Marvel is a pop culture phenomenon, from comics to TV to cinema, it has managed to take the world by storm across decades.
So, we at Zero Hanger thought why not bring the Marvel universe to the AFL, by having a go at comparing every club to a character from the live-action movies and tv shows.
Also, spoilers are included below, so be mindful!
The club based in 'The City of Churches' finds itself compared to the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, Daredevil.
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The link to church further backs this comparison, with Matt Murdock also holding Catholic faith.
Adelaide's infamous 2018 pre-season camp has left the club making headlines for the wrong reasons, something Daredevil can relate to.
Being a vigilante, 'The Man Without Fear' made the news, and even worse, when his suit was stolen by Ben Poindexter in season three, he had public and press against him as 'Dex' masqueraded as Daredevil.
Although one is at fault for their own actions, and one to a lesser degree, both still got bad press for these events.
With the introduction of many unique and powered characters, Black Widow is a character thrown aside by some, but be it as it may, she was still a key member of the original Avengers.
There is some correlation between her and Brisbane in this regard, with the Lions being a powerhouse in the early 2000s.
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Natasha Romanoff also died in Avengers Endgame, just like Brisbane did in the 2004 Grand Final.
From 2019 we have seen a revival of the Brisbane Lions, to no ultimate success however, and Black Widow finally got her solo movie in 2021, almost a decade too late, and its success is questionable to some.
In this period, the Lions did get a Brownlow Medal winner in Lachie Neale, and the Black Widow movie did introduce a fan favourite in Yelena Belova to the MCU, so some reward without the penultimate gift.
A big-name player who was once powerful is now a shell of their former self. A remark that can be made about both Carlton and the Hulk.
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The 'Incredible' is essentially gone from Hulk, and the same can be said for the Blues.
Bruce Banner's alter self has become more of a comedic character in the last few years compared to a decade and even further ago, while the Blue Baggers have become a laughing stock to rival supporters.
Recent times have shown that things could be looking better for Carlton, having just missed out on finals, and events in the new She-Hulk TV series could be leading to bigger things for a household Marvel name.
Pantomime: A theatrical or dramatic entertainment.
Villain: A person or thing responsible for specified problems, harm or damage.
The pantomime villain: A term used to describe both the Collingwood Football Club and Loki Laufeyson.
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Both the Magpies and the God of Mischief bring plenty of drama and entertainment to the screen as villains, Loki in the traditional sense and Collingwood in the eyes of every rival supporter.
More so this year, the Pies have supplied plenty of drama with their record-breaking close wins, enough that made them likeable to non-Magpie fans.
Loki meanwhile, has been following a story arc of redemption and is the lead of his own tv series.
Both are now the 'hero'.
Loki had 'died' and come back countless times, sounds awfully familiar to Collingwood 'dying' at the pointy end of seasons (27 grand final losses) and returning almost every time.
Essendon's Marvel counterpart is a man who once led a team that was the talk of the town in the X-Men, Professor X.
The Bombers were once the talk of the town as well, a powerful side that is no longer that same team, having not won a final since 2004.
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Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, had a strong team with notable household names like Wolverine, the same could be said for the Dons and say, James Hird?
The last time we saw Xavier, excluding his cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, was in the movie Logan, where he was seen to be old and suffering from dementia.
So he doesn't have a clue what's going on at times, much like Essendon today.
Fremantle play at the same home ground as West Coast, Optus Stadium, much like War Machine using the tech as Iron Man.
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James Rhodes isn't as relevant as Tony Stark, as Freo historically isn't when compared to the Eagles, but now that Iron Man is dead and the upcoming War Machine film is on the way, he may finally have his time to shine.
The Dockers look to be on the rise, making a semi-final this year, and could be on the way, while West Coast have now bottomed out.
Thanos, the big bad guy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Geelong, the big bad of the AFL have several similarities.
Since 2011, the Cats have pretty much dominated the home and away season but were knocked down come finals, mostly preliminary finals.
This can be compared to Thanos coming in and clearing all in his path (Infinity War) and eventually losing in Endgame.
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Season 2022 however, saw Geelong win the premiership in a dominant display, which can also compare to Thanos actually beating the heroes in Infinity War.
Who makes up the Infinity Stones? We've gone with; Time - Tom Hawkins / Space - Tyson Stengle / Power- Jeremy Cameron / Soul - Joel Selwood / Mind - Chris Scott / Reality - Patrick Dangerfield.
Another AFL baby in Gold Coast, one that hasn't been as successful however, having yet made finals in its near-12-year existence.
Same can be said about Captain Marvel.
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Carol Danvers is a character who was really pushed by Marvel, with her movie coming out in between Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame, meaning the hype for Marvel brought more eyes to her movie.
Financially the film did wonders, but her character wasn't well received by some, be it the writing, some people's problems with the actress Brie Larson or other reasons.
Gary Ablett Jr, arguably the greatest player of this century left Geelong for the Suns, and even he couldn't rise that sun. Marvel using Captain Marvel in Endgame (the biggest movie), a role that wasn't well received, seems a lot similar to that.
Funny that a team, whose mascot is a Giant, finds their Marvel counterpart to be a tiny tree.
GWS is Baby Groot, and not adult Groot specifically because they are the AFL's baby, just as Baby Groot is Marvel's baby (literally).
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The Giants have been a success for the AFL thus far, quickly rising to contender status, making finals multiple times and even a grand final in 2019, Baby Groot on the other hand, has been a massive success for Marvel, in terms of merchandise.
Groot happens to be a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, a group whose movies are known for the killer soundtracks, just like GWS and their catchy theme song.
One of the 'Big 5' AFL clubs and one of, if not, the biggest names in Marvel history, Hawthorn and Spider-Man.
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The Hawks, like Spidey, have had many reboots.
Late 70s, late 80s and the 2013-15 three-peat successes from Hawthorn, while Spider-Man has had the Raimi Trilogy (Tobey Maguire), the two Amazing Spider-Man films (Andrew Garfield) and the MCU trilogy (Tom Holland).
Captain America is from a bygone era, WWII to be precise, and was frozen for 70-odd years before returning in the 21st century.
After winning the 2021 premiership, Melbourne broke a 57-year drought, they too were frozen for a long time, a dark period, especially the 15 years prior to their grand final victory.
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The Demons are the oldest AFL club, as Steve Rogers was one of the older heroes.
Captain America represents the United States of America, the central hub to The Avengers, while the Melbourne Football Club represents the city of Melbourne, pretty much the centre for AFL.
Some readers may ask, who? That's exactly the reason behind this comparison.
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Iron First, or Danny Rand, is quite irrelevant when discussing the Marvel universe, and that has become somewhat the same for North Melbourne in recent years.
Many of those who wish to see the character return in the MCU also wish to see him re-casted with another actor. This sounds awfully familiar to those in the AFL world who said we should send the Kangaroos to Tasmania, essentially a repackage.
One of the oldest clubs in the land and one of the oldest characters in the Marvel universe, but the comparisons don't stop there for Port Adelaide and Thor.
After a really bad grand final loss in 2007, Port declined heavily, spiralling into mediocrity and heavy debt for an extended period.
When the Avengers lost in Infinity War, Thor also spiralled, into depression and let himself go.
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Both have recovered since, with the Power a top contender in 2020 and 2021, making back-to-back preliminary finals, and Thor, finding himself and getting back to being the God of Thunder.
Thunder and lightning? That's an easy one, but also with Collingwood being Loki and Port Adelaide Thor?
Two 'brothers' and two clubs represented by Magpies, one currently in AFL and the other historically in the SANFL.
A powerful character from the source material, comics, who when translated over to the big screen didn't set the world on fire to begin with, but has now become a big player.
A powerful club from the VFL era who suffered through a long period of mediocrity, Richmond have become a big player again since 2017.
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The Scarlet Witch Wanda Maximoff skyrocketed in popularity after the release of her tv series WandaVision - a show that brought a lot of new eyes to Marvel, and arguably a bandwagon followed her character.
The same thing can be said about Richmond's recent dynasty, with a lot of bandwagon fans emerging after a period of silence.
Some find fans of both Wanda and the Tigers unbearable, but nonetheless, both are really powerful.
Hawkeye is sadly irrelevant to many, even though he has been there for a long time and was an original member of the Avengers.
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St Kilda are also in that boat, having been around for a long time but are pretty much irrelevant to everyone else except for those who hold on to some sort of hope.
Some people just don't care for either.
Clint Barton is also known to be a one-trick pony, all he does is shoot arrows, while St Kilda have won just the single premiership, also being a one-trick pony.
Dr Stephen Strange went from being an acclaimed and arrogant neurosurgeon to a more selfless sorcerer who protects Earth against magical and mystical threats.
The Swans moved from their home in South Melbourne, to up north in Sydney, a change of scenery and moving between two cities different in nature.
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Both Doctor Strange and the Sydney Swans went through a long down period, Strange after his car accident, losing his career, and the Bloods after WWII became a shell of their former self.
Life changed for the better, Strange learned the mystic arts and swore to protect Earth, becoming one of the most powerful magical beings in the universe, while Sydney swore to togetherness and brotherhood, and after winning the flag in 2005, 72 years after their last, they have gone on to consistently feature in finals and claimed another flag in 2012.
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Stinking rich, a powerhouse and one of the heavyweights in their respective world, this statement could describe both the West Coast Eagles and Iron Man.
Both are loaded with cash, Tony Stark has the suit and tech, while the Eagles have the significant funding from record membership sales.
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Prior to the MCU, Iron Man wasn't necessarily a name people thought of when thinking of Marvel, with Hulk, Spider-Man and Wolverine, and from there, other X-Men leading the way.
But now when you think Marvel, Iron Man is one of, if not, the first names that comes to mind.
Since joining the league, West Coast have become a household name, but prior to that, the other big clubs were obviously at the forefront.
The Western Bulldogs are blue-collar, they're battlers, the working-class club based out of Footscray in the western suburbs of Melbourne.
Frank Castle, aka Punisher, is ex-military, he's street level, and after the events of Daredevil season two, he was working in construction.
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The character Punisher had a film in 2004 that brought attention to him from non-comic fans and you could say it was sort of a success, but the Netflix series starring Jon Bernthal was loved by many fans, and was a huge success.
The Dogs had one premiership in 1954 and then won another in 2016, similar to Punisher, in that a quiet period happened between, and the latter is praised more highly.