Big budget studios have great limitations despite that not appearing to be the case. It’s not easy to tell a story you might want to tell due to more pressing plot lines just waiting to be unfolded. With so many characters making their debuts in subsequent works, it becomes practically impossible to acquiesce to fan demands and bring to screen something that satisfies everyone.
Comic books can achieve this due to the relatively easier task of portraying a specific scenario. Live-action entails a whole lot of work among other matters to bring about different interpretations of a character. Fortunately for us, technological advancements have meant that fans can illustrate our favorite characters in different lights. These are interpretations that most of us would like to see realized onscreen but are most likely improbable to happen.
Any good illustration is only possible if the artist has creativity in their kitty. A simple thought needs to be brought to life in front of our eyes, making this a skill that is highly sought-after. You can find just about any reimagining of a superhero on the internet. While these are made with the best intentions, most of them just don’t live up to the task.
For a reimagining to be epic, it needs to take your breath away for even a fraction of a second. It also needs to bring something unique to the character such as a crossover event or a completely different take.
Here are 30 Epic Reimaginings of Marvel characters.
30 Cap X Spider-Man X Iron Patriot
Let’s start off with a bang! The Iron Spider suit was one fans had their eye on for years before it fully debuted in Avengers: Infinity War. The suit lived up to expectations and Iron Man’s own nanotech armor was well received.
This artwork imagines armor gifted to Spidey that embodies the spirit of Cap as well.
We saw an idea such as this with Iron Man 3’s Iron Patriot, but unlike that one, this armor doesn’t hide behind any skewed sense of patriotism; it captures the true sense of purpose Steve Rogers is filled with.
Illustration by Boss Logic.
29 Mystical Hawkeye
It was a shame we didn’t get to see Hawkeye whip out his bow and arrow in Avengers: Infinity War; mainly due to his status as an original Avenger, but also due to the many possibilities there were for him to make use of Wakanda tech combined with his abilities.
This illustration by thedurrrrian, though, skips technology in favor of mysticism. Here, Hawkeye is shrouded in mystery as his face is hidden by a hood while his bow and arrow are covered by a purple aura.
28 Loki: King Of Jotunheim
In Thor: The Dark World, Loki briefly pretended to switch alliances by claiming himself to be of Jotunheim. Avengers: Infinity War, meanwhile, had Loki boasting of his position as the rightful king of Jotunheim to Thanos.
Had those claims been realized, we’d have seen this version of Loki.
The power hungry Loki wouldn’t have taken long to bask in the glory of the throne, no matter how unappealing the planet of Jotunheim may have seemed. Loki’s also seen with his actual blue skin in this picture.
Illustration by Forrestimel.
27 Ultron (Organic)
You know an illustration is effective when it makes you grimace in disgust. Ultron’s motive in the second Avengers film was to understand the organic physiology, to whose end he attempted to transfer his conscience into the body that would become the Vision’s.
thedurrrrian imagines a scenario where Ultron did manage to become an organic being, although not quite as he would’ve hoped. Ultron looks like the grim reaper; no humanity or empathy present in those skeletal, gaunt features.
26 The Winter Captain
If fan theories are to believed, then this illustration will be part of canon in the coming future. The Winter Soldier is widely thought to being in the process of grooming as Cap’s successor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He won’t be such a cookie-cutter as Steve Rogers, though.
The viciousness in the Winter Soldier’s personality should seep through into his Cap persona as well; although he’s most likely to keep the spirit of justice with him as Steve Rogers has.
Illustration by Boss Logic.
25 Green Lantern Storm
The best re-imaginings work when they’re made in graphical mode, but never forget that artwork is where these have been evolved from. This artwork shows us the mutant Storm taking on the Green Lantern mantle. If there was any Marvel character who could be worthy to bear the ring’s responsibilities it would be someone such as Storm.
She’s been the stand-in leader for the X-Men on numerous occasions and has shown to be more level-headed than Cyclops on many missions.
Illustration by Pain16.
24 Mystical Iron Man
Tony Stark being the owner of the Iron Man armor has meant there’s not a lot of ambiguity or mystery surrounding the tech. Stark has always been loud about his inventions and that somewhat takes away the intimidation factor of the armor.
Thedurrrrian re-imagines Iron Man in a mystical sense; one that evokes a certain level of mysteriousness. This Iron Man resembles Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War, making us think there’s much more than meets the eye with him.
23 Demon Rider
Calling Ghost Rider a demon is an understatement, but those who haven’t seen the MCU version of Ghost Rider will have only the Nicolas Cage incarnation; that itself is a travesty of epic proportions. The terribly received Ghost Rider and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance failed to appropriately convey the force the demon derives from the underworld.
Ramsesmelendeze creates here a Ghost Rider who looks to have escaped from the lowest of depths into the real world, with a promise to wreak ultimate havoc. Instead of a bike, he rides the devil’s steed.
22 Pure Phoenix
Like Ghost Rider above, the Phoenix-powered Jean Grey wasn’t done justice in X-Men: The Last Stand, meaning fans don’t have a clear idea of what the Phoenix force really is (unless you’ve watched the animated series or read the comics).
A benevolent version of the Phoenix would be an interesting take, as observed by David Gozu.
The Phoenix force is powerful enough to achieve just about everything imaginable in the Marvel Universe. For once, we could have someone use their powers for good rather than have them go awry or be used for evil.
21 The Dark Panther
The Dark Knight renewed interest in Batman in 2008; Black Panther renewed interest in the titular character in 2018. The two superheroes have similar appearances (not-so-similar backgrounds) and a few memes have made fun of this similarity, such as when Deadpool accused Black Panther of being a Batman rip-off.
Reza Ilyasa combines the ultimate power of both heroes – Money. Together, they should be richer than anyone in the universe. This calls for armor of epic proportions; here we have the result. A worthy figure for the title of the Dark Panther.
20 The Iron Skull
No one ever wonders what it would be like if Iron Man and the Red Skull were to meet. Hero for Pain, however, takes this a step further by having both characters combined. The Red Skull would have been unmatched in the entire world had he had access to Iron Man’s armor.
You can see the insignia of HYDRA signaling his loyalties.
This Red Skull doesn’t shy away from showing his true visage either; he has embraced his deformity by fashioning the helmet red, just as he is on the inside.
19 The Caped Captain
Batman might be the darkest of all heroes while Cap may be the brightest of them all. Still, these characters are a lot similar than you’d think. They both hold strong to their morals, unflinching even. Of all the members of their teams, these two may be inherently the purest when it comes to justice. The only difference is that Batman chooses to hide away these intentions.
The Durrrrian reimagines Batman taking on the mantle of Cap. A more sedate Captain might find it easier to make the harder choices.
18 Green Lantern Deadpool
This is one possibility that will only exist in reimaginings; there’s no way the Green Lantern Corps. will ever let Deadpool in on the faction. The only reason they would let Deadpool join them is if they’re looking to have their Corporation destroyed completely.
Imagine a Deadpool with the strongest weapon in the universe! Deadpool 2 showed his complete inability to manage a team of his own as the X-Force perished one by one. Having him protect worlds is a recipe for disaster.
Illustration by XxDan-The-ManxX
17 Doctor Strange Unleashed
You might be inclined to argue that Doctor Strange was in possession of the Time stone for 2 years before losing it to Thanos, but this remains just an imaginary scenario. Why, you ask? That’s because Doctor Strange never got around to using the stone against the Mad Titan.
Unleashing all the power of the stone means all of time is in danger.
A being with Strange’s capabilities could implode the universe by harnessing the Time stone. Too bad we never saw him do anything with it in Avengers: Infinity War.
Illustration by Boss Logic.
16 Wraith Nick Fury
Nick Fury hasn’t been in full action mode since The Winter Soldier, and even then he was hardly in the film. Fury’s minimal role in the MCU is due to him losing the mysteriousness behind his presence. After The Avengers showed us all there was to show about Fury’s role in S.H.I.E.LD. he’s lurked around in the back like in Avengers: Age of Ultron, or only appeared in end credits i.e. Infinity War.
The Durrrrian imagines Fury at his most mysterious; a wraith gliding in between others, his mystery never uncovered.
15 Demon Deadpool
This may be an idea you didn’t realize you wanted until you saw it. Deadpool is the living embodiment of chaos and what better way to imagine that than portraying the Mercenary as the latest Ghost Rider?
A Ghost Rider with Deadpool’s unpredictability would be limitless in possibilities.
Unlike the usual Ghost Riders, Deadpool would bring down the dreary nature of the job with his usual set of comedic skills. However, never count Deadpool out when it comes to making full use of his powers.
Illustration by Johnsonting.
14 Iron Spider Unleashed
As part of the ‘Unleashed’ mini-list we’ve got going on here, let’s see how Spider-Man would fare. The wallcrawler was noticeably defeated by Star-Lord in Avengers: Infinity War, something that never should’ve happened considering the Iron Spider Suit's capabilities and Peter Parker’s inherent powers.
Boss Logic re-imagines the jump in midair that had been in vain when Spidey had attempted to spring onto Star-Lord. This time, his eyes flair up and his extra limbs are in attack mode. Star-Lord should lose handily this time.
13 Genji Iron Man
For someone who doesn’t play Overwatch at all this illustration really serves as one that begs for Overwatch to be looked up. The character that has been merged with Iron Man is Genji, a cyborg ninja.
The idea of mixing up the Iron Man suit with a ninja’s arsenal is genius.
Different imaginings of the Iron Man armor only tend to be interesting when a level of creativity is involved. To this end, the suit here looks gorgeous and dangerous at the same time.
Illustration by Boss Logic.
12 Soldier 76 Cyclops
Soldier 76 totally does look like Cyclops from the X-Men. This illustration by Boss Logic only adds the suit Cyclops dons onto Soldier 76. This also makes sense considering the likeness between the two characters.
Instead of a gun, Soldier 76 will make use of Cyclops’ repulsors straight from the eyes. Overwatch fans will want plenty more of these crossovers between Marvel and X-Men, and these reimaginings are the way to do so. This version of Soldier 76 needs to hit the gym, though.
11 Total Carnage
Consider this a spin-off of the ‘Unleashed’ mini-list of ours. Carnage has never been seen in live-action in all the years the character has been known; if things head the way they seem to be heading towards, Carnage will appear in full in the sequel of Venom.
For those who want to visualize Carnage in all his horrifying glory, The Durrrrian has this illustration ready for you. Carnage is an even more insane version of the symbiote than Venom is and you can see just how daunting he could appear in live-action.