The Marvel Universe has some of the most beloved heroes and villains the superhero genre has ever known. From the hometown heroes like Spider-Man and Captain America to the cosmic heroes from beyond the stars like Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy. But what would happen if these heroes handed in their masks and capes for swords and sorcery?
Though the genres mix and mingle in the comics and movies, we’ve found a few pieces of gorgeous fan art that show Marvel characters work just as well in the realms of fantasy as they do on the streets of New York. The results are truly quite marvelous.
Denis Medri’s Medieval Avengers
We’re a big fan of the sketchbook art style Medri has going on with these guys. With their knight and Viking-inspired armor, Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man look like they’re ready for a round in The Banner Saga than fighting the forces of Ultron or Thanos. Either way, they’re ready for action.
We’re not going to lie, we’d love to see a cartoon or comic book inspired by this image. Seeing these heroes trade in their mechanized weaponry in exchange for swords and shields to defeat the forces of evil would definitely be entertaining to watch in our book.
Nate Hallinan’s Order of X
Though this magnificent work of art by artist Nate Hallinan was blatantly inspired by Marvel’s X-Men (We see you over there, Sir Patrick Stewart), this party of adventurers resembles something out of a George R.R Martin novel or a D&D campaign. They look ready to go after more than sentinels in those outfits.
We don’t know which redesign we love more. We’re greatly charmed by the Ingo Montoya vibes coming off of Nightcrawler, but Storm looks like she could give Gandalf a run for his money. Whether they’re protecting the kingdom from the forces of the dark lord Magneto or simply walking into Mordor, we love this redesign of one of our favorite teams.
Daniel Kamarudin’s Wizardly Vision
Kamarudin has an entire series dedicated to a fantasy reimagining of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but if we could only pick one, we’d have to go with this vividly enchanting interpretation of The Vision. On first glance, one might confuse him with a villain from Doctor Strange, but those arcane runes and mystical auras radiating off of him definitely give us a personification of the Mind Stone.
Our favorite feature is that mask, radiating the stone’s energy from the eyes and forehead to create a surreal and almost ghostly effect. Perhaps he serves as the fantasy avenger’s mage unit, providing powerful spells as they stop the unholy powers of Ultron.
Pxpxp’s Sir Wolverine
To get the full effect of this impressive piece of artwork, visit the original page here. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about this rather interesting reimagining of the X-Men’s pointy-clawed poster boy.
Aside from the claws, you might not associate this knight in golden armor with our buddy Logan, but pair that color scheme with the pointed details on his helmet and it begins to look more like the classic costume. It might be a far stretch from the more memorable version, but true fans of the original X-Men could probably spot this a mile away.
Hunor Fogarasi’s Jester Pool
This incarnation of the Merc with a Mouth is just a handful of bells away from being ideal, but we’re definitely behind the blend of character choices Fogarasi went with to give us this piece of fan art. Some might see the elongated hood and think executioner or mercenary, which would be totally in Deadpool’s character, but the pointed headgear and motley notes on his sleeves scream straight jester.
With Deadpool’s reputation for insane and over-the-top comedic banter, this fusion of both fantasy/medieval professions fits the guy in red to a T. We can only imagine what kind of hijinx this dude could get up to in days of yore.
Isikol’s Punisher Huntsman
As if the various guns and appetite for bone-crunching violence wasn’t intimidating enough, Isikol had to go and give us this leather-bound masterpiece. Now, this is a Punisher who means some serious business. He could be a huntsman, an assassin, or any form of rogue, but we’d like to think of him as a sort of magical mercenary, ourselves.
Admit it, doesn’t this guy look like he belongs in Diablo’s Sanctuary? He could be an excellent demon hunter if given the chance, and we don’t think we’d be any less impressed with that idea, or this art for that matter.
Thesqu’s Swashbuckling Spider-Man
Once again, we’re getting some serious Princess Bride vibes from one of these redesigns. In this case, it’s Thesqu’s masked wall-crawler swinging from ropes, storming some evil-doer’s castle or fortress, no doubt. Though his costume lacks the famous webbing outline, the spider emblem and classic mask are still present in their own way with this swashbuckling Spider-Man.
The stripes on his blue accents are an interesting touch, but the most impressive element has to be the use of light-armor, namely leather and cloth, to create something for the acrobatic arachnid to perform his impressive stunts. Stylish and practical, right?
Oz of the Land’s Guardsman Groot
It would be so easy to turn Groot into some sort of variant on J.R.R. Tolkein’s Treebeard from The Lord of the Rings, but here we see a more warrior-influenced approach to the gentle giant. We love how Groot’s plate armor is literally nailed into his body, and they were even nice enough to give him a quarterstaff too.
Oz of the Land’s interpretation definitely seems more wisened and tried than his MCU counterpart, but that only makes us love him more. The gnarled, almost beard-like details in his face really add an element of ancient mystic to his otherwise brutish frame. If you think that’s impressive, have a look at his ringtailed companion.
Oz of the Land’s Rogue Rocket
Of course, we couldn’t talk about a fantasy reimaging of Groot without mentioning the brains to his brawn, our favorite trash panda, Rocket Racoon. Where do we begin on this obviously rogue-inspired raccoon? The leather and plates of his armor matching the designs of his orange jumpsuit, the arrows replacing his projectile weaponry, it all comes together to make an impressive adaptation.
This version of Rocket looks like he’d fit in perfectly in something like Narnia or the Spellsinger book series. Of all the characters on our list, this piece of art perfectly blends and balances the original character with the fantasy reimagining.
Kanthesis’s Lord Tony Stark
Alright, in all honesty, we mainly picked this one for the obvious play on Tony’s family name. But just look at Kanthesis’s Game of Thrones reimagining of one of Iron Man’s earlier suits. The addition of the familiar fur cape, as worn by Ned Stark, just sweetens the look, and probably has more warmth than that tin can on cold, Westeros nights.
Though we’re sure that Tony would be a much more loved and benevolent ruler of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy realm, we wouldn’t be surprised if he enlisted the help of Kamarudin’s Vision, or maybe made multiple armored suits. Only the best for Lord Stark.
