The future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a bit up in the air. With Spider-Man: Far From Home slated to be the last installment of MCU’s Phase 3 we still have a few months before this era is really put to a close. Beyond that, sequels to Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Guardians of the Galaxy have been confirmed for Phase 4.
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But none of that really clears up what the bigger picture could be. Disney’s acquisition of Fox only further muddles the path that Marvel may take just because there are so many options now. Recently, a viral fanmade poster was even able to trick quite a number of people into thinking it was real.
At the very least, it brought up a good question: what villain could possibly follow Thanos? Let’s take a look at some possibilities:
Dr. Doom
One of the aforementioned properties of Fox that Disney is probably ecstatic to finally have their hands on, Doom could possibly be a horrifying villain to take on. A scientific sorcerer who is consumed by his sense of self, he will stop at nothing to prove his dominance. He’s dabbled in time travel, cosmic powers, and of course, magic. Worst of all, he once sacrificed his wife and true love to demons in exchange for enchanted armor — made out of her skin.
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Mephisto
Image from comicbook.com
Thanos may be a tough act to follow, but who better than an actual demon? Or more accurately, the demon. Mephisto is at times also known as Lucifer, Satan, or Hades. His arcs often have him stealing souls and ruining lives, like the time he undid Peter Parker’s relationship with Mary Jane by altering reality. Though many underestimate him as a villain due to his vague powers, this ambiguity is definitely something the MCU can take advantage of.
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Sentry
Image from comicvine
Alright, so Sentry is technically a hero with a dark side called Void. So dark, in fact, that characters consider him the Angel of Death. In his first iteration, Sentry was forced to repeatedly wipe his own mind of memories lest Sentry pushes back to up consciousness. In the Siege storyline, Void took over Sentry and brought Asgard to ruin, killed Loki, and nearly did the same to Thor. He has been able to overpower figures like World War Hulk, the Avengers, the X-Men, and even Galactus.
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Galactus
Image from Marvel Philippines
Speaking of Galactus, this planet-eater isn’t someone to scoff at. His portrayal in Rise of the Silver Surfer as a cloud may have skewed your perception of him but don’t let that fool you. For one thing, he’s literally big enough to eat planets for breakfast. His status an omniscient god makes it so that most beings are unable to comprehend him (which may explain his appearance as a cloud?). And his list of powers never seems to end, being sourced from the Power Cosmic: the ability to create and destroy life, transmutation, telepath, size alteration, soul manipulation, etc. A threat this big would need a whole host of heroes to defeat him…
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Kang the Conqueror
Image from screenrant
This is one of the more popular theories for the MCU already. Kang is a villain known not just for manipulating time but weaponizing it. A dictator from the 40th century, Kang holds the innate belief that he is the rightful ruler of all and will stop at nothing until it is realized. Aside from the time traveling element already being introduced to the MCU, his origins as Iron Lad make this a plausible route. Many have already theorized that Nate Richards, or Iron Lad, actually showed up at the end of Endgame.
Tragically, this successor to Iron Man is destined to one day embrace evil. Before that though, he finds a new group of heroes called the Young Avengers. This group includes Kate Bishop and Cassie Lang, two upcoming characters in the MCU. It’s all quite convenient, really.
