5 Iconic Avengers Villains Who Could be The MCU’s Next Big Bad (After Doom)

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Doctor Doom is set to be the next major villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Reports suggest that after Secret Wars, the MCU will essentially restart, shifting its focus to the X-Men and the cosmic side of Marvel, with Wakanda also playing a larger role – potentially replacing the Avengers as the main focus. While the Avengers won’t disappear completely, they’ll likely take on smaller roles. The big question now is who will be the next major villain after Doctor Doom, and the Avengers comics offer several possibilities. Here are five candidates who could be a perfect fit.

5) Korvac

Korvac is incredibly powerful and could certainly be a major villain, but he’s not suited for a long-term, multi-movie arc like Thanos had in the early phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unlike Thanos, Korvac is essentially a god. He first appeared in Giant-Size Defenders #3, but gained prominence in Avengers Vol. 1 #167-177, where he shockingly wiped out the entire Avengers team.

Korvac is a compelling villain because his goal wasn’t simply destruction – he genuinely believed he could improve the world, even if it meant taking away everyone’s free will. He even questioned whether he was the hero of his own story. When he reappeared in later comics, he became more openly hostile, and Iron Man had to defeat him single-handedly. While he’s only been featured in one story so far, Korvac has the potential to be the most powerful and dangerous villain the Marvel Cinematic Universe has faced.

4) Mephisto

Many fans expected Mephisto to appear in Marvel projects, with WandaVision often mentioned as a likely starting point. But his actual debut came as a surprise in the Disney+ series Ironheart. The show revealed that Mephisto, not Dormammu, was the source of The Hood’s magical cloak, and that he’d made agreements with numerous powerful and successful people throughout history.

This really establishes Mephisto as a uniquely powerful and dangerous villain. If he’s made deals with heroes who’ve achieved great things – and it seems likely he did, possibly with Howard and even Tony Stark – it would create a lot of chaos. He could also be the one manipulating events to make things incredibly difficult for the X-Men, simply for his own amusement. Plus, he’s a constant threat to Spider-Man and appears to be an overwhelmingly powerful enemy who might ultimately be impossible to defeat.

3) Onslaught

Fans are hoping to see an Avengers vs. X-Men story adapted for the screen. However, some believe that storyline should ultimately lead into an Onslaught event. The challenge is that Avengers: Secret Wars has already reset the Marvel Universe, so revisiting the Onslaught storyline in the same way wouldn’t make sense. It’s worth remembering that Onslaught is a powerful being created from the combined negative emotions – Magneto’s rage and Professor X’s frustration.

Initially, Onslaught aimed to protect mutants from humans who sought their destruction. However, it quickly realized that mutants could be just as malicious, leading it to conclude that the only solution was to wipe out both humans and mutants. The conflict resulted in the Avengers and Fantastic Four being sent to a new Earth, and Onslaught proved to be an incredibly dangerous villain, even more so than Doctor Doom.

2) Norman Osborn

Okay, so let’s talk about Norman Osborn. We haven’t seen the Norman Osborn in the main Marvel Cinematic Universe yet, though a version of him did pop up in Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s a little odd, honestly, that no one seems to bring him up when discussing the future of the MCU. The reason? It’s a rights issue! Sony still owns the character, which is strange considering Osborn’s been just as involved with the Avengers and Iron Man’s world over the last twenty years as Spider-Man himself.

Following the events of Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn dismantled SHIELD and established HAMMER in its place. He then formed the Dark Avengers, framed several heroes as criminals, and ultimately led two major superhero conflicts, Dark Reign and Siege. If the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs a villain to take charge and manipulate heroes—perhaps even the X-Men—Norman Osborn would be an excellent fit.

1) Annihilus

Most fans think Annihilus is poised to be the next major villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He originally appeared as a foe of the Fantastic Four, as they were the ones who accidentally revealed the Negative Zone – and Annihilus – to the world. This ultimately led to him becoming a universe-level threat with the devastating Annihilation Wave.

Annihilus isn’t consistently a direct enemy of the Avengers, but he’s a powerful cosmic villain. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe planning to explore space more in the future – particularly with the anticipated introduction of Nova – Annihilus feels like a natural fit. If he appeared with the massive army he led in the comics, stopping him would require a team-up of all the major heroes – the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and others – making him an ideal large-scale threat for the MCU.

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2026-04-09 18:42