MCU: 8 Villains Who Could Be The Next Big Bad

One almost constant criticisms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the quality of its villains (Loki aside). It all comes down to a multitude of sins: Antagonists like Ronan and Malekith are not given enough time to develop properly as characters, and therefore come across as bland and forgettable, while there are too many that are simply a mirror image of the hero (Iron Monger, Yellow Jacket, and by the look of the Black Panther trailer, Erik Killmonger).

Thanos, however, has been built since Avengers Assemble as a step above the rest, labelled as the 'big bad' of the franchise. With this title comes a pressure to be better than Marvel's other villains, upping the ante and the threat to our heroes.

There will come a time (soon) when The Mad Titan is defeated by The Avengers and co. and with Marvel showing no signs of slowing the MCU down any time soon, this will leave a void for another 'big bad' to fill.

In the build up to Infinity War you would be forgiven for thinking that Thanos is the worst or the worst in the MCU. Yet the universe is full of evil beings that can threaten the world just as much, if not more than The Mad Titan.

Doctor Doom is one of the most infamous villains in the entire Marvel universe, and while this may seem unlikely due to the rights of the character currently with Fox (and a solo outing in the works), we were saying similar things about Spider-Man just a few years ago.

Victor Von Doom certainly has the reputation to command the 'big bad' status in the MCU, and should he ever enter the universe fans would not want it any other way. One film would not be enough to portray the character in the way he deserves.

Though historically coming from the fictional country of Latveria in the comics, the MCU could easily adapt this, swapping Latveria for Sokovia, in the same way Helmut Zemo's background was changed. Not only would this lend Doom a link to the previous MCU years, it could also give him reason to turn bad.

Alternatively, with Robert Downey Jr potentially leaving the franchise in the coming years, the MCU could even adapt the recent Infamous Iron Man storyline, in which Doom replaces Stark as the titular hero. With his intelligence and tech on a par with that of Stark's, this would make sense and would be far from anything we have seen from the character on screen before.