iron man 2008 movie poster showing tony stark
By
Robert Wood
Published 33 minutes ago
Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words.
Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II.
Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno.
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The MCU is an unprecedented media juggernaut with several of the highest-grossing films of all time, and yet according to Marvel's own rules from the 1950s, several of its biggest movies would have been totally forbidden.
Talk to any Marvel nerd and it won't be long before they bring up the Comics Code Authority. Following a moral panic regarding crime and horror content in comics, major publishers including Marvel signed up to the 'Comic book code of 1954,' self-censoring to avoid official legislation.
the comic code authority seal on a background of marvel comics
Comics had to be squeaky clean to earn a CCA seal, without which most distributors wouldn't carry them. Ironically, many of Marvel's most iconic movies break rules explicitly laid down in the original code...
7 Iron Man (2008)
"Seduction shall never be shown or suggested"
tony stark trying out his iron man gauntlet in the mcu
Much of the 'Comic book code of 1954' is concerned with only depicting wholesome relationships, which is bad news for serial womanizer Tony Stark. While Iron Man's arc ultimately sees him marry Pepper Potts and raise their daughter Morgan, the initial movie has some fun with Tony's love life.
iron man tony stark flirts with a journalist
In particular, Tony seduces Christine Everhart - a journalist who initially confronts the Armored Avenger over his status as a weapons manufacturer, branding him "the Merchant of Death." Tony boasting about going "twelve-for-twelve with last year's Maxim cover models" would have likewise resulted in an instant rejection.
6 Ant-Man (2015)
"If crime is depicted it shall be as a sordid and unpleasant activity"
Ant-Man (2015) movie poster
Ant-Man is the story of former burglar Scott Lang becoming a superhero after trying to rip off Hank Pym, but the CCA would have rejected it for taking crime too lightly. Scott carries out multiple heists in the movie, which are treated as cheesy fun rather than unforgivable trespasses against the law.
ant-man's scott lang stealing superhero suit
Even Ant-Man's backstory violates the CCA. In the movies, Scott Lang targets VistaCorp because he finds out they're deliberately overcharging their customers, with his imprisonment taking him away from his beloved daughter Cassie. That's a pretty blatant violation of the CCA, which states "crimes shall never be presented in such a way as to create sympathy for the criminal."
The CCA lost its teeth over time, with Marvel and DC ultimately pulling out of the approval process and adopting their own ratings systems.
5 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
"Policemen, judges, government officials, and respected institutions shall never be presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority"
Captain America The Winter Soldier cast looking cool
From villainous official Alexander Pierce to Captain America fighting cops, Winter Soldier's espionage vibe would have torpedoed it with the CCA, which was very concerned with protecting the reputation of civil authority.
Alexander Pierce shaking hands with captain america in the mcu
According to the CCA, superhero stories needed to depict cops as heroes, crooks as villains, and crime as an activity that never pays. The title character causes plenty of problems himself - Bucky kills at least two police officers in the movie, with the comic code stating, "instances of law-enforcement officers dying as a result of a criminal’s activities should be discouraged."
4 Black Panther (2018)
"No unique or unusual methods of concealing weapons shall be shown"
Black Panther (2018) movie poster showing the cast
This rule was probably about avoiding giving criminals tips on hiding their weapons, but the letter of the law would have come down hard on Ulysses Klaue, whose prosthetic arm is hiding a powerful sonic gun.
andy serkis' mcu villain ulysses klaue brandishing his arm gun
The CCA was notorious for being incredibly literal, even to the point of contradicting the intent of the comics code. When Stan Lee was contacted by the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare to publish an anti-drug Spider-Man story, he had to do so without the CCA seal, since they technically banned any mention of drugs.
The franchise might also fall afoul of "divorce shall not be treated humorously nor represented as desirable," given Martin Freeman's Everett Ross seems relatively relieved to be divorced from Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (another corrupt government official, by the way.)
3 Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
"Nudity in any form is prohibited, as is indecent or undue exposure."
Thor Ragnarok (2017) poster showing all its main characters in the mcu
One of Marvel's best-loved movies would have had to leave a beloved moment on the cutting room floor to please the CCA. When a disguised Thor infiltrates the Council of Godheads, Zeus accidentally strips him naked with a gesture, causing Zeus' attendants to faint outright.
zeus doing a flick in the mcu's thor ragnarok
Thor responds by bellowing, "You flicked too hard, dammit!" The CCA would have responded even more negatively.
2 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
"Profanity, obscenity, smut, vulgarity, or words or symbols which have acquired undesirable meanings are forbidden."
guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 image showing star-lord and the rest of his mcu crew
The MCU's first f-bomb would have shocked 1950s censors. In the final installment of James Gunn's Guardians trilogy, Chris Pratt's Star-Lord loses his temper with Nebula while she tries to unlock a tricky car door, trying to explain the mechanism before eventually barking, "Open the f***ing door."
Of course, extend the scope of this article to cover all Marvel movies, and Deadpool would have probably desensitized the CCA long before Peter Quill made curse-word history.
deadpool giving thumbs up
1 Werewolf by Night (2022)
"Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with walking dead, torture, vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism, and werewolfism are prohibited"
werewolf by night promo art from mcu
Okay, we admit it - most of the movies on this list could have escaped the CCA's rules with a few precision cuts. However, Marvel's horror-themed TV movie would have been utterly doomed, given the Comics Code explicitly banned werewolves like the MCU's Jack Russell.
the mcu's werewolf by night in wolf form
This prohibiton led to a scuffle between DC and the CCA relating to 1970's House of Secrets #83. The CCA objected to a line referencing "a wandering wolfman," but DC successfully argued that the reference was actually to writer Marv Wolfman. The CCA agreed to allow the reference provided Wolfman was clearly credited, leading DC to improve its crediting practices for anthology comics - a rare CCA win!
Those are the 7 MCU movies that would definitely have been banned by the CCA. Let us know which other MCU moments would have fallen afoul of the Comics Code Authority in the comments below.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Created by
Kevin Feige
First Film
Iron Man
Upcoming Films
Blade, Avengers: Doomsday (2026), Avengers: Secret Wars
First TV Show
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Upcoming TV Shows
Marvel Zombies, Wonder Man, Vision Quest
Cast
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors
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