We all know the popular superheroes and supervillains of Marvel Comics. But what you may not know is that behind their flashy costumes and superhuman abilities often lies a real person who influenced that character. That's right, some of Marvel Comics' most iconic characters were inspired by actual people.
Some of these names may be unfamiliar to you, ordinary people who knew and inspired the character's creator. Others are famous people that you'll definitely recognize, whose lives and appearances were used to shape some of Marvel's biggest creations. Because of them, these ten Marvel characters are now as real to us as the people they're based on.
10 Thanos Was Based on Sigmund Freud
Even His Name Came from Freud
Everybody knows Thanos, the first major villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But what you may not know is that Thanos was inspired by Sigmund Freud, the famous neurologist whose work on psychoanalysis greatly impacted the field of psychology. Well, kind of. Thanos wasn't inspired by the man himself, but by one of his ideas: the human Death drive, which is exactly like it sounds.
It's the Freudian belief that humans possess a drive toward death and destruction, implicated through aggression, the repetition of toxic and traumatic behaviors, and self-destructiveness. And that is exactly what Thanos represents: the drive toward death and destruction.
Oh, and the common name for Freudian's human death drive? "Thanatos", which is the personification of death in ancient Greek mythology. It's this belief that birthed the supervillain Thanos. Although, when you look at Freud and Thanos side by side, there does seem to be a resemblance...
9 Kingpin Was Based on Sydney Greenstreet and Robert Middleton
Based on Beefy Gangster Villains in the Movies
Wilson Fisk, better known by his gangster alias Kingpin, is a hulking mob boss, who's served as the antagonist to multiple superheroes, including Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the Punisher. Don't let his abundance of white suit jackets fool you; this guy is no angel. He was the villain in numerous adaptations, like 2003's horrible Daredevil film where he was played by Michael Clarke Duncan, the Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Netflix's hit TV series Daredevil, where he was played to perfection by Vincent D'Onofrio, who continues to play the character in the MCU.
The Kingpin was actually based on not one but two different actors. One of them was Sydney Greenstreet, who played the villain Kasper Gutman in the Humphrey Bogart classic, The Maltese Falcon. The other actor was Robert Middleton, who was known for playing beefy villains. Combine these two actors together, and you pretty much get a caricature of Kingpin.
8 Bucky Barnes Was Based on Bucky Pierson
A Real WWII Vet
Originally introduced as Captain America's sidekick, Bucky Barnes eventually grew to be his own hero -- and also his own villain, known only as the Winter Soldier. At one point, Bucky takes on the mantle of Captain America when his old friend, Steve Rogers and the original Captain America, is presumed to be dead.
Stan Lee loved giving his characters alliterative names to make them easier to remember: Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Reed Richards, and so on. But he shockingly was not the writer to come up with this one. Bucky Barnes was actually co-created by Joe Simon, who also created the iconic Captain America. Simon bestowed Cap's boyish sidekick with the name Bucky, named after his own high school friend Bucky Pierson, who really did serve in World War II.
Bucky has been a major ally (and at times, a problem) for Cap in the MCU, portrayed by actor Sebastian Stan in multiple films, including Captain America: Winter Soldier.
7 Mary-Jane Watson Was Based on Ann-Margret
Her Look Was Designed by John Romita Sr.
Mary-Jane Watson is one of the most famous female characters in Marvel Comics. This spunky redhead is the main love interest of Spider-Man, ever since his high school days, and later becomes his wife. Although MJ was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, it was artist John Romita Sr. who gave the character her iconic red hair and overall look.
Romita modeled MJ after the actress Ann-Margret, particularly from the 1963 musical Bye Bye Birdie, implementing Ann-Margret's face shape, red hair, and overall coloring into the character's design. Mary-Jane was the main love interest in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and a version of the character is currently in the MCU's Spider-Man series, where she's played by Zendaya.