65 Marvel Universe Every Superhero Dork Should Know

In the Ultimate version of Marvel Comics, Tony Stark believes The Falcon to be the second smartest man on the planet, above Bruce Banner and Reed Richards and only after himself.

2. Marvel originally planned for Bruce Banner to turn into Grey Hulk when under the Scarlet Witch’s spell in Avengers: Age of Ultron, as the character reached a higher level of anger than previous films, though this idea was scrapped in post-production.

3. The original Guardians of the Galaxy cameo planned for Stan lee involved Groot stumbling across the former Marvel Comics president in one of the Collector’s display cases, who would then flip off our heroes.

4. Before the rights to Daredevil reverted back to Marvel Studios, Fox intended to make a new trilogy of Daredevil films set in the 1970s and ‘80s. The tone of each movie would have been inspired by the popular music of the period: classic rock, punk rock, and new wave respectively.

5. Galactus, the often antagonistic Devourer of Worlds in Marvel Comics, was inspired by God, with the Silver Surfer based on a fallen angel.

Marvel has licensed their characters She-Hulk and Rogue (of the ‘X-Men’) to be used in romance novels aimed at alluring women to read comics.

7. After the 1973 storyline, “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” premiered in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ comics, Stan Lee promoted his intention to bring her character back soon after. Forty years later, the character has yet to return in Marvel’s main continuity (aside from failed clones), as her death is regarded as one of the most significant moments in Marvel’s history.

8. In Marvel’s mainstream comic’s continuity, Pepper Potts conceives a child with Happy Hogan, but she suffers a miscarriage after being assaulted by Iron Man’s enemies.

9. The ‘X-Men’ comic series was originally considered a second-tier title by Marvel and was even canceled in 1969. The series didn’t gain popularity until after it was rebooted in 1976, featuring a mostly new team that included Storm and Wolverine.

10. On Earth 3490 of the Marvel multi-verse, Tony Stark was born a female named Natasha Stark and becomes the Iron Woman when she grows up. Stark ultimately marries Steve Rogers, which prevents the Superhero Registration Program and Civil War.

According to the 2010 Marvel comic series ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’, the secret organization began in ancient Egypt as the Brotherhood of the Shield, and over time, has included members such as Issac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci.

12. Marvel has used the “death” of Bucky Barnes as a canon excuse for why the company has virtually no young sidekicks, as no responsible hero wants to endanger a minor in a similar fashion as Captain America did during WWII.

13. Marvel recently published a non-canon mini-series titled “Deadpool Killustrated,” in which the Merc with the Mouth hunts down and kills a character from literary classics such as ‘The Little Mermaid,’ ‘Christmas Carol,’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes.’

14. Due to his status as ruler of Latveria, Doctor Doom has diplomatic immunity in America, despite being one of the most villainous characters in the Marvel universe. This once resulted in Captain America acting as Doom’s bodyguard whilst he visited the United States.

15. A bell-themed Supervillain exists in the Marvel Universe who goes by the name of Doctor Bong.

Thor was created for Marvel by Stan Lee as an attempt to design someone more powerful than the Hulk. He realized that the only thing stronger than the strongest man would be a God.

17. After Robert Downey Jr. expressed interesting in the role of Tony Stark, Marvel originally told Iron Man director Jon Favreau, “Under no circumstances are we prepared to hire him at any price.” He pestered the filmmakers until they eventually gave him a screen test.

18. Before Marvel was returned the rights to make an ‘Iron Man’ film, New Line Cinema attempted to make a movie that featured the title character doing battle with War Machine, who would eventually be revealed as Howard Stark, Tony’s supposedly dead father.

19. While the iconic “Demon in a Bottle” comic arc was touched upon in ‘Iron Man 2’, director Shane Black has stated that it was off-limits for the third film. Marvel and Disney were both concerned about featuring a heroic character deal with alcoholism in a family film and its effect on children in particular.

20. The Punisher, a popular Marvel anti-hero, first appeared in “The Amazing Spider-Man #129” as an antagonist hired to assassinate the Web-Slinger.

Wade Wilson’s childhood hero was Captain America, a personal link that was strengthened by Wilson joining a super soldier program on his own. Once Deadpool actually made a name for himself as a madcap mercenary-turned-hero, Steve Rogers became one of the few Marvel characters who treated Deadpool with empathy and acceptance.

22. Mark Ruffalo actually discussed playing Bruce Banner with the director of the 2008 film ‘The Incredible Hulk’, but Marvel did not believe he would be right for the role.

23. While Agent Coulson started out as a minor character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, his immense popularity amongst fans caused writers to add him into the mainstream Marvel Comics continuity in 2012. He now serves as a member of ‘The Secret Avengers’.

24. In a 1978 issue of ‘Marvel Team-Up’, Spider-Man teamed up with the third season cast of ‘Saturday Night Live’, which included Bill Murray and John Belushi, to fight off the Silver Samurai.

25. In the Marvel Universe, Santa Claus is actually the world’s most powerful mutant ever registered.