Phase 4 has shown that the MCU has no intention of slowing down, and has already given us many great villains such as the real Mandarin (Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 2021), The Power Broker (Falcon and the Winter Soldier 2021), and King Pin (Hawkeye 2021). These characters are a welcome addition, but fans cannot help but wonder: Who is the next colossal villain that could fill the Thanos sized hole in the MCU?
Since the beginning, Thanos was a looming threat in the MCU; he was revealed in the post credit scene at the end of The Avengers in 2012. He continued to be the biggest threat to the heroes for the next 7 years until he was defeated in 'Avengers: Endgame' (2019). Many fans have assumed Marvel has no villains that can surpass the Mad Titan. However, phase 4 has set up some villains who have the potential to be an even bigger threat.
Kang The Conquer (of Every Dimension)
Disney Plus's Loki (2021) introduced the mysterious "He Who Remains"(Jonathan Majors), a version of Kang The Conqueror. This reveal was exhilarating for long-time Marvel Comics fans who know Kang as one of the Avenger’s greatest adversaries. First introduced in 'Avengers #8' (July 1964), there exists infinite versions of Kang in different universes - most of them harmless - but Kang the conqueror himself has proven to be more dangerous than Thanos could ever be.
Thanos wanted to dissipate half the universe’s population, but Kang's title comes from his obsession with conquering every universe. Now that the MCU has opened the multiverse floodgates with Loki's sacred timeline splitting and the Spider-man: No Way Home (2021) fiasco, the multiverse continues to grow. This is perfect for a "He Who Remains" variant to conquer. It's possible that if this were to happen: No one could stop him.
Arishem the Judge: Creator (And Maybe Destroyer) Of The Universe
For anybody who missed Eternals (2021) - which would be understandable as the reception of the film has been very mixed - There are a few essential plot elements the film introduced to the MCU: Try to keep up. Celestials are all-powerful gods - for lack of a better word - that created the infinity stones. Earth is essentially a massive egg for a new celestial will be born from when enough humans populate the planet for the celestial to use as energy. In the film’s climax, the Eternals prevent the birth of this celestial, saving the earth.
In the films closing moments, the Prime Celestial - Arishem the Judge - kidnaps the remaining heroes and exclaims that he will spare the people of earth...for now. He then claims he will look into their memories to judge whether humanity deserves to live. So in other words: earth is screwed. The heroes of the MCU attempting to fight one of the creators of the universe could easily be a multi-movie conflict more epic than Avengers: Endgame (2019).
The Dark Avengers: Get Ready To Rumble
Phase 4 has been setting up the idea of a team of heroes similar to the Avengers - only evil. This group in the comics was led by Norman Osborn and looked very different from what the MCU's version is starting to look like. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier introduced Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) - a character in the comics known as Madame Hydra - starting to recruit members for seemingly a dark Avengers team. She recruited John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and rebranded him as the USAgent (a corrupt version of Captain America).
The other villainous character officially under the command of Valentina is Black Widow's sister: Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). WandaVison (2020) introduced Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), who is a more villainous Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen). Abomination (Tim Roth) would make a perfect evil Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and recently reappeared in Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. With two Dark Avengers already locked down, Valentina only needs to recruit a few more villainous characters to challenge the heroes of the world. What could be a greater threat to the Avengers than a group of evil doppelgängers?
The Scarlett Witch: From Hero to "No More Mutants"
In the trailer for the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Wanda speaks the chilling line to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch): "You break the rules and become the hero. I do it, and I become the enemy. That doesn't seem fair." The way the last phrase is delivered seems to have evil intentions behind it. This may seem like a leap in logic or wishful thinking, but look at the facts. WandaVison already showcased The Scarlett Witch as - more or less - a villain; she held an entire town of people mentally and physically hostage for over a week. Although Wanda did not do this intentionally at first, once she realized what she was doing, she did not stop for fear of losing her children and Vision (Paul Bettany). After the events of the show, the world views Wanda as a villain, and in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, she seems to be leaning into this persona.
The comics also suggest this shift for Wanda's character. She started off in "X-Men #4" (January 1964) as a villain and only later chose to join the fight for good. In the iconic comic run "House of M" (November 2005) - because of events involving her children and Vision (similar toWandaVison) - Wanda used her abilities to eradicate the powers of 90 percent of all mutants - killing millions of them. She did this with the single phrase, "No more mutants." It is highly possible that the Scarlett Witch might be just as big of a threat in the future of the MCU.
Infinity Ultron: Now He's Really Got No Strings
The Marvel What If (2021) series was skipped by a majority of the fanbase. Most audiences assumed that the series was nothing more than a fun distraction due to its cartoon nature and purely hypothetical plots. The animated series had episodes showcasing a female Captain America with Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), an evil - all-powerful - Doctor Strange Supreme, and most notably a version of Ultron (Ross Marquand) that secured the infinity stones and destroyed his universe. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seems to be making all of these characters cannon in the MCU.
Recently, a trailer revealed that Strange Supreme is in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Although his influence might shake things up for the entire MCU, his presence opens up the floodgates for any character from What If to step into live-action - including Infinity Ultron. He was last seen in the series finale locked in a time-loop with a version of kill-monger (Michael B. Jordan) and Arnim Zola (Toby Jones). But who was tasked with keeping them there but the one and only: Strange Supreme. This fact, along with the appearance of Ultron Drones in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, seems to all but confirm Infinity Ultron's return.
The Makluans: Space Dragons. Yep
No, this is not a joke. Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings introduced - of course - the ten rings of power used by the title character's father: The Mandarin. In the MCU, the rings act as one unit but are still very powerful, whereas In the comics, each ring provides the barer with different abilities - not unlike the infinity stones. The rings are technology made by the Makluans: a race of powerful space dragons. If this seems too absurd to be adapted into the cinematic universe...think again.
In the climax of Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a massive dragon-like creature called The Great Protector fights with Shang Chi against the Dweller-in-Darkness. The film’s post-credits scene has Wong (Benedict Wong), Bruce Banner, and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) reveal that the ten rings are transmitting a beacon into space. It seems more than likely that this beacon is calling out to the creators of the ten rings: The Makluans. The future of the MCU might very well have earth's mightiest heroes go toe to toe with the likes of these space dragons and their leader, Fin Fang Foom.