Marvel Comics Characters Inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Throughout Marvel’s 85-year history, most heroes and villains debuted in the comics before taking on another life on screen. However, sometimes comic book characters are inspired by original creations in other mediums, such as games, movies, and television series.

In last month’s KAHHORI: RESHAPER OF WORLDS #1 comic book one-shot by Ryan Little, Arihhonni “Honni” David, Kelly Lynne D’Angelo, Todd Harris, David Cutler, and Jim Terry, Kahhori from Marvel Animation’s What If…? made her comic book debut. With What If…? season 3 quickly approaching, let’s look back at some other characters that first appeared on screen before inspiring a comic book counterpart. Check out a list of characters and get a glimpse at how their stories were reimagined in comics below!

AGENT PHIL COULSON

In Marvel Comics, before protecting the world as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Phil Coulson and his best friend Nick Fury Jr. enlisted in the army together. Once he and Fury joined S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Coulson worked alongside covert operatives like Melinda May and Maria Hill’s Secret Avengers squad.

When an imposter Captain America took over the country, he hired Deadpool to kill Coulson before he could uncover Hydra’s plans. Mephisto resurrected Coulson as his servant and gave him the reality-warping Pandemonium Cube. With the Cube, Coulson created a new reality where the evil Squadron Supreme of America replaced the Avengers as the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Following his fatal defeat, Coulson took on a different role. Revived by the Death Stone, Coulson now joins the Infinity Watch to help protect the Infinity Stones as the embodiment of Death in the Marvel Universe.

VALKYRIE (RUNA) 

While Valkyries like Brunnhilde and Danielle Moonstar served Asgard for decades, one Valkyrie, Runa, remained unknown to the Marvel Universe until KING IN BLACK: RETURN OF THE VALKRIES (2021) #1 by Jason Aaron, Torunn Gronbekk, and Nina Vakueva.

Trapped by Knull for thousands of years in the Headless Celestials’ body, an amnesiac Runa escaped captivity during KING IN BLACK when Jane Foster found her. After defeating the Celestial, Runa led the undead group of Valkyries known as the Disir and helped Thor rescue his sister, Laussa.

Despite her later introduction to the Marvel Universe, Runa is one of the original Valkyries and the first wielder of the mystical axe, Jarnbjorn. 

SCARLET SCARAB (LAYLA EL-FAOULY)

In Marvel Comics’ storytelling, long before Marc Spector served Khonshu as Moon Knight, he and Layla El-Faouly took on jobs as mercenaries, where they grew close and eventually fell in love. Layla El-Faouly made her Marvel Universe debut in MOON KNIGHT (2021) #25 by Jed MacKay, Partha Pratim, Alessandro Cappuccio, and Alessandro Vitti.

After El-Faouly died on a mission with Spector and the other Karnak Cowboys, the Egyptian goddess Tawaret gave Layla a second chance as her champion, the Scarlet Scarab. As guardian of the Duat, the Egyptian underworld, Scarlet Scarab protected souls from the clutches of harm as they navigated the afterlife.

Scarlet Scarab reunited with Marc Spector when Moon Knight traveled to the Duat to save the spirit of a boy named Khali Nasser. The old partners teamed up to stop Randall Spector, Marc’s late villainous brother, and his Legion of the Unliving. As God of the Underworld, Osiris thanked the heroes by letting Nasser live and quietly resurrecting Layla.

ERIK SELVIG

As one of the world’s leading authorities on reality-warping Cosmic Cubes, Doctor Erik Selvig often crossed paths with the superhuman community. When S.H.I.E.L.D. turned the Cosmic Cubes’ power into a little girl named Kobik, Selvig became her surrogate father in AVENGERS STANDOFF: WELCOME TO PLEASANT HILL (2016) #1 by Nick Spencer and Mark Bagley.

However, Kobik fell under the influence of the Red Skull and turned Selvig into a secret Hydra loyalist. On the Red Skull’s orders, Selvig proposed the creation of Pleasant Hill, a community populated by brainwashed former villains.

As the Red Skull’s plan to replace Captain America with a Hydra-loyalist imposter unfolded, Selvig helped the heroes and focused on protecting Kobik. He sacrificed his life to stop Baron Zemo from destroying Kobik’s sentience.

DARCY LEWIS

When the Scarlet Witch set up a small magic shop called Emporium in her solo comic book series, she built the Last Door to bring people in desperate need of help to her doorstep. Darcy Lewis was one of the first people to walk through the Last Door in SCARLET WITCH (2023) #1 by Steve Orlando and Sara Pichelli.

Lewis fell into Wanda Maximoff’s world after her investigation into the Bacchae, a criminal organization, went awry. After she killed one of their members in self-defense, Darcy walked through the Last Door. The Scarlet Witch hired the hunted investigative journalist to help her run the shop.

When the Bacchae sent Scythia after Darcy, the Scarlet Witch defeated the warrior and protected Darcy, who continues to work at Emporium.

YONDU 

In the distant future, a Centaurian warrior named Yondu protects the 31st Century with the original Guardians of the Galaxy. His ancestor, also named Yondu, was a brutish space pirate introduced to the Marvel Universe in STAR-LORD (2015) #1 by Sam Humphries and Javier Garron.

Exiled from his homeworld, Yondu joined the Ravagers and mentored a young Peter Quill. When Quill left the Ravagers, he only reunited with Yondu after joining the Guardians of the Galaxy. Together, they navigated the Jojola Nebula. However, Yondu betrayed Star-Lord and rejoined the Ravagers.

Yondu’s 31st Century descendant visited him, causing the Ravager to reconnect with his Centaurian roots. The present-day Yondu vowed to be a more heroic figure after the death of his future namesake.

J.A.R.V.I.S. 

Edwin Jarvis faithfully took care of Iron Man (Tony Stark) and the Avengers as their butler for many years. In honor of his old friend, Tony Stark created an artificial intelligence model called Just Another Rather Very Intelligent System, or J.A.R.V.I.S. for short.

When Stark created the Rescue armor for Pepper Potts, he programmed J.A.R.V.I.S. in it to help her operate as an armored hero for the first time. J.A.R.V.I.S. developed romantic feelings for Potts as he helped her through a few crises and tried to abduct her. However, Iron Man rescued Potts and fried J.A.R.V.I.S.

More recently, Wasp (Nadia Pym) created a new J.A.R.V.I.S. to help the human Jarvis run the Avengers’ operations.

JIANG LI

Throughout her life, Jiang Li protected Quilin Island and its hidden gateway to the Ta Lo dimension. When Zheng Zu, the leader of the Five Weapons Society, crashed near the island, Jiang Li rescued him, and the couple fell in love. Despite the disapproval of her father, Chieftain Xin, Jiang Li married Zheng Zu and had two kids with him: Shang-Chi and Shi-Hua.

After a quarrel between husband and wife trapped Jiang Li in the Negative Zone, Shang-Chi’s mother remained largely unseen for years. She began communicating with her son via dreams after he took over his father’s Five Weapons Society and asked him to rescue her in SHANG-CHI (2021) #4 by Gene Luen Yang and Dike Ruan.

Jiang Li took over as the new Chieftain of the Qilin Riders after helping Shang-Chi battle her father and take control of the Ten Rings.

ALLIGATOR LOKI

While running away from Thor, Loki opened a dimensional portal to evade the God of Thunder’s grasp. As Thor reached into this dimensional rift to grab his brother, he pulled out Alligator Loki instead in ALLIGATOR LOKI INFINITY COMIC (2022) #1 by Alyssa Wong and Robert Quinn.

Alligator Loki befriended Thor and galivanted around Asgard, spreading all kinds of harmless mischief. Although he bit Thor dozens of times, Alligator Loki charmed the God of Thunder and the other heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe.

This Loki also befriended super-animals like Jeff the Land Shark and fought Throg, a frog with the God of Thunder’s power. When Alligator Loki met his human counterpart, he fought the villain before befriending him and teaming up to carry out several schemes.

KAHHORI

Unlike the other characters in this list, Kahhori is not just inspired by her silver screen counterpart; she actually is the same character from Marvel Animations’ What If…? series.

After the destruction of Asgard in a distant reality, the Space Stone crashed onto Earth and created a portal in the Forbidden Lake in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. While evading Spanish conquistadors, Kahhori fell into the lake and traveled to Sky World, a dimension where the Infinity Stone’s power flowed through its inhabitants.

Through exposure to the Space Stone, Kahhori wielded cosmic power, gaining numerous physical abilities including super-strength, super-speed, and enhanced agility. With her new powers, Kahhori protects the Mohawk people in Sky World and back home on Earth. 

Now, Kahhori travels the Multiverse to the main Marvel Universe in the comics, where she finds herself stranded in Hell’s Kitchen.

Find out what’s in store for Kahorri as she teams up with Moon Knight, Daredevil, and Echo in KAHORRI: RESHAPER OF WORLDS #1, available now. And be sure to tune in to What If…? season 3, streaming December 22 on Disney+!

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