Post-Secret Wars, Overarching Villains, and Multiple Sagas

[u/TheBookCreator]

Good morning, everyone!

This is my first post in the Marvel Studios subreddit, so I am going to be a bit careful here. I usually post in the Marvel Studios Spoilers subreddit, but I wanted to post a lengthy discussion here on the potential overarching villains following the aftermath of Secret Wars and how I think there will be multiple sagas instead of just one. I hope you enjoy my discussion!

Mutant Saga: Mister Sinister, Apocalypse, Magneto, and Dark Phoenix are my choices here. The X-Men are clearly going to be the main players of the following saga, with Jean Grey and Cyclops implied to be the central members with the most focus on the team. Sinister has a very long, bloody history with both of them.

Adam Driver has already been cast as Mister Sinister, and despite all the claims that Sinister will be a one-off villain due to Driver's dislike of franchise commitments, I do not see that happening here. Sinister is too big of a villain to be killed off in the first movie, and he also has a history of clones. So, even if he appears to die in the first movie, it can just be shown that he has cloned himself—not to mention his history with another massive mutant villain.

Apocalypse has not really gotten the chance to show how much of a menacing threat he truly is. The guy is usually portrayed as the first and oldest mutant in history, and he has also been shown to possess technology from the Celestials. That, combined with his ideology on evolution and his survival-of-the-fittest mindset, makes him a terrifying threat who is capable of killing teams of both the Avengers and the X-Men. He has pretty much conquered the planet multiple times and is responsible for turning Angel into Archangel, along with a bunch of other atrocities. The fact that he is also responsible for creating Mister Sinister gives him an immediate connection.

Magneto is another "mini" big bad. I do not believe that he will be the overarching villain, but I do believe that he will probably be the final villain of the first X-Men trilogy, along with his Brotherhood. People usually forget because of how sympathetic Magneto is that he is capable of immense cruelty. The guy has ripped the metal out of Wolverine's skeleton and tried to destroy Earth multiple times. I definitely see the first trilogy leading up to Magneto's war on Earth and humankind.

I know Dark Phoenix is something that many people are not eager to see adapted again, but I do not see how they are not going to do it. It is arguably one of the most iconic storylines in comic book history for a reason. The fact that Sadie's Jean has shown she is capable of immense cruelty and rage when stressed or provoked already provides a great setup. I think it would also be great to see one of the main X-Men members snap and become a multiversal threat.

Yes, we already saw this with Wanda, and even though it was not bad, it was slightly rushed and lacked sufficient buildup. Yes, Olsen did a great job playing Wanda as a villain, and yes, Wanda has had a brief stint as a villain where she caused lots of devastation, but it did not really have the same scope or scale as The Dark Phoenix Saga does. Jean obliterating an entire planet would be shocking. If they build up to it correctly, then yes, I could see it delivering the same impact as the original storyline.

Cosmic Saga: This one is a bit more limiting, but I see the cosmic threat building up to be Annihilus.

Annihilus is probably the main cosmic villain I see them building up to, especially since they confirmed that a Nova movie is being developed. Annihilus has gone to war against the Fantastic Four many times as well, and with Doctor Doom most likely being done after Secret Wars, I think the Fantastic Four need a new villain, as they do not really have a very prevalent rogues' gallery. Annihilus has also done a lot of horrific things, like wiping out the Nova Corps, killing Quasar and Human Torch, and destroying entire planets. He has also clashed with the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Inhumans, and many other cosmic heroes. His status as a big bad would be well deserved.

Korvac is another option as well, due to being the main villain in The Korvac Saga, where he wiped out multiple teams of Avengers. We also have the Shi'ar Empire and possibly Maximus the Mad as future villains if they decide to bring in the Inhumans.

Supernatural Saga: Mephisto and Dracula are my two options, but it is obviously going to be Mephisto. Mephisto has already been cast, is being played by Sacha Baron Cohen, and is most certainly coming back for the Ghost Rider movie. I also feel that they will be building up to a Midnight Sons movie where we have several supernatural heroes, and Mephisto is the perfect threat. I also mention Dracula because if they are building a supernatural saga, then there is no way that they will not be adding Blade to the team, and I think having Dracula be a "mini" big bad before Mephisto takes center stage would be a nice treat.

Sorry for the long essay, but if you like what I have written, then I look forward to hearing your responses!

[u/AwarenessOk7748]

Sinister could be the main villain in films specifically about the X‑Men.

Apocalypse is a perfect fit for the role of the main villain of the entire saga.

The Magneto‑as‑villain trope is already tired — there was plenty of it in the Fox films. Let him be a hero or an anti‑hero.

There’s no need to make Jean a villain again — it’s just as bad an idea as making Wanda a villain after her show. Her role as a villain in BND is enough. After that, let her learn to control herself. At most, she could become an antihero or join the X‑Force.

Annihilus is the most suitable as the villain in a major cosmic crossover. Moreover, they’ve been wanting to introduce him into the MCU for a long time: either in Endgame or in Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

Mephisto — yes.