While the movies put out by Marvel Studios, along with the other Marvel movies put out by 20th Century FOX and Sony, are almost always entertaining, one of the greatest things about Marvel is the fanbase.
Marvel fans use the source material from both the movies and the comics to create their own fan theories, fan fiction, and fan art.
While some fan theories may be a bit too complex for the standard Marvel fan, the artwork created by Marvel fans is almost always intriguing. One of the most appealing parts about Marvel movies is seeing the popular comic book characters in a different way than they are depicted in the comics.
Fan art takes this up another level, showing our favorite heroes in a way that the movies may never depict them.
There are plenty of different kinds of fan art. Some fan art simply shows the interaction between characters we would never expect to see together, some fan art shows the characters drawn in a different style such as anime, and other kinds of fan art are better left unmentioned.
However, one of the most intriguing types of fan art is the kind that shows our heroes as different types of characters, be it gothic or post-apocalyptic.
It’s always interesting to see the characters in a different setting or with different appearances that the movies and comics may never show us.
With that said, here are 25 Marvel Characters Reimagined As Warriors.
Iron Man
In 2015, artist The Durrrrian created a series of Marvel themed fan art to celebrate the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron. What he created depicted Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in a more mystical sense than we have seen them before, turning the Avengers into sorcerer warriors.
This new appearance for Iron Man is extremely intriguing. Due to the nature of his abilities, Tony Stark almost always has his powers and outfits being tech based.
Outside of a few exceptions, such as the time he wielded the Infinity Gauntlet, Tony Stark very rarely strays away from his technologically advanced suits, so this look is certainly new for his character.
While the new appearance does have armor that resembles the Iron Man suit, it also has flying robes in some parts instead.
His armored gauntlets still glow blue, but this time we can assume that the glow comes from some sort of sorcery rather than from an arc reactor power source.
The coolest part of this design is arguably the new Iron Man mask. The mask is reminiscent of the standard Iron Man mask that we see in the movies and the comics, but it now has a number of markings and engravements on it.
Ghost Rider
One of Marvel’s most cryptic and visually stunning characters is Ghost Rider. Unfortunately, none of the live action depictions of Ghost Rider so far have really managed to do the biker character justice visually.
While the versions of Ghost Rider in the Ghost Rider movies and in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. do look a bit like Ghost Rider in the comics, they aren’t necessarily as demonic as he was intended to look.
Artist ramsesmelendeze decided to try creating this demonic appearance for Ghost Rider, and then took it a bit further. Rather than riding a motorized, flaming bike, this depiction of Ghost Rider is more similar to the source material Ghost Rider was based on and had him riding a skeletal horse.
While this version of Ghost Rider’s face isn’t necessarily consumed by flames as he is regularly depicted, there’s enough fire to keep his appearance frightening, while still bringing out an ominous look for the anti-hero. The same goes for the skeletal head of his horse.
While this look for Ghost Rider is certainly less accurate than either of the previous live action depictions of the character, most fans will most likely not complain if this appearance of the villain rode on screen in a future movie.
This fan art perfectly captures the demonic presence that was intended when Ghost Rider was first created.
Black Panther
It’s no secret that at a few times in the comics, the Marvel hero Black Panther was inspired by the iconic DC hero Batman. Batman’s comics have always been hot sellers, and Marvel has based a number of their comics off of him.
While Black Panther wasn’t necessarily a rip-off of Batman, many of his comics were stylized after the Caped Crusader.
This fan art of Black Panther by Reza-ilyasa takes the similarities to Black Panther a step further.
Even though it was created a few years before Batman v Superman, it is actually rather reminiscent of the “Batfleck” depiction of Batman that has become wildly popular in recent years.
The style of this appearance is a lot more simple than the version we’ve seen before. There’s no cape like there was in the comics, and there are no scales like there were in the movie. Instead, this depiction of Black Panther simply shows a man ready for war.
The armor is simple, and still skintight. Additionally, the color scheme of the fan art further adds to the emotion of this appearance.
All in all, it would be great to see a suit like this appear in a future Black Panther movie, even if it was only worn briefly like Captain America’s S.H.I.E.L.D. suit in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Scarlet Witch
This depiction of Scarlet Witch was another piece of fan art made in The Durrrrian’s Age of Ultron series. While it is certainly different from the version of Scarlet Witch seen in a number of MCU movies, this depiction would be great to see on screen down the road.
The MCU version of Scarlet Witch certainly manages to depict Wanda Maximoff’s abilities rather well, but her appearance is radically different from the comics.
All that was kept was her scarlet color scheme, whereas her headpiece was completely scrapped. This change disappointed a number of Marvel fans who appreciated her character in the comics.
During Phase 4 of the MCU, it would honestly be great to see this depiction of Scarlet Witch grace the screen. It still manages to include the read, leathery type of outfit she has worn in the previous movies, but with a new gothic design, accompanied of course by her headpiece from the comics.
Phase 4 of the MCU may bring out a new arc for Wanda Maximoff, showing the incredibly powerful superhero going down a darker path after losing both her brother and the love of her life.
Scarlet Witch has gone under the radar in a number of movies, but is still one of the franchise’s most in depth characters, and this new appearance for her could certainly help to further develop her character arc down the road.
Deadpool
One of the running gags in the Deadpool movies is that he constantly forgets his weapons, having to resort to katanas, a couple bullets, and even bricks to fight off the bad guys. This time, however, Wade Wilson did not forget his bag of guns in a taxi.
This post-apocalyptic depiction of Deadpool shows a more hardcore and battle ready version of the Merc with the Mouth than we have seen before.
He is still equipped with his katana, but has even more weaponry beyond that, including an old fashioned rifle ripped straight from the classic apocalyptic movie Mad Max.
This fan art by Mark Brooks is incredibly detailed, featuring a leg brace, a spike shoulder pad, and a dagger hidden in his right boot. You can even get a glimpse of one of Wade’s scarred skin with his right sleeve rolled up to show his gruesomely blemished arm.
While this version of Deadpool doesn’t necessarily show the humor that we are used to seeing from Wade Wilson, it is still undoubtedly a fantastic work of art. It’s unlikely that we will ever see Deadpool look like this in a movie, but this gorgeous art is still something to admire.
Vision
Like his fan art of Iron Man, The Durrrrian’s depiction of Vision shows a usually technology based superhero in a more mystic light.
His face is almost all that remains the same of the Vision we know and love, with a much thicker armor now covering the rest of his body, and with his cape now becoming a robe that seemingly wraps around his entire body.
All in all, this version of Vision is incredibly intriguing. Vision’s actual abilities are rather obscure, being both tech based and cosmic based, considering he has an Infinity Stone in his head. Perhaps it’s not too far fetched to add mystic abilities to the mix ass well.
If the android superhero were to return in Phase 4 of the MCU, it would be certainly astonishing to see a depiction of Vision like this on screen.
Vision himself mentioned in Captain America: Civil War that he did not fully understand the power of his Infinity Stone, but perhaps the events of Avengers: Infinity War could have helped him understand the power better, and we can see him harness the full strength of the Mind Stone down the road.
While we may not see Vision as a fully armored warrior like in the above fan art, the mystic sense of Vision shown above would still be a great thing to see on screen as he grows in power.
Thanos
In the comics and his first few appearances in the MCU, the Mad Titan Thanos was already dressed as a warrior, suited up in full armor that showed his magnificence.
However, as the supervillain gained possession of more and more Infinity Stones, his need for his armor decreased, resulting in him dropping almost all of it.
Surprisingly, this depiction of Thanos isn’t fan art. Instead, it was official concept art made by artist Andy Park for 2012’s The Avengers, when Thanos made his first appearance. This would explain why it still looks strikingly similar to the Thanos we saw in the MCU.
While this depiction is similar, it shows Thanos in a more gothic light than we have seen him in any of the movies or the comics.
He is a lot more menacing and ominous in this version of the character, which may have been a little too dark for what Marvel was going for.
It would have been great to see a Gothic, warrior look for Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War like in the concept art above, but it ultimately may have ruined the depth of his character.
Rather than being a relatable and understandable villain, this version of Thanos may have felt more fearsome and despised, which was not the direction Marvel wanted to take his character. Regardless, it’s still a cool look for the Mad Titan.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War introduced a number of Marvel fans to the Iron Spider suit, a technology based outfit for Peter Parker created by Tony Stark.
Fan artist Justin Currie took the Iron Spider suit a step further, showing what could become of the arachnid superhero if his technological suit went a step further.
The art shown above depicts Spider-Man as a full fledged robot, with no Peter Parker included. The suit shoots webs out of a number of parts of his body now, not just his wrists, and has four arms (still two limbs away from having eight like a spider, but close enough).
Furthermore, the robotic Spider-Man now has six eyes, similar to the eight eyes most breeds of spiders have.
One of the coolest parts about this new Spider-Man suit, besides its dark blue color scheme, is the glow it produces. A bright blue light protrudes from each of its eyes, from the spider emblem on his chest, and from a number of spots on his arms and legs.
The patterns of light are incredibly detailed, showing the amount of work Currie really put into this creation. All in all, this technological depiction of the Spider-Man is a brilliant work of art.
Hawkeye
The next piece of art from The Durrrrian’s Age of Ultron series depicts the regularly glossed over member of the Avengers in a new, more intriguing light.
This appearance for Clint Barton is incredibly different from any other form we have seen of the bowman in either the movies or the comics, yet at first glance, we can still tell that it’s him.
His purple color scheme from the comics is clearly brought out in this new look, maintaining the essence of his character. One clever addition to his appearance is the inclusion of a hawk beak under his hood. This shocking twist never appeared in the comics, but helps connect Hawkeye more to his name.
Like the other pieces of fan art in the series, this depiction of Hawkeye includes some seemingly mystic powers, mostly shown coming from his bow.
At some point along the road, Hawkeye added an enchantment to his bow and arrows, perhaps to make his weapon more potent.
One strange aspect of this fan art is his right arm. In the comics and moves, Clint always wears a full sleeved glove on his right arm, as many archers do. However, this glove seems to have some sort of X-Ray abilities, showing the bones in his arm and in his fingers.
Loki
While the depiction of Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was fantastic, turning him into one of the franchise’s deepest characters with a solid arc from good to evil and back to good again, the franchise never really showed us Loki’s Frost Giant side.
Artist ForrestImel decided to do something about this with this great piece of fan art.
This depiction of the god of mischief shows him in Jotunheim, the realm of the Frost Giants, but unlike in the movies, this Jotunheim is not in ruins. Instead, it would seem that Loki, the rightful king of Jotunheim, has brought the realm back to its former glory, proving himself both a great leader and a great warrior.
This outfit for Loki is a lot different than the armor he typically wears, dropping the green color scheme in exchange for blue garments to match the ice of his new realm.
However, there is still enough green on his character (on his helmet, above his belt, and in his eyes) to keep the villain associated with his notable color.
Furthermore, one of the most interesting takes on his character in this piece of art, is the clever twist with his helmet.
Loki is most identifiable from his horned helmet, and this new helmet from Jotunheim keeps the horns, but this time the horns are seemingly from a ram (or whatever ram-like creatures you can find in Jotunheim), which are much more common in colder climates.
The Punisher
One of Marvel’s most revered characters who may not be their most popular is the Punisher. Frank Castle has no powers; all he has is a decent amount of weaponry, and the urge to do what’s right.
Because of how unique his character is compared to the rest of the Marvel roster, the Punisher stands out as one of Marvel’s best, giving comic fans a realistic and gritty type of character.
Paying homage to the beloved anti-hero, artist Diego Yapur created a new depiction of the Punisher that is just as gritty as we love him, but now with seemingly more battle armor. It’s a certainly cool, yet unique, design that perfectly shows Frank Castle, but with a new suit we’ve never seen him in before.
One of the clever parts about this outfit is the way that it looks like he’s wearing his iconic trench coat from the comics, but really it’s just part of his armor.
This version of the Punisher is decked out, protecting his chest, neck and practically every part of his body from damage, except his face. One thing he will never do is cover his face, and the addition of the neck armor brings this point home.
While the current Punisher in the Marvel Netflix series is an astonishing depiction of the comic book character, it would be great to see him be decked out like the fan art above. This version of the Punisher isn’t pulling any punches, proving how fantastic of a character he really is.
Ultron
This more intimidating piece of art from The Durrrrian’s Age of Ultron series, depicting a radically different and more fearsome version of Ultron, may be one of the most unique pieces of fan art yet.
This look at the robot villain seems to show more of the human qualities of the villain, which have been proven to be his most fearsome qualities over the years.
At first glance, Ultron actually looks quite a bit like the Captain America villain Red Skull, and it’s quite possible that this was intentional. In the comics, Red Skull was one of Marvel’s greatest villains, and perhaps this version of Ultron could have been programmed in part after the notorious Nazi leader.
Like the other installments in this Age of Ultron series, Ultron’s torso is covered with a series of belts and ripped cloth, adding a more mystic element to his robotic appearance.
One of the coolest aspects of this depiction of Ultron is the floating metal around his arms. In the comics, Ultron’s powers could sometimes make the metal pieces of him float off of his body.
While this was a cool visual feature for the Avengers villain, it was not an element that made its way to the big screen.
Captain America
In a stunning piece of fan art, artist Christopher Stevens shows a depiction of Captain America that the comics have never brought us before: post-apocalyptic Captain America. (Side note: one comic did feature Captain America in the post-apocalypse briefly, but most other post-apocalypse themed comics from Marvel did not include the survival of the super soldier).
This war torn version of Captain America may look radically different from the patriotic hero we know and love, but it also looks rather realistic.
Captain America would actually be able to survive the post-apocalypse rather easily due to his enhanced strength and fighting abilities, but it would come at a cost to his morals.
This isn’t a Captain America who has stuck to his guns over the years. This is a Captain America who has made sacrifices, lost friends, and done things to survive that he wish he could take back.
While he still wears the American flag on his shoulder, he no longer wears that iconic bright blue. Instead, he wears a blood red, symbolizing the strife he has pushed through since the fall of civilization.
While we will likely never see Captain America in a post-apocalyptic Marvel movie, it does bring up the point that we need to see him in his own post-apocalyptic comic series. If Hulk and Wolverine can get one, surely Captain America can get one too.
Nova
One of Marvel’s most underrated characters is Richard Rider, otherwise known as Nova. The Green Lantern-inspired superhero has an incredible amount of strength to him, with a power level higher than most of the current team of live action Avengers.
He is about on the same level of Thor and Captain Marvel, making him into one of Marvel’s strongest heroes.
Artist Jonathan Noyau managed to depict Nova’s true power and aptitude in this brilliant piece of fan art. First off, the level of detail on Nova’s uniform is absolutely stunning.
His shoulder pads are now spiked, becoming a rather intimidating addition to his look. Furthermore, his mask now has those couple extra additions to its edges to make his face all the more fearsome to gaze upon.
The best part about this fan art, however, is the immense amount of power he seems to be wielding. Orbs of electricity that shoot lightning protrude around his hands, and not only is he floating, but the act of him floating now creates its own magnificent glow. This is not someone you would want to mess with.
All in all, this incredible depiction of Nova shows how truly awesome his character is. His power and his suit are displayed incredibly in this single image, showing off one of Marvel’s most underrated characters in a gorgeous light.
Black Widow
Just when you thought Black Widow couldn’t get any cooler, this installment in The Durrrrian’s Age of Ultron series proves us all wrong.
Like the other pieces of fan art in the series, Black Widow’s outfit is put together by belts and torn cloth, making her feel incredibly intimidating and powerful.
Her arms are fully armored, seemingly protecting her from any type of battle damage. Her weapons of choice are two swords, rather than her typical guns, in order to better fit her into the aesthetic of the gothic fan art series.
Something notable about this particular addition to the series that makes it stand out from the rest is that Black Widow doesn’t seem to have any mysticism about her. In the movies and comics, the coolest part about Black Widow is that she has no super powers, yet still manages to keep up with the rest of the Avengers.
This great aspect of Black Widow was brought forward yet again in this piece of fan art. While the rest of the heroes and villains in The Durrrrian’s series had some sort of mystic abilities or magical glow, Black Widow looks cool just by being cool, no magic necessary.
While there is a slight mystic glow coming her sword, it’s still evident that this is not the source of her strength.
Kang The Conqueror
Despite being a spectacular character in the comics, the time-travelling villain Kang the Conqueror is commonly overlooked and forgotten due to his cheesy looking appearance. Because of this, many people have come to the conclusion that Kang would not be a formidable foe in a live action Marvel movie.
Fan artist FunnyBerserker proved this negative thinking of Kang the Conqueror wrong with some truly spectacular fan art of the villain.
Kang is normally most identifiable by his brightly colored outfit: a green cape, purple armor, and a blue mask covering his face. This bright color scheme made people think that he would not work outside of the comics, but this fan art says otherwise.
This intimidating appearance of Kang still includes the well known outfit and color scheme, but twisted in a new way to make him look more terrifying than ever. Simply by raising his shoulders and tilting his helmet back a little bit, this fan artist made Kang the Conqueror actually look like a Marvel villain we could see in the MCU.
Hopefully, if we do get to see Kang in a future MCU movie, he will look a lot like this.
This looks like a villain the Avengers would have difficulty standing against, and would hopefully mean that they would do his character justice, unlike other Marvel villains like Malekith and Whiplash.
Nick Fury
Here’s yet another piece of fan art created by The Durrrrian. However, this piece was actually made in 2012 in part of his original Avengers series.
Like the Age of Ultron series, this series of fan art depicted Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as mystic warriors. Unfortunately, Nick Fury was not included in the Age of Ultron series, so this is the only piece of mystic fan art in The Durrrrian’s collection.
This version of Nick Fury shows him as a truly mysterious figure, which is sort of the entire point of his character.
His outfit is completely black and dark grey, and he even appears to be fading into the cloud of dark smoke around him. His appearance is so mysterious and murky, even Batman would be impressed.
In addition to the dark mysticism surrounding Fury, there are also some bright glue elements on his figure, with most being part of his suit. This brighter blue can be assumed to be the “magic” version of technology in the real world, which would explain why his weapon has a bright blue glow to it as well.
One of the coolest additions, however, is the immense amount of detail added to his scarred eye. In the movies, the skin around his eye patch is noticeably scarred, but this fan art takes it up a level.
Carnage
Of all of Spider-Man’s villains, there is likely no one else as fearsome and frightening as Carnage, a later developed version of the Venom symbiote attached to a person who has no limits on the evil he will do.
This fantastic fan art by Nuckerbar perfectly shows the devious villain that Spider-Man fans have grown to love.
The coolest part about this depiction of Carnage is that his two limbs take the appearance of actual weapons. Each one has a sharp edge that can seemingly pierce through any foe, making him look a lot more than just a man-shaped glob of goo.
Another great element of Carnage in the fan art above is the pieces of symbiote that are just flinging off of his body.
It ingeniously shows how his mental instability has also made his physical form unstable, becoming a truly great example of metaphorical imagery for Cletus Kasady’s mental state.
The aspect of this fan art that really drives the fearsome quality home is Carnage’s face. His eyes look more devious than ever, and his smile glows like a Jack-O-Lantern, showing everyone each of Carnage’s teeth. All in all, this tremendous fan art perfectly depicts how gruesomely terrifying Carnage really is.
Quicksilver
Despite having two separate live-actin depictions over the years, the speed-based Marvel hero Quicksilver has yet to necessarily look cool on screen.
Because of this, he is regularly overlooked, feeling like another side hero rather than a character who should stand out. Even the depiction in the X-Men franchise, who was hilarious to watch on screen, failed to have a stunning appearance.
Fortunately, The Durrrrian took care of this visual issue in his Age of Ultron series by giving this depiction of Quicksilver a mystical blue glow. Unlike most of the other creations in The Durrrrian’s series, this is one piece of fan art that would make sense in an actual movie.
By giving Quicksilver a blue glowing tint, at least when he runs, his powers would seem even more extraordinary, making his scenes more exciting to watch.
Furthermore, the intricate detail on his costume is fantastic, filled with the typical belts and cloth of the rest of the series, in addition to a great series of markings on his chest and on his jacket.
If, for whatever reason, we were to see a third version of Quicksilver in a future movie, it would be amazing to see him looking like this.
His character would truly stand out and would most likely never be overlooked again.
Doctor Doom
Like Quicksilver, the Marvel villain Doctor Doom has received two live action depictions over the past several years, and both were rather disappointing.
The first version was extremely under powered, and looked more like low budget cosplay than the actual comic book villain. The second version was way too over powered, and didn’t even look relatively close to the beloved villain.
Fan artist Charles Logan took matters into his own hands with this fantastic piece of fan art. While his face is still quite different than the face of the villain in the comics, it is still brilliantly intimidating.
Furthermore, the rest of his outfit does actually bear an uncanny resemblance to his outfit in the comics, despite being significantly more well armored.
The best part of his appearance is undoubtedly his face, even though it’s not the most accurate. His glowing eyes make him look truly intimidating and terrifying, and the glow / reflecting light on his face simply adds to the aesthetic.
He looks more robotic than human, which is the intention here, proving him to be a truly formidable foe.
Hopefully the next live action depiction of the Fantastic Four villain looks more like this and will finally get his character right.
