on a technicality after Strange's death at the end of ''Infinity War''.]]

** In ''Film/IronMan3'', the Mandarin's YellowPeril persona is refitted for the 21st century by having this version of the character [[spoiler: ultimately revealed as an actor hired to play up foreign terrorist stereotypes to cover up for the real mastermind, Aldrich Killian]]. [[spoiler: A short film, ''All Hail the King'', would later reveal that there was an actual Mandarin who was not happy about Slattery posing as him. This true Mandarin would later appear as the lead villain of the 2021 film ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings''. This iteration also makes it clear that he's never called himself the Mandarin, it was a Western invention that he specifically blames on Killian, even mocking the Westerners who decided to name him after a type of duck/orange just because it's Chinese-sounding. He eventually accepts it as one of his titles because he thinks it's ActuallyPrettyFunny that Killian managed to make such a silly name terrifying to the West]].

*** The writers [[DoingItForTheArt wrote a list of stereotypes they wanted to avoid]] with the Mandarin. [[Spoiler: Notably, he [[ActuallyPrettyFunny mocks the title in good humor]] [[AtrociousAlias as people being afraid of an orange]]. The character is [[ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames never actually called the Mandarin by anyone]] in the movie, [[NamedByTheAdaptation instead using his name Xu Wenwu]].]]

*** The writers [[DoingItForTheArt wrote a list of stereotypes they wanted to avoid]] with the Mandarin. [[Spoiler: Notably, he [[ActuallyPrettyFunny mocks the title in good humor]] [[AtrociousAlias as people being afraid of an orange]]. The character is [[ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames never actually called the Mandarin by anyone]] in the movie, [[NamedByTheAdaptation instead using his name Xu Wenwu]].

*** The writers wrote a list of stereotypes they wanted to avoid with the Mandarin. Notably, he good humoredly mocks the title as people being afraid of an orange. The character is never actually called the Mandarin by anyone in the movie, instead using his name Xu Wenwu.

** Also, the live-action movies had it as a much seedier affair that clearly isn't playing by any rules.

*** For that matter, partly paralleling T'challa's tribe of Wakandans venerating the panther goddess Bast, borrowed from Egyptian mythology, the Jabari venerate the authentic primate god Hanuman, from Hinduism, instead of the fictional (and evil) gorilla god Ghekre.

** Aunt May: In the comics it's hard to imagine changing her, but this, like most 2000s adaptations, ages her down on the grounds that Peter's aunt -- as in, the sister of one of a ''high-schooler's parents'' -- would probably ''not'' be in her nineties.

** ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'': Wong, for decades an infamous example of EthnicMenialLabor in the comics, is given AdaptationalBadass treatment as [[ComicBook/DoctorStrange Strange]]'s magic instructor and [[TheLancer eventual partner]].

** This portrayal of Captain America actually goes all the way back to the 70s, as an attempt to portray him as his Golden Age self in the 50s (just having switched from punching Nazis to punching Communists) completely tanked with readers. In fact, that run was so unpopular that it was subsequently retconned that the [=McCarthy=]-era Captain America was actually a government-assigned replacement; a right-wing man who leapt at the chance to defend America from Communism and who was [[PsychoSerum slowly driven mad by the failed reproduction of Cap's]] SuperSerum. He was even brought back in the 2000s as an EvilReactionary, as a combination of the damage done to his mind and his strong 50s-era Conservative cultural values left him both [[BadPresent horrified by the way progressive values had reshaped America since his time]] and unwilling to come to terms with it.

** In ''Film/IronMan3'', the Mandarin's YellowPeril persona is refitted for the 21st century by having this version of the character [[spoiler: ultimately revealed as an actor hired to play up foreign terrorist stereotypes to cover up for the real mastermind, Aldrich Killian]]. [[spoiler: A short film, ''All Hail the King'', would later reveal that there was an actual Mandarin who was not happy about Slattery posing as him. This true Mandarin would later appear as the lead villain of the 2021 film ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings''. This iteration also makes it clear that he's never called himself the Mandarin, it was a Western invention that he specifically blames on Killian, even mocking the Westerners who decided to name him after a type of duck/orange just because it's Chinese-sounding]].

*** Peter's supporting cast used to be [[HumansAreWhite entirely white]] in the initial comics. Several characters from the comics are given a RaceLift because SocietyMarchesOn and given New York's status as a cultural melting pot with several immigrant communities it's more plausible for Peter's high school to be ethnically diverse.

!!Franchise/MarvelUniverse

** ComicBook/XForce is reimagined from a dark black ops team of anti-heroes to being the [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction mutant CIA]] that's equal parts intelligence and special ops. ''X-Force'' has a history of this, considering the title was born out of the '90s Dark Age and had to be reinvented numerous times to fit as a current title.

* This is what Creator/BrianMichaelBendis has done with Marvel's lesser or dated 1970s characters like ComicBook/{{Luke Cage|HeroForHire}} and the first ComicBook/SpiderWoman.

* Likewise, ComicBook/BuckyBarnes. While Robin's reimaginings tend to keep the KidSidekick angle as a basis, Bucky, though remaining a junior partner to ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, became [[PsychoSidekick a kind of shadow assassin]] that did the dirty work that an iconic symbol like Cap just couldn't be seen to do. The KidSidekick turned into a sniper that used "KidSidekick" as a cover. The Ultimate Universe had him as a wartime photographer who was assigned to photograph Cap kicking Nazi ass; [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger the movie]] aged him up and made him a friend and fellow soldier.