8 Marvel Villains Who Could Be More Popular Than Tom Hiddleston's Loki

5. Thanos

Thanos is such a fantastic character with so much depth that it is genuinely exciting that we already know he is going to be a major player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A mutant (though not from Earth like, for example, the mutants who are in the X-Men), he is the moon of Titan's equivalent. A super-genius, Thanos is capable of inventing and plotting schemes that would cause powerful foes immense trouble even if he wasn't incredible powerful by default €“ which of course he is €“ as his schemes generally display ambition to acquire items that allow him to rule the universe, such as the Cosmic Cube, the Infinity Gauntlet and the Heart of the Universe. His baseline powers are incredible, though. Physically, Thanos is a beast, possessing superhuman strength which dwarves that of the likes of Hulk and Thor and durability that allows him to completely shrug off an all out physical attack from the Silver Surfer. He is also very quick €“ not necessarily in terms of his travel speed, but in terms of his reflexes. For example, when a faster-than-light Silver Surfer attacked him, he was able to react to the attack and defeat the Silver Surfer. He also boasts a whole host of esoteric powers and abilities, such as telepathy of a level that allows him to hold off mind attacks from the likes of Moondragon, teleportation, powerful energy blasts, the ability to manipulate various types of energy and matter transmutation (which enables him to reshape matter, as well as being able to reform himself if he is transmuted by an opponent). His powers, his twisted mind, his obsession with death and his hunger for power mean that it will take a big actor to fill his boots (Damion Poitier, who briefly played him in the Avengers mid-credits scene, simply isn't up to the task) and if Marvel Studios get his casting right, this guy could become a huge cinematic success.