Marvel Facts

Marvel Facts Infographics

The people of Wakanda speak a real language.

Wakanda’s official language is a variant of Xhosa, which is primarily spoken in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Coincidentally, these locations are also close to where Wakanda is situated in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Marvel almost bought DC. 

During Marvel’s boom in 1984, the head of Warner Communications’ publishing approached former Marvel editor Jim Shooter for licensing the publishing rights to the entire DC Comics universe.  

DC refused the offer and continued to publish comics. Later on, DC became a hit with readers as Marvel hit bankruptcy in 1996.

S.H.I.E.L.D began its operations in ancient Egypt.

They began as the Brotherhood of the Shield. As time passed on, it began recruiting known figures in history such as Leonardo da Vinci and Issac Newton. 

This can be seen in Marvel’s 2010 comics series S.H.I.E.L.D.

A character named Jihad was introduced eleven days before the 9-11 attack.

Jihad was introduced as a character bent on world destruction and conquest. However, due to the sensitivity after the historical event of 9/11, the character was written off. 

There is a frog with the powers of Thor.

This little amphibian is named Throg and wields the Frog Mjolnir. This frog also resembles the amphibian Thor himself once turned into. 

While Thor and Throg may have many similarities, they are said to be completely different beings. 

Dr. Doom briefly played the role of Iron Man.

After Tony Stark incapacitates himself on an obligatory super-powered fight with Captain Marvel in Civil War II, Dr. Doom took on the role of Iron Man. Dr. Doom became known as the Infamous Iron Man. 

The X-Men issue number 118 had the word ‘sex’ hidden all over the contents of the comic. 

In Ethan Van Sciver’s new X-Men issue, many readers noticed the word ‘sex’ being hidden in the background art. After this information was leaked in a magazine, readers counted that the word could be found 18 times which equates to almost one time per page. 

Michael Jackson once tried to buy Marvel Comics. 

During the early 90s, King of Pop Michael Jackson attempted to buy Marvel Comics. The reason? He wanted to star as Spider-Man in his version of the movie. 

Stan Lee once commented in an interview with Moviefone that while he believed Jackson might have been a good actor for the role, Tobey Maguire was a better fit. 

The Marvel universe has a maintenance unit. 

This special unit is suitably called Damage Control. In the Marvel Comics universe, this group is a construction company that specializes in repairing property damage caused by conflicts made by heroes and villains. 

This group first appeared in Marvel Age Annual issue number four. 

Deathstroke inspired the making of Deadpool.

One of Marvel’s most popular characters, Deadpool was supposed to be a spoof of Slade Wilson’s villainous identity, Deathstroke. Deadpool’s secret identity, Wade Wilson was an inside joke with Marvel staff to the two characters being related. 

As time went by, Deadpool’s character was re-imagined as a psychotic anti-hero. How’s that for Marvel Facts?

Samuel L. Jackson’s appearance was used as a design reference for the character Nick Fury.

Before the films for the Marvel cinematic universe were made, Nick Fury’s earliest concept art already had an uncanny resemblance to Samuel L. Jackson. When Samuel himself saw this resemblance, he immediately contacted his lawyers and Marvel Studios to secure his roles for the upcoming Marvel Cinematic films. 

A fan created Venom. 

When Marvel Comics hosted a contest in 1982 for aspiring artists, they were shocked by the entry submitted by Randy Schueller. He submitted a concept art for a storyline that involved Spider-Man upgrading his suit to all black for stealth purposes. 

After a few months, Schueller received a response from Marvel saying that they would buy the idea for $220 and a chance to script the new storyline that featured his designs. 

The author of Godfather once attempted to write for Marvel.

Mario Puzo stated that writing comics was too difficult and instead asked Stan Lee if he could try to write scripts for comics instead. However, despite Stan Lee agreeing to this, Mario Puzo still was not able to do so. 

Puzo went on to write a few of the best-selling novels of all time. Definitely one of the more unexpected Marvel facts. 

There is a team of avengers made up of animals. 

In 2009, Marvel published a four-issue comic book limited series called Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed. The team consists of several animal companions related to superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe.

This team includes animal companions such as Lockjaw, Throg, Redwing, Lockheed, Hairball, and Ms. Lion. 

Marvel was the first comic book company to give an African American his very own comic book. 

In June 1972, Luke Cage made his first appearance as himself in Luke Cage: Hero for Hire Issue number one. In the comic, he takes on the name of Power Man and takes on heroic jobs for a fee.

Marvel was not allowed to use werewolves their comics. 

Back then, the Comics Code Authority banned depictions of werewolves and vampires. As a result, Marvel had to find ways of getting around the rule, which proved to be difficult due to werewolves being a classic villain archetype.

The were-pterodactyl used in X-Men issue number 60 published in the year 1969 shows proof of this strange provision.

There is an alternate version of Spider-Man where Peter is an anthropomorphic pig. 

Instead of the famous Peter Parker, the hero for this world is Peter Porker who’s superhero identity is known as Spider-Ham. Spider-Ham was created by Tom DeFalco and Mark Armstrong in the year 1983.

The comic book is made to be a funny parody of the Spider-Man comics published by Marvel.

The original Captain Marvel died of cancer. 

Mar-Vell was a minority of the blue-skinned Kree empire who became a renowned soldier and an acclaimed hero through his victory in battles against the Skrulls. However he got exposed to a nerve gas that caused him to develop cancer on Earth. 

He spent his last days alive on Saturn’s moon, Titan with his close friends and mentor on his deathbed. 

Amalgam comics fuse heroes from both DC Comics and Marvel comics together. 

Amalgam was known as a publishing imprint that was shared by both DC and Marvel Comics. In the fused publications, superheroes such as Batman and Wolverine were fused to make the character Dark Claw, Superman and Captain America became Super-Soldier. 

The publishing house was founded in 1996 and went defunct in 1997.

Wolverine was supposed to be an actual wolverine.

Back in 1977 when the story group was brainstorming ideas for Wolverine’s origins, one particularly strange idea was placed on the table. It was originally planned for the character to start as a wolverine who would later mutate into a human being. 

However, after much debate and discussions, the idea was eventually scrapped and never used. Now that’s one for weirder Marvel facts.

Thor’s line ‘He’s a friend from work’ was not scripted in Thor: Ragnarok. 

The line originated from a child from the Make A Wish Foundation who had suggested it to Chris Hemsworth during a break between filming. Since the director, Taika Waititi encouraged its actors to improvise lines during filming, Hemsworth gave it a try. 

As a result, the line became one of the best Marvel lines in history. Social media blew up during the release of the official Thor: Ragnarok trailer and it was all thanks to one child. 

Thor’s former secret identity was Dr. Donald Blake.

This man was created by Odin to be the host for Thor, to teach his son about the importance of humility. However, once he and Thor separated, Donald Blake gained life and sentience of his own. 

Marvel had several legal complications with Fox.

One of the Marvel facts that’ll make you realize how complicated the industry is: During the 90s, Marvel had to sell the rights to the X-Men characters and the Fantastic Four to avoid bankruptcy. As a result, Various films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe had to rephrase several terms. 

An example would be changing the usage of the word mutant to metahuman or enhanced beings. 

The Men in Black is owned by Marvel.

Originally owned by Malibu Comics, Marvel bought the rights for The Men in Black in 1994. This would mean that all films, shows, and video games have been produced by Marvel.

Steve Rogers' catch-up list differs with each shooting location.

In Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve Roger’s catch up list contained several major pop culture references for whatever country the film was screening in at the time. In Australia, Steve’s list included Steve Irwin and for the United Kingdom, the 1966 World Cup Final and The Beatles’s music.

Kevin Feige created the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Originally, Feige was hired to be an assistant on the first X-Men film. However, he was given an associate producer credit when another producer had discovered that he was a human Marvel encyclopedia. 

Later on, Feige became the president of Marvel Studios. 

Carol Danvers’s former codename was binary.

Carol Danvers was given this new codename after being exposed to new cosmic-level energy power in Uncanny X-men issue number 164 published in 1982. However, she only kept this name for a short time as her powers eventually returned to that of when she was Ms. Marvel. 

This led her to change her codename again to Warbird before eventually coming to be known as Captain Marvel. 

Tom Holland discovered he was chosen for the role of Spider-Man through Instagram. 

To the surprise of many, the public knew about Tom Holland’s casting as Spider-Man before he did. Holland stated in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres that he had been auditioning for the role for nearly five months.

During his last audition, he was told that they would reveal the final cast the next day. However, six weeks passed and he had not been contacted yet until he had discovered the casting online. 

The richest Marvel superhero is Thor.

Not only is thor of royalty, but he is also a God. His family owns several vaults filled with treasures and statues collected from several worlds. 

Moreover, he also holds a prestigious status that far surpasses that of T’Challa’s. Asgardians are also considered to be highly advanced aliens and be wealthy enough to consider gold as something cheap. 

Black Widow is older than she appears to be.

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to be vague regarding Natasha Romanov’s age, there are a few hints that show she may be well past her thirties. However, in the comics, thanks to various medical treatments and technology have allowed her to live for decades. 

In the comics, she is said to be well over 70 years of age already.

Peggy Carter had an unscripted scene in The First Avenger that made it to the final cut. 

During the scene where Captain America steps out of the chamber that turned him superhuman, Peggy Carter examines a shirtless Steve Rogers with her hands. Because of how spontaneous this scene flowed together it was kept for the authenticity. 

Robert Downey Jr. was nearly rejected for the role of Iron Man. 

If not for Jon Favreau insisting that Robert Downey Jr. should play the role of Iron Man, Downey Jr. would not have been so lucky. Marvel producers initially saw Downey Jr’s alcoholic habits as a red flag and believed that he would not be suitable for the role.

The Heli-carrier that Deadpool and Ajax fought on is a nod to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

By the end of the Deadpool movie, the two characters are seen battling on top of a disassembled Heli-carrier that looks similar to the ones used by the organization S.H.I.E.L.D. However, after seeing this, Fox advised Marvel to make the aircraft look a bit different to avoid any lawsuits that might come from Disney. 

The word ‘Zombies’ was trademarked by Marvel Studios. 

During the year 1973, Marvel Comics published a comic book called Tale of the Zombie. For some time, Marvel trademarked the term ‘Zombie’ for the use in their comic books. 

However, in 1996 they let go of the trademark after realizing that it was nearly impossible to enforce it on this particular term. 

Groot’s lines were recorded several times by Vin Diesel himself. 

Vin Diesel also recorded himself saying the lines in several other languages multiple times. He also voiced Baby Groot’s voice all by himself and without any additional effects on his voice. While the actor may be known for his deep baritone voice, he has been imitating and doing cartoon impressions since he was a child. 

The One Above All is considered to have the most powerful superpowers in the Marvel universe.

One Above All is an all-knowing, all-powerful entity. When interacting with others, this hero takes on the form of Jack Kirby. 

One Above All is also said to be the creator of the multiverse. 

Quiksilver once challenged The Flash to a race.

In many issues of the JLA/Avengers crossover comics, the Flash and Quicksilver race against each other multiple times. However, Flash’s victories were only dependent on the fact that he had used the speed force when able. 

During the instances where he was not able to do so, Quicksilver took a simple victory over the red-suited hero. 

The X-Men were labeled as mutants rather than humans to avoid legal issues.

In 1994, importing human figures and toys into the United States became more expensive than non-human figures. To get around this Marvel found a loophole.

The action figures made in China were labeled as mutants to avoid the extra costs. 

Much of Marvel’s famous superheroes are of Irish descent.

A few heroes to name include Captain America, the Beast, Iceman, Daredevil, Bullseye, and one of Ant-Man’s incarnations. 

Baby Groot’s dance number took two years to conceptualize. 

The dance that Baby Groot executes to Electric Light Orchestra’s hit Mr. Blue Sky took two years to plan and create. This large project that took two years for the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 team to make with James Gunn paid off in the end as it was one of the most well-received scenes in the movie. 

The Wasp was nearly cast to be in the movie Avengers Assemble.

During the earlier drafts of the film, Henry Pym’s Wife, Janet was originally set to appear as the Wasp. However, Black Widow was instead chosen to fill the role of the last Avenger as she was already previously introduced in Iron Man 2. 

This change was made to reduce the clutter in storytelling throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Robert Downey Jr. and Marissa Tomei personally knew each other before Spider-Man Homecoming. 

The two got to know each other during the 1994 film Only You, which later led to a developing romantic relationship. Eventually, the two broke up on good terms. 

When Robert Downey Jr. heard that they were looking for someone to fill in the role for Aunt May in Spider-Man Homecoming, he immediately recommended his old friend, Marissa Tomei for the role.

Bruce Banner is called by a different name in the Hulk TV series. 

Instead of being known as Bruce Banner, the television series renamed Bruce to David Banner. According to Stan Lee in an interview, the producers had insisted on changing Hulk’s secret identity.

This was mainly because the producer believed that the name Bruce was considered to have homosexual connotations despite Stan Lee arguing against it. 

In 1997, Marvel and DC created a Captain America/Batman special.

The plot centers around the Red Skull hiring the Joker to steal an atomic bomb during WWII. However, the Joker is then later horrified to find out that the Skull is a Nazi. 

The two villains engage in a fight before Batman and Captain America could arrive.

Originally, the Hulk had grey skin. 

When the Hulk was first introduced in the comics, he was green-skinned due to a printing error with the four-color printing process. Each time an issue of The Incredible Hulk was printed, it would be in different shades of grey each time. 

Stan Lee took inspiration for the creation of Galactus and the Silver Surfer from the Bible.

In the Marvel comics, God inspired the creation of Galactus and from Satan came the Silver Surfer. 

Marvel could have died out four years before its first comic was even published. 

In 1937, the creator, Martin Goodman was in the middle of preparation to return to America from a honeymoon. However, he booked his tickets a little too slow and missed a flight on the Hindenburg. Luckily, because of this Goodman avoided the famed disaster and went on to continue working on building his company. 

Marvel had a series called ‘What if?’. 

The series focuses on exploring how the Marvel Universe might have unfolded if a few key moments in history turned out differently. Since the 1970s the series has had several publications including stand-alone issues. 

The Pentagon stopped helping Marvel studios with the Avengers because it was unrealistic.

Apart from being unrealistic, Pentagon also did not wish to have to answer to organizations such as S.H.I.E.L.D. 

Tom Holland was not given complete access to the Infinity War script. 

The young actor is known for accidentally spoiling plots during interviews and on his social media accounts. As a safety precaution, he was given as little information as possible regarding the plans for Infinity War and its script. 

Jean Grey has died around 14 times in Marvel’s Earth-616 continuity. 

Jean Grey is no 80s song, but she’s known for Stayin’ Alive. This X-Men has died and resurrected several times already in the Marvel Earth-616 universe. Her main deaths involve losing control over the phoenix force several times and triggering the dark phoenix.

However, the phoenix force is also what continuously resurrected her and what causes her to regain control of her powers. 

Deadpool and Thanos were once in a love triangle with Lady Death. 

The Mad Titan and Deadpool were both infatuated with the female personification of Death. However, in the end, Thanos won her over and has a child with her. 

Thanos also cursed Wade Wilson with immortality, thus preventing him from ever truly dying and being with his love. There was also a little easter egg of this storyline in Deadpool 2. 

Jeremy Renner trained with Olympic archers to prepare for the role of Hawkeye. 

Jeremy Renner only had a few months to prepare for his role. As a result, he had to hire professionals. He trained heavily with Olympic archers to understand and master the bow and arrow. 

George R.R Martin was an avid fan of the Marvel comics. 

George R.R. Martin is known for being the man who reinvented the fantasy genre into something more enjoyable than anything it was before. What many people didn’t know was that he was also a huge fan of Marvel and its work. 

He would often write to Marvel’s letter columns during the 60s. 

One storyline shows Deadpool killing the entire Marvel universe.

The story shows the X-Men taking Deadpool to a mental hospital for therapy. However, the doctor treating him turns out to be Psycho-Man in disguise attempting to hypnotize Deadpool into becoming his slave. 

This fails but leaves Deadpool even more mentally unstable and leads on a murderous rampage killing all heroes and villains. The story ends with him breaking into the ‘real’ world and confronting the Marvel writers who are currently working on the story. 

The Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters has a long history of being blown up.

It has long been a running joke in X-Men that the school is regularly destroyed. In the span of its history, it has been attacked by Juggernaut, the Skrulls, Onslaught and Phalanx, and several other villains. 

In many adaptations of the comics, the school is always attacked at least once during every story arc.

A Marvel superhero called Mr. Immortal has no other superpower other than immortality.

In the comics, he has been seen being killed off in many different ways. However, due to his immortality, he cannot die. 

The events in the films of Thor, Iron Man 2, and the Incredible Hulk all occur within a week.

These events also collectively refer to Nick Fury’s Big Week. This series was also published as a limited-series comic book and titled Marvel’s The Avengers Prelude: Fury’s Big Week. 

Marvel Comic’s Dr. Doom inspired the character of Darth Vader. 

During the making of the early Star Wars franchise, George Lucas took great inspiration from the comics that Marvel had been publishing at the time. The inspiration behind the making of Darth Vader’s character was none other than the archenemy of the Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom. 

The Hulk reproduced with She-Hulk in Mark Millar’s Old Man Logan series. 

She-Hulk gives birth to a hillbilly clan of strong yet dimwitted children. The Hulks were later on called the Hulk Gang. 

Marvel beat DC to the name rights of Captain Marvel.

When Marvel had learned that DC was planning on bringing back Fawcett’s Captain Marvel from the 40s, they beat them ahead of publication so that DC would not be able to use the name due to copyright. However, because of this, Marvel is now legally obligated to keep printing Captain Marvel stories or risk losing the right to use the name. 

Mary Jane Watson once got cancer from Peter Parker’s radioactive semen. 

In Spider-Man: Reign, Peter Parker’s love interest Mary Jane is revealed to have passed away. She died from cancer which resulted from several occasions of her and Peter continuously having unprotected sex. 

Spider-Man: Reign is set thirty years into the future where Peter and Mary Jane were already married.

Stan Lee once posed in the nude for an interview.

For an interview that talked about the Marvel offices behind-the-scenes, Stan Lee once bared it all. Marvel prevented this photo from coming out and was not released until 29 years later. The photo shows Stan Lee sitting on his side on a long couch in the nude with only his privates covered up by a single book.

In the Marvel Comics Universe, the famous pirate Blackbeard is revealed to be the Thing from the Fantastic Four. 

When the Fantastic Four team is sent back in time, Reed Richards places a pirate hat and eye patch onto the Thing in an attempt to disguise his appearance. This inadvertently led to the creation of the feared pirate legend. 

The old Marvel films from the 40s were not as successful as the Marvel films today.

During the earlier history of comic book films, Marvel had always received the short end of the stick. Their early films continuously received negative feedback from viewers and fans. 

Black Widow kills Tony Stark’s butler after he catches them having intercourse. 

In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Jarvis once walks in on Tony Stark and Natasha Romanov having sex. As a response, Romanov shoots and kills Jarvis which causes her true sinister persona to come out. 

Marvel released a comic dedicated to Combos Snacks.

The story was about a boy who could transform into a superhero after being bombarded by energy and eating a Combo. His superhero appearance is an amalgamation of several well-known heroes such as Wolverine, Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, and as well as some villains such as Magneto and the Punisher. 

The correct way to write Spider-Man’s name is with a hyphen between the words.

Stan Lee himself has stated numerous times that the correct way of writing Spider-Man’s name is with the hyphen. This is also because the hyphen is used to distinguish the webbed crusader from Superman. 

Stan Lee set this decision in stone with comic book artist, Steve Ditko. 

Marvel based their character design for God after one of their artists. 

Reed Richards once attempted to revive the Thing by stealing his soul from Heaven. There, the Fantastic 4 met God who was designed after Marvel artist Jack Kirby. Definitely one of the cheekier Marvel facts.

Spider-Man once revealed that he was sexually abused as a child by one of his older friends.

Peter Parker stated in a special four-page supplement of a 1995 Chicago Tribune comic page that he was sexually abused as a child. The story was the result of a team-up with Marvel Comics with the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse. 

Stan Lee’s cameo in the original Guardians of the Galaxy was different from the final cut. 

The idea for his cameo was to flip off our heroes when Groot comes across the Collector’s display cases. In one of the cases, it would show Marvel Comics president, Stan Lee.

Dr. Doom has diplomatic immunity in America. 

This immunity is granted to him because of his position as the ruler of Latveria. This has also led Captain America to obligatorily act as Dr. Doom’s bodyguard while visiting the United States. 

The ‘Demon in a Bottle’ arc was off-limits for the third Iron Man film. 

This was mainly because the Marvel Cinematic Universe was made to be family-friendly. Both Marvel and Disney were concerned about how the message of alcoholism would affect children watching and decided not to touch the subject further. 

The giant ‘A’ on Stark Towers was a gift to Iron Man from Marvel Studios. 

In celebration of Robert Downey Jr’s 30th birthday, Marvel studios gave Downey’s character a stylish gift to his industry’s tower. The giant ‘A’ can be seen in the final shot of The Avengers movie. 

Charlie Cox did not know Daredevil was blind until the day before his audition.

This was mainly due to him being unfamiliar with the source material before he signed up to audition for the role. One of the Marvel facts that turned out for the best, it seems. 

Deadpool can speak several languages apart from English. 

One of the cooler Marvel facts is that Deadpool is a polyglot. In the Marvel Comics Universe, Deadpool can be seen speaking fluent German, Spanish, Japanese, and even American Sign Language (ASL). Coincidentally, the actor that also portrays Deadpool in the film, Ryan Reynolds, is also multilingual. 

Asbestos Lady was a Marvel villain who only wore asbestos-lined clothing. 

She is often seen robbing banks with her accomplices who also sported the same kind of clothing. However, she was later written off narrating that the character had died of cancer. 

Tony Stark believes that the Falcon is smarter than Bruce Banner.

The Ultimate Version of Marvel Comics shows Tony Stark stating that the only man who comes second to him in terms of intelligence is Falcon. After this follows Bruce Banner and Reed Richards. 

Squirrel Girl once battled with Dr. Doom.

It’s one of the Marvel facts that sound like a crazy news headline, but it actually happened in the comics. This superheroine defeated Dr. Doom by flooding his aircraft with a swarm of squirrels. Apart from being able to communicate with squirrels, she also has super strength and night vision.  

Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson married each other in 1987.

To celebrate the occasion, Marvel held a publicity event that featured several actors dressed as Spider-Man. Actresses also dressed up as Mary Jane Watson and were ‘wed’ to Spider-Man at the Shea Stadium. Definitely one for sweeter Marvel facts.

Loki appeared in the Marvel Comics 13 years before Thor made his debut.

Loki debuted in Marvel during the year 1949. He was a regular foe in the Marvel comics universe and would be included in storylines and all cinematics that featured Thor. 

Spider-Man once teamed up with the third season cast of Saturday Night Live.

This team-up was shown in the 1978 issue of Marvel Team-Up. Icons such as Bill Murray and John Belushi teamed up with the webbed crusader to defeat the Silver Samurai. Definitely one of the crazier Marvel facts.

Tony Stark owns area 51. 

In the Marvel Comics universe, Tony Stark is seen as an eccentric playboy billionaire. Along with the many properties he owns, it also includes the famed area 51. There’s one of the Marvel facts that sound straight out of a Reddit thread. 

Marvel once created a deaf superhero to help a child. 

In 2002, Marvel caught news of a boy around four years of age who suffered from hearing loss not wanting to wear his hearing aids simply due to the reason that no superheroes did. As an attempt to help the child, Marvel created the superhero The Blue Ear who uses a hearing aid to detect trouble. How’s that for heartwarming Marvel facts?

Fox planned to make a Daredevil Trilogy.

The films were planned to be set through the 70s and 80s. The tone of each film would have been inspired by different genres of music starting with popular classic rock, punk rock, and new wave. However, with Marvel acquiring the rights to Daredevil, this did not take off.

Gwen Stacy’s death is regarded to be one of the most significant moments in Marvel’s history.

The Night Gwen Stacy Died premieres in the Amazing Spider-Man Comics after the 1973 storyline. One of the most disputed Marvel facts is that Stan Lee promoted that the character would be brought back soon. 

However, Forty years later, the character has yet to be revived in Marvel’s main continuity. The only exception of this would be the failed clones of Gwen Stacy. 

Reed Richards fabric technology is used to make the costumes of the Marvel superheroes. 

In the Marvel Comic universe, the special material is called ‘unstable molecules’. This technology developed by Mr. Fantastic is specially made to withstand the stress of the wearer’s powers and the damage it could take in battle.  

Kamala Khan’s identity as Ms. Marvel was used to announce positive messages against racism.

During the time that San Francisco busses began to run anti-Islamic advertisements, an unknown individual defaced them all. Instead of the negative advertisements, it was replaced with photos of Marvel’s Ms. Marvel. 

Many of the images contained positive messages about putting an end to racism. Now that’s one for inspiring Marvel facts. 

Stan Lee stole the concept idea of the Doom Patrol to make the X-Men. 

If you compare the two carefully, the two groups do have the same concept. The group is made up of misfits who have superpowers and are led by a man in a wheelchair. 

While Stan Lee never admitted to stealing the concept from anyone else, the author of Marvel’s X-Men is convinced he did so. 

Elvis Presley took inspiration for his hairstyle from a Marvel character.

The King of Rock and Roll’s trademark haircut was based on the Marvel superhero, Captain Marvel Jr. A few of his costumes were also inspired by the young superhero. Isn’t that one for unlikely Marvel facts? 

Marvel’s Irene Adler was inspired by Sherlock Holmes. 

Originally, she was written to be Mystique’s lover. However, due to the sensitivity over homosexual relationships at the time, the comics did not portray them as such. 

Instead, they were portrayed as friends who only later announced that they were a couple when homosexuality was slowly being accepted in some societies. 

Pepper Potts had a child with Happy Hogan in Marvel’s mainstream comics.

Later on, she experiences a miscarriage and loses the baby due to an assault from one of Iron Man’s enemies. After this Pepper and Happy soon reconciled. Definitely one of the unexpected Marvel facts. 

The Punisher is one of Marvel’s most popular anti-heroes.

He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man issue number 129. The antagonist was hired to assassinate Spider-Man while he mourns for the death of his former lover Gwen Stacy. 

There are two Infinity Gauntlets in the Marvel Universe. 

The right gauntlet can be seen in Odin’s treasure room. The left gauntlet can be seen in the vault of Thanos in the final scenes of the film Avenger: Age of Ultron.

Deadpool continuously breaks the fourth wall. 

Wade Wilson was given the awareness that he was just a character made by writers in the real world. This ability was due to his Comic Awareness. The term Comic awareness is also a pun on Captain Marvel’s Cosmic Awareness. 

The Marvel Universe has a supervillain who is a wall. 

This villain was a sentient chunk of a brick wall that had no arms and only had legs and a head. He was suitably named The Wall and appeared in the Spider-Man comics. Definitely one of the Marvel facts to see for yourself. 

Big Hero 6 was based on a Marvel comic. 

Disney based the the 2014 animated film, Big Hero 6 on a Marvel comic of the same name. However, it does not follow the storyline of the comic. Instead, Disney took core themes and characters from the original comic and created a new story with it.

Marvel did not believe that Mark Ruffalo would be right for the role of Bruce Banner.

Originally, the studio preferred the more famous Edward Norton over Mark Ruffalo, whose portfolio consisted mainly of intellectual movies. However, after Norton’s falling-out with the studio and some convincing on Ruffalo’s part, he was cast for the role of the Hulk. You probably didn’t expect that from Marvel facts. 

T’challa almost had a different superhero name. 

Instead of The Black Panther, Stan Lee originally suggested a different name. Originally, the King of Wakanda was to be called The Coal Tiger. Now that’s one for Marvel facts that would’ve been hard to imagine otherwise.

Only one timeline in the Marvel Universe is a utopia.

This utopia is shown to be only possible if Dr. Doom assumes the position of an absolute ruler. No other timelines or universes will allow humanity to thrive and prosper in a perfect utopia apart from this timeline. 

There is a mutant in the Marvel Universe who can turn into ice cream.

This mutant is named Eye-Scream and he only has one power. He can turn any flavor of ice cream imaginable, including banana splits. Now that’s one for crazy Marvel facts.

Ant-Man made his debut closely after many founding members of the Avengers. 

Scott Lang first debuted in September 1962 while other Avengers such as The Incredible Hulk debuted in May of the same year. Spider-Man and Thor debuted in August of the same year as well.

Earth 3409 of the Marvel multiverse shows that Tony Stark was born female.

Natasha Stark becomes the Iron Woman when she grows up. Ultimately, the comics show her being married to Steve Rogers which prevents not only the Superhero Registration Program but also the Civil War. 

A mini-series called Deadpool Killustrated was published by Marvel.

The series revolves around Deadpool killing characters from known literary classics. A few of the characters that Deadpool has killed include Sherlock Holmes, The Little Mermaid, Tom Sawyer, and Moby Dick. How’s that for cool Marvel facts?

Marvel comics spent 10 years convincing the U.S. government regarding their misconceptions about the X-Men. 

It took Marvel an entire decade to convince the U.S. government that the X-Men are not human. Instead of being referred to as such, Marvel spent all those years trying to get them to accept the term mutant. 

The first Marvel character to possess adamantium was Ultron.

Hank Pym wanted to build an Avenger that he could control and made use of the indestructible alloy. However, Ultron went rogue and could no longer be controlled after he was sent on a rampage. 

T’challa was able to put the Silver Surfer in a chokehold once. 

For those who are unaware, the Silver Surfer is considered to be one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. However, in Dwayne McDuffie’s The Wrong Side: Black Panther vs The Silver Surfer, Black Panther got the Silver Surfer in a chokehold which the Surfer had difficulty in getting out of. 

Many readers found this story controversial and often argued that the storyline was awful and made no sense.

Apocalypse is the oldest mutant.

This Marvel Character is also said to be the first mutant in history. His origins trace back to 5000 years ago, dating back to the times of ancient Egypt. Definitely one of the Marvel facts that show how extensive its timelines are.

The Phoenix is a force of nature rather than a living entity. 

The Phoenix force is one of the most impactful ones in the Marvel Universe. However, it is most notable for its appearance and central role in The Dark Phoenix Saga storyline. 

The Dark Phoenix has also ranked as the 38th most powerful villain on Wizard: Magazine of Comics. 

The Marvel Universe has a supervillain themed after a bell.

His real identity is Lester Verde, a scientist that possesses advanced knowledge in genetic engineering beyond the scope of mainstream science. He wears a bell-shaped helmet and a large metal ball in place of his severed hand. 

Wolverine once joined the Avengers.

It’s one of the Marvel facts that sounds like a joke, but the Wolverine was once an Avenger. Wolverine appears as a regular character in The Avengers and The New Avengers series that ran through the years 2010 to 2013. However, the author Brian Michael Bendis had the character join the New Avengers dating back to the year 2005. 

Vision is built from the original human Torch. 

In the mainstream Marvel continuity, the original Human Torch was an android created by Professor Phineas Horton. However, Vision’s consciousness is taken from the brain patterns of Wonder Man who remain in suspended animation for several years. 

This begins the creation of a synthesized Vision that Hank Pym created by stealing brain patterns from the Avengers. 

Scott Lang’s daughter grows up to become a superhero in the comics.

In the comics, Cassie grows up to become Stature. Cassie joins as a member of the Young Avengers and The Initiative. 

She also possesses the same powers as her father.  

Marvel fans gave Agent Coulson a regular spot in the mainstream Marvel Comics. 

Originally the character was only a minor one. However, fans loved him so much that the writers were forced to add him to the continuity of the mainstream Marvel Comics in 2012. 

The character now serves as a regular member of the Secret Avengers. Definitely one of the Marvel facts that tells you they care about their following.

The Punisher once teamed up with famous rapper Eminem.

Another one of the crazier sounding Marvel facts: Marshall Mathers – better known by his stage name, Eminem – once teamed up with the Marvel antihero in a comic 2009 by Fred Van Lente and Salvador Larroca. 

Eminem got into the comic book business when he recorded an original song for Sony’s live-action film for Venom. 

The Avengers’ HQ is constantly being expanded.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you can see a shot of the Avengers’ HQ with additional annexes with each movie. During the Avengers: Age of Ultron film, the HQ is seen as only one annex while in the final Avengers film, Avengers: Endgame their HQ takes up a large mass of land.

In the Marvel comics, Drax was a normal human being. 

Arthur Douglas, also known as Drax, the Destroyer, was once an ordinary human who was murdered by the Mad Titan, Thanos. However, the abstract entity Kronos ressurected him after sensing an imbalance in the universe. How’s that for cool Marvel facts? 

Marvel considered the X-men series a second-tier title.

Despite this, it was once canceled in 1969. Marvel stated that the X-Men series did not gain popularity until it was rebooted in 1976. 

By then the series had featured an entirely new team that included famed characters such as Wolverine and Storm.

Marvel uses the death of Bucky Barnes to justify why there are no young sidekicks.

Marvel states that no hero would ever want to endanger a minor similarly as Captain America did during the Second World War. Apart from Falcon, there are virtually no adult sidekicks in Marvel Comics. 

Deadpool looked up to Captain America as a kid. 

Once Wade Wilson was building his career as Deadpool, he joined a super-soldier program and formed a link with Steve Rogers. Over time, their relationship strengthened and Wade Wilson was able to make a name for himself. 

Steve Rogers grew to become one of the few people who respect and empathize with Deadpool. 

Huginn and Muninn witnessed Thor abduct Loki in the movie The Avengers.

During the scene where Thor and Loki have a conversation after escaping from The Avengers, two ravens can be seen flying by while the two argue. These birds are Huginn and Muninn.

These two ravens serve as agents of Odin who bring information to the God in the Thor comics. The same ravens can be seen perched on either side of Odin’s throne in the first Thor movie as well as its sequel Thor: The Dark World. 

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony Stark’s butler, Jarvis, is an A.I. assistant.

J.A.R.V.I.S. stands for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. Tony Stark named this natural-language user interface computer system after the butler his father, Howard Stark had. 

The Incredible Hulk left The Avengers. 

Despite being one of the founding members of The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk left the team shortly after their first battle against Loki in the comics. The reason behind his resignation was because he realized that his team members were afraid of him. 

The Incredible Hulk did not return to the team until fifty years after their last battle. 

Santa Claus is registered as the most powerful mutant in the Marvel world. 

In the Marvel Universe, the strongest mutant to ever be registered is the Kris Kringle himself. This was stated by Cerebro in a distant future on Christmas eve. 

Jon Favreau was originally hired to direct a comedic Captain America film.

This idea failed however and he was asked to direct the first Iron Man film instead. He has also directed other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe such as Spider-Man Far From Home and Iron Man 2. 

Tony Stark wears a Black Sabbath shirt to reference Iron Man. 

This is a reference to one of the band’s most famous songs, Iron Man. However, this song has nothing to do with the Marvel hero himself. 

Additionally, this song was also used to play over the end credits in the original Iron Man film right after Tony Stark had declared himself to be Iron Man. Now that’s one for neat Marvel facts.  

The Mjolnir can destroy galaxies. 

The Mjolnir is the hammer that Thor is often seen using for a weapon. This hammer is so powerful that its wielder can create force fields so great, it can destroy entire galaxies. 

It can also travel through planets to return to its wielder’s hand and can also move and manipulate large structures such as the Washington Monument and the Taj Mahal. It is also able to molecularly manipulate objects and control magnetic forces.

Stan Lee created Thor as The Hulk's foil. 

Stan Lee created Thor to introduce a being more powerful than The Incredible Hulk. He stated that the only thing more powerful than a man would be a god.

Marvel has licensed She-Hulk and Rogue from the X-Men.

Marvel planned to use these characters for romance novels aimed towards female audiences, since comics traditionally had a male following. 

Marvel once published an employee's resignation letter in a comic. 

In 1979, former Marvel Comics artist Dave Cockrum had resigned and later found his resignation strangely inserted into the Iron Man comic issue number 127. His letter was featured in a panel which shows Stark’s butler, Jarvis, resigning after an abusive episode with Tony Stark. 

One of the most unexpected Marvel facts: The letter published was copied word for word from the original letter the former comic artist had written.