Who Could Be Marvel’s Next Big Villain After Avengers: Endgame?

Adam Warlock

This one might be cheating a little bit since we know for a fact that he already exists in the MCU. He did, after all, show up in the end-credits of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2. But just how important is he going to be? Well, some think he could be the next ‘big bad’ considering he’s an immortal being who can manipulate cosmic energy, use quantum magic, and manifest spiritual powers. On top of all that, he also comes into possession of the soul stone. 

Though if the infinity gems will ever come into play in the MCU again seems highly unlikely right now. 

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Annihulus

Art by Andrea Divito, Laura Villari (Marvel)

This insect-like villain already rules with complete authority over the Negative Zone, which is the anti-matter companion universe to the Marvel universe. So it would only follow that he has the power and ability to take-over Marvel’s universe. And he nearly did in the Annihilation storyline, with an overwhelming armada that destroyed and conquered numerous planets before reaching earth. He was only stopped by the combined forces of Star-Lord, Drax, Silver Surfer, Nova, and Galactus. 

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The High Evolutionary 

Art from Silver Surfer series

If Thanos was obsessed with balance brought on by death, then the High Evolutionary is his foil in his preoccupation of life. Despite this key difference, their similarity lies in the destruction they both bring. His story begins with him as a scientist creating a superhuman serum but progresses to the point where he loses his mind. His bout of insanity finds him deeply committed to the goal of human evolution and stopping at nothing to achieve the highest form of life. 

After self-experimentation, he evolved his intelligence and knowledge to equal cosmic entities. This allowed him god-like powers such as the creation and manipulation of matter, cosmic awareness, extra-dimensional travel, and more. 

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The Beyonder

Image from comicimpact

This cosmic entity is considered the most powerful being in the universe since he is omnipotent and has the ability to warp reality. With such strength behind him, it wouldn’t necessarily be interesting to watch our heroes get soundly beaten. Instead, there is potential for the MCU to adapt the Secret Wars storyline. This is where the Beyonder creates Battleworld, an alien planet with the sole purpose of housing a gigantic battle between heroes and villains. 

It would be the perfect arc to bring together the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four as all 3 groups play significant roles here. The directors and writers behind Endgame have actually said multiple times they were highly interested in the Secret Wars arc.  

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The Dark Avengers 

Image from screengeek

This one is a little different from the others. Instead of a ridiculously powerful being, this threat was engineered by the very human Norman Osborn. As head of S.H.I.E.L.D., he rebuilt the depleted team of Avengers by inviting villains into its ranks and dressing them up as heroes — literally. Venom took on the persona of Spider-Man, Bullseye became Hawkeye, and Norman himself dressed up as Iron Patriot. 

A possible plot could be for the ‘real’ Avengers to face off against these Dark Avengers. Though they weren’t technically villains in the comic arcs, the MCU does have the creative license to negotiate that detail.  

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What are your theories for MCU’s next big villain?