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What if Avengers: Endgame was an ukiyo-e woodblock painting series? It’d look awesome like this

Casey Baseel May 4, 2019
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Japanese artist reimagines Marvel’s all-star cast, creating storm god Thanos, “Widow Ninja Black Spider” and “Chivalrous Ant Thief.”

In Avengers: Endgame, the crossover branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has its first scene set in Japan. It’s a brief blip in the film’s overall story, but what if Earth’s mightiest heroes, and the galaxy’s most powerful villain, had stuck around long enough to have their portraits done in a traditional ukiyo-e woodblock style?

Then they’d probably look something like these awesome illustrations from Japanese artist Takumi (@takumitoxin on Twitter).

https://twitter.com/takumitoxin/status/1120697363004178432

Starting things off is Thanos, shown with fiery energy radiating from his clenched, Infinity Gauntlet-encased fist. Swirling about him are storm clouds, and that’s because Takumi has rendered Thanos’ name, as per its corrupted Japanese pronunciation, “Sanosu,” by rearranging the kanji for Susanoo, the Shinto god of storms (Susanoo: 須佐能男, Sanosu: 佐能須).

The other members of the cast also get Japan-ified names, like 鉄武者八十五號/”Iron Warrior Number 85” for Iron Man’s Mark 85 suit and 米国団長/”America Captain” for Captain America, with the primary Avengers reminding us of their samurai-style figures from a while back.

The Hulk is now a beefy sumo wrestler, while Thor, sporting a trim physique and neatly trimmed beard and hairstyle, crackles with lightning in the manner of a mythical raijin thunder deity.

Espionage expert Black Widow, fittingly, is a ninja, designated 後家忍黒蜘蛛/”Widow Ninja Black Spider.” Clint Barton’s movie outfit required the least reworking to fit the Japanese motif, and his new name, 流浪人鷹眼, “Wandering Ronin Hawk’s Eye,” is basically a mash-up of his two superhero monikers.

Relative newcomer Captain Marvel, or 驚異隊長/“Marvelous Squad Leader,” sports a determined expression, while War Machine’s Mark 6 suit, 六式戦機/”Type 6 War Machine,” hide’s the heroes expression, but the plethora of old school cannons strapped to his back and arms show he’s ready for a fight.

And finally, Ant Man (蟻義賊/”Chivalrous Ant Thief”) and Rocket Raccoon (大筒狸/”Cannon Raccoon”) may be small in stature, but they’re large in impact.

Oh, and if you prefer anime to American comics, you’ll want to check out Takumi’s portrait series of Studio Ghibli stars, done in a style reminiscent of Czech Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha.

▼ Howl (Howl’s Moving Castle)

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A post shared by TAKUMI™ (@takumitoxin.tm)

▼ San (Princess Mononoke)

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A post shared by TAKUMI™ (@takumitoxin.tm)

▼ Nausicaa (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind)

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A post shared by TAKUMI™ (@takumitoxin.tm)

▼ Totoro, Satsuki, and Mei (My Neighbor Totoro)

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A post shared by TAKUMI™ (@takumitoxin.tm)

Of course, with the complete cast of Avengers; Endgame consisting of dozens of heroes and villains, we’d love to see more of the Marvel characters get Takumi’s ukiyo-e-inspired redesigns, and if Coca-Cola Japan were to start putting some of them on its special Avengers Coke cans, that’d be even better.

Source: Twitter/@takumitoxin via IT Media
Images: Twitter/@takumitoxin
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where he makes no secret of his love of both Japan and Captain America.