10 Totally Bizarre Marvel Movie Knock-Offs, Ranked By How Bizarre/Weird They Are

For every major Marvel Cinematic Universe project, there’s a cheap and delightfully bizarre knock-off lurking in the shadows. The Marvel films, as some of the highest-grossing and most recognizable movies of all time, have naturally attracted a swarm of low-budget imitators. Some of these movies are blatant rip-offs, while others attempt to cash in on superhero trends with hilariously bizarre results. These so-called “mockbusters” range from unintentionally funny to outright baffling, often featuring strange reimaginings of well-known heroes from the MCU timeline, with questionable production values and storytelling choices.

Mockbusters are low-budget films designed to capitalize on the success of popular movies, often with suspiciously similar titles, characters, and premises. Companies like The Asylum and other independent studios specialize in these imitation films, typically releasing them around the same time as major Hollywood blockbusters. The goal is often to trick unsuspecting viewers into thinking they’re getting the real deal. Marvel’s cinematic dominance has led to numerous bizarre attempts at superhero mockbusters, creating knock-offs that never fail to entertain in their own strange ways.

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10

Ant-Boy (2013)

A Danish Spider-Man Knock-Off

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What if Spider-Man were a Danish kid who got his powers from a genetically enhanced ant? That’s the premise of Ant-Boy, a 2013 superhero film that serves as an oddball, low-budget alternative to the wall-crawler. The film follows 12-year-old Pelle, who gains super-strength and the ability to secrete acid after being bitten by a mutated ant. Instead of facing off against iconic Marvel villains like the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus, Ant-Boy fights a leather-clad bad guy called “The Flea.”

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While Ant-Boy is technically based on a Danish comic book series, its blatant similarities to Spider-Man – right down to the origin story and the nerdy protagonist gaining unexpected powers – make it feel like a bizarre attempt to reimagine the Marvel hero for a different market. Despite its low budget, the film was successful enough to spawn two sequels, proving that even weird knock-offs can find an audience.

9

Almighty Thor (2011)

The Asylum’s Take On Norse Mythology

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Timed to coincide with the release of Marvel’s Thor (2011), Almighty Thor is a perfect example of The Asylum’s signature brand of mockbusters. Unlike the MCU’s polished, high-budget take on the Norse god of thunder, this version is a cheesy, low-budget mess featuring cardboard sets, bad CGI, and an oddly modern take on ancient mythology. Instead of Chris Hemsworth’s charismatic and mighty Thor, audiences get a long-haired, shirtless bodybuilder wielding a machine gun.

Yes, indeed, Thor uses a machine gun at one point while fighting Loki. Richard Grieco plays Loki in a performance that borders on self-parody, and the film’s action sequences look like they were filmed in someone’s backyard. While it lacks Marvel’s visual spectacle, Almighty Thor makes up for it with sheer ridiculousness, standing as one of the most unintentionally hilarious Thor adaptations ever put to screen.

8

Captain Battle: Legacy War (2013)

Captain America’s Forgotten Precursor

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If Captain America had a long-lost cousin no one wanted to acknowledge, it would be Captain Battle. This low-budget superhero film attempts to resurrect an obscure comic book character from the 1940s, but in doing so, it creates one of the strangest Captain America knock-offs ever. Captain Battle: Legacy War follows Sam Battle, a war veteran who gains superpowers after being injected with a super-soldier serum.

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Armed with a bulletproof suit, a shield-like weapon, and a patriotic sense of duty, he sets out to fight an evil organization led by Nazis and a man with a red face. While Captain Battle technically predates Captain America in comic book history, the Captain America features are hard to ignore. Unfortunately, rather than being a rousing superhero flick, Captain Battle ends up as a poorly acted, awkwardly staged mess that feels like a bad fan film.

7

Rise Of The Black Bat (2012)

A Maddening Combination Of Daredevil And Batman

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Imagine if Batman and Daredevil were fused into one character, but the result had none of the charm, style, or budget of either hero. That’s Rise of the Black Bat, a 2012 film that tells the story of a blind vigilante named Tony Quinn, who, after being blinded by acid, gains super-sight and begins fighting crime in a cheap-looking black costume. While the film claims to be based on the 1930s pulp hero “Black Bat,” its execution is unmistakably a rip-off of both Batman and Daredevil.

The story mirrors Matt Murdock’s origin, while the costume and crime-fighting approach scream low-rent Batman. The movie’s dark, brooding tone attempts to mimic Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, but with a budget so low that even basic lighting seems like a struggle. Rise of the Black Bat is the perfect example of how mockbusters try (and fail) to blend multiple inspirations into one strange concoction.

6

Iron Hero (2008)

A Cheap Iron Man Imitation

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Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe truly took off, low-budget studios were already capitalizing on its success. Iron Hero (also known as Metal Man) is a painfully cheap attempt to ride the coattails of Iron Man (2008). Instead of Tony Stark’s sleek, high-tech armor, the titular “hero” dons a metal combat suit, but, in reality, is wearing a plastic helmet that looks like a bad cosplay experiment.

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The plot follows a college student who is forced to wear an experimental metal suit, but the execution is downright laughable. Poor CGI, stiff action scenes, and a nonsensical script make this film an unintentional comedy. The worst offense is that it takes itself completely seriously. Unlike other knock-offs that embrace their absurdity, Iron Hero seems convinced it’s a genuine sci-fi thriller, making its awkward dialogue and bargain-bin effects all the more bizarre.

5

Guardians (2017)

The Russian Avengers

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Dubbed “the Russian Avengers,” Guardians is a bizarre superhero film that tries to mimic the MCU formula but injects it with over-the-top absurdity. The film features a team of Soviet-era superhumans, each with a strange power. One character is a bear armed with a minigun, another can control rock formations, while another wields scimitars at lightning speed.

While visually ambitious, the film is plagued by wooden acting, laughable dialogue, and a plot that feels like a rejected Avengers script. The CGI often looks like something from a mid-2000s video game, with characters flipping and fighting in a way that barely registers as realistic. Despite its best efforts, Guardians feels like a bizarre fever dream, as if someone mashed together The Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four, but with a fraction of the budget and none of the charm.

4

Avengers Grimm: Time Wars (2018)

The Asylum’s Fairytale Avengers

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The Asylum, infamous for low-budget knock-offs, took inspiration from Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and mashed it with fairytales. The result was Avengers Grimm: Time Wars, a movie so bizarre it defies logic. Instead of Iron Man or Thor, the “Avengers” include Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Red Riding Hood, who wield magical weapons against Rumpelstiltskin, their stand-in for Thanos.

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The film’s special effects look like they were made on a budget of loose change, with action sequences that feel more like a bad Renaissance fair performance than an epic battle. The dialogue is cringeworthy, and the acting wavers between melodramatic and lifeless. Yet, despite its absurdity, it’s strangely entertaining in a “so bad it’s good” way. If you’ve ever wanted to see a knock-off Infinity War starring fairytale characters, this is the bizarre fever dream you didn’t know you needed.

3

3 Dev Adam (1973)

The Unauthorized Turksploitation

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One of the weirdest unauthorized superhero movies ever made, 3 Dev Adam is a Turkish exploitation film featuring Captain America, El Santo, and, bizarrely, Spider-Man as the villain. That’s right: in this film, Spider-Man is a sadistic crime lord who leads a gang of criminals and murders people with a giant propeller. There’s no attempt to explain why the beloved web-slinger is suddenly an evil psychopath, nor how Captain America ended up fighting him alongside a masked Mexican wrestler.

The film has no official ties to Marvel, making its use of these characters hilariously illegal. The action scenes are chaotically shot, the costumes look like cheap party-store knock-offs, and the plot is pure madness. It’s one of those films that has to be seen to be believed, as it completely disregards everything about its supposed “source material.”

2

Dariya Dil (1988)

Spider-Man And Superman Go To Bollywood

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Bollywood has never shied away from borrowing Western pop culture, but Dariya Dil takes things to another level with an unofficial Spider-Man and Superman musical number. While the film is a typical Indian family drama, one surreal scene features a couple dressed as Spider-Man and Superman, singing and dancing to a love song. There’s no explanation for why these superheroes are there, nor any connection to the film’s actual plot.

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1

More baffling, rather than dress the female character as Spider-Woman, she’s wearing a Spider-Man outfit and can, for some reason, fly. The sequence is completely random, almost as if the director wanted to squeeze in a pop culture reference for fun. It’s an utterly bizarre moment in an otherwise pretty standard Bollywood film, making it one of the weirdest Marvel-related knock-offs in cinema history and a captivating cultural fusion.

1

The Amazing Bulk (2012)

A Purple Hulk Nightmare

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Perhaps the most infamous and strangest low-budget superhero knock-off of all time, The Amazing Bulk is what happens when a filmmaker tries to make The Incredible Hulk with a $14 budget. The titular character is a completely CGI monstrosity, looking like something out of a failed PS2 game. Instead of real sets, the entire film is shot on green screens with stock images used as backgrounds.

The results are scenes where characters “walk” through environments that don’t even remotely match their lighting or movements. The plot involves a scientist who transforms into a purple behemoth, but the story is so incoherent that it barely matters. Between the horrendous CGI, ridiculous action sequences, and bizarre stock footage choices, The Amazing Bulk is an unintentional comedy masterpiece. It’s the kind of film that leaves audiences questioning how it even exists, making it the most bizarre Marvel Cinematic Universe knock-off of them all.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Iron Man

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Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, Blade (2025), The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avengers: Doomsday (2026), Avengers: Secret Wars

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