If Marvel doesn’t recast Kang in the MCU, who can take his place? These are some villains that could serve as an Avengers-level threat in the MCU.
With Jonathan Majors officially fired, the question now is what happens in the MCU? Kang was poised to be the big villain of the Multiverse Saga, a villain that threatened not just one but several universes. Recasting the part is the easy answer, and it’s a solution Marvel has done before. But there are also some people who are of the opinion that Kang should just be done away with. He wasn’t really established as a credible threat and even the ending of Loki Season 2 seems like a good pivot away from the villain.
But who can take the place of Kang as the big bad in the MCU? Who can serve as the big bad of the Multiverse Saga that will threaten the existence of the Multiverse and cause a new roster of Avengers to form? We have a few ideas.
[Hero image: Marvel]
Villains that pose a threat to the Multiverse who replace Kang in the MCU
Galactus
After Thanos, there have been so many discussions about whether his intentions were right or not. Galactus is someone who would just amp up that debate. This cosmic being is so vast that he consumes entire planets to sustain himself, thus making him a viable Avengers-level threat. He pays no mind to the morality of the inhabitants of the planet. While some may argue that’s just mindless killing, others have also observed in the comics that the presence of Galactus is also a necessity. Think of it like how the TVA viewed their actions when pruning timelines in Loki Season 1.
If Galactus ends up being the new big bad of the MCU, it also provides the opportunity to introduce another antagonist: the Siler Surfer, a herald of Galactus. The Avengers could go up against the Surfer first before taking on the Planet Eater himself, with the Surfer ending up being an ally of the heroes in the end much like in the comics and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which was actually the first appearance of the Surfer and Galactus in a movie.
Mephisto
Remember when WandaVision came out and everything was blamed on this particular villain? Mephisto is the epitome of evil. Like Galactus and the Silver Surfer, this wouldn’t be his first appearance in a Marvel movie, since he was in both Ghost Rider movies that starred Nicolas Cage. But Mephisto is a more menacing and powerful figure than his depiction in those films. In the comics, he was behind a lot of the grief and woe the heroes experienced. Feige and co. can definitely write it up so that the many mishaps in the MCU are attributed to him, and it would also make fans feel validated after screaming “MEPHISTO!” at their screens so many times.
The Beyonder
If we’re talking about threats that would rally every hero in the world once again much like they did with Thanos, the Beyonder fits the bill. This villain exists outside the multiverse and has the power to make worlds and even take people out of their respective universes if it pleases him. He’s definitely more powerful and thus more formidable than Kang, so if the MCU needs to turn up the notch of an Avengers-level threat, the Beyonder is just that.
Doctor Strange
Okay, hear me out. In Multiverse of Madness, the Illuminati mentioned that they discovered Doctor Strange was the greatest threat in the Multiverse. The What If…? series even explored the possibility of Strange turning evil, with his evil counterpart even appearing in Multiverse of Madness. This SInister Strange dies in the film, but hey, it’s Marvel. It’s easy to revive someone like that, and if not, who’s to say another Strange variant goes down the same path of trying to amass power? This would prove the Illuminati’s concerns correct and we’ll see a Strange vs. Strange face-off again, maybe this time without the musical notes.
Give. Us. Doom.
I’ve saved the best and the most likely for last. Forget how he was portrayed in the two Fantastic Four movies. Victor von Doom is a formidable force in the Marvel comics. The heroes can’t seem to get rid of Doom in the comics. He always comes back one way or another. But what makes him even more compelling is he’s just a dude—a really smart one, much like Kang. That makes him a great replacement for the time-travelling villain, and on top of that, fans have been clamouring to see him in the MCU. If done right, it could be the revitalisation that Marvel needs to bring back interest in its projects.
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This article first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Bangkok
