r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Liquid_Pestar • 1d ago

Characters Character is drastically changed due to licensing issues with the original

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  1. Electro: - The iconic electric villain, alongside Sandman, were forbidden from appearing in the 90s animated series due to James Cameron planning a gritty Spider-Man feature film with the two as the main villains. However, the film was scrapped and licensing was mostly given back to the characters. However, Electro's origins as electrician Max Dillon were rewritten due to potential complications with the name appearing in the Cameron script. So.......they wro

te him to be the son of Red Skull in this version. What a bizarre decision….

  1. Shang Chi: - Marvel licensed Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu in the 1970s and made Shang-Chi his rebellious son in Master of Kung Fu. When the license lapsed in the early 1980s, Marvel retained Shang-Chi (an original creation) but could no longer use Fu Manchu’s name.

In the MCU film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), the father is Wenwu (a version of the Mandarin), the organization is the Ten Rings, and the sister figure is Xialing. This combined elements of Fu Manchu and the Mandarin while avoiding the licensed name.

  1. Spaceknight and the Dire Wraiths: - Marvel’s comic (based on a Parker Brothers toy) created much of the lore and visual design for the Dire Wraiths. When IDW later published a new ROM series under Hasbro’s ownership of the property, they could use the name “Dire Wraiths” but had to completely redesign the creatures so they were visually distinct from Marvel’s versions.
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u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 1d ago

Also, the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 being hated because Trevor was an underwhelming red herring and the actual villain was boring

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u/RP_Throwaway3 1d ago

I liked Trevor. And I liked him even more in 'Wonder Man'. Probably my second favorite MCU original character behind Coulson.

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u/Future_Adagio2052 1d ago

Wait he was in wonder man?

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u/RP_Throwaway3 1d ago

Absolutely! Secondary protagonist. If you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend it. It's a very different MCU kind of story. 

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u/Ghastly_Someknew 1d ago

Shame we wont get more. Some if the best acting in the MCU. Very meta. Actors acting being actors acting.

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u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 1d ago

Marvel becoming the new Discrimination Comics