Full spoilers comply with for Thunderbolts* and numerous different MCU initiatives.
“Marvel has a villain downside”. It’s a criticism that is been hurled on the comedian ebook large’s cinematic juggernaut for years.
And with good purpose. Between 2008 and 2017 (or, fairly, from Iron Man to Thor: Ragnarok), the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was as a lot of a graveyard for its supervillains because it was a multi-billion dollar-spinning franchise.
Aside from the odd Big Bad who survived resulting from their fan reputation (Loki) or standing as an anti-hero fairly than a full-blown villain (Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier), Marvel Studios did not assume twice about killing those that opposed a few of the finest superhero films’ protagonists.
That all modified with Thanos’ arrival. Not solely did the Infinity Saga’s major nemesis really stay to combat one other day by the top of Avengers: Infinity War – a movie he was arguably the principle character of – however he additionally did the unthinkable: he gained. Indeed, he bested Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and efficiently carried out his plan to wipe out half of all life within the recognized universe.
Okay, he met his finish a yr later in Avengers: Endgame, however Thanos’ introduction was a watershed second for the MCU as a result of it proved Marvel villains did not must be one-and-done situations.
Since then, Marvel has been much more selective with the villains it kills off. Spider-Man: No Way Home, WandaVision, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Captain America: Brave New World… extra villains have survived the occasions of those MCU films and Disney+ reveals, in addition to different Phase 4 and 5 initiatives, than these in Phases 1, 2, and three.
Now, when somebody from the comedian titan’s unending rogues gallery bites the mud, there is a legitimate excuse to bump them off. Take Deadpool and Wolverine‘s Cassandra Nova, for instance. If the titular odd couple hadn’t killed her, she would’ve destroyed the multiverse, so she needed to be disposed of. Nonetheless, as of late, Marvel villain deaths are the exception fairly than the norm.
All of which brings me to Marvel’s Thunderbolts* film and the 2 characteristic movies – The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday – that’ll come after it.
The remaining Marvel Phase 5 film, which has simply landed in theaters worldwide, Thunderbolts* follows in a lot of its latest forebears’ footsteps by not killing its major antagonist. Though The Void, aka the darker half of Lewis Pullman’s Bob Reynolds/Sentry, is extra of an antagonistic pressure – one who Reynolds and his fellow misfits should nonetheless overcome to avoid wasting the day – than the outright villain of Thunderbolts*. The incontrovertible fact that Pullman was one of many preliminary 27-strong solid confirmed to look in Doomsday additionally spoiled how this movie would finish. After all, Reynolds would not be a part of Doomsday’s solid if he and his superpowered alter-egos perished in Thunderbolts*.
But I digress. The level is, Marvel’s newest big-screen providing is one other instance of its want to maintain villains and/or antagonistic figures round who can nonetheless serve a function.
That provides me hope, then, that the dangerous guys resulting from seem in First Steps and Doomsday – Ralph Ineson’s Galactus and Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Victor von Doom – may not be unceremoniously dumped quickly after their MCU debuts.
The likelihood is that one or each antagonists will not make it out of those films alive. Somehow, The Fantastic Four would possibly discover a option to beat the planet-devouring cosmic being. According to The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ official trailer, Galactus has marked this model of Earth – keep in mind, Marvel’s First Family will exist in a special universe for a lot of this movie – for destruction, however that does not imply he’ll reach his endeavor.
Meanwhile, Avengers: Secret Wars, which is predicted to carry down the curtain on the Marvel Multiverse Saga, will possible see a seemingly infinite variety of MCU heroes, plus legacy characters from Fox’s defunct X-Men movie franchise and former Sony Spider-Man film sequence, work collectively to defeat Doom. That might result in the reinstallation of the MCU in its present kind or, as some followers have predicted, a tough reset that reboots Marvel’s money-printing franchise for a brand new technology of heroes, villains, and viewers alike.
But, what if Marvel does the unthinkable? What if it does not simply hold Galactus and Doom round for the lengthy haul however, in a world-first for its cinematic franchise, additionally delivers back-to-back movies the place the villains win?
Alright, it is extremely possible that Doom might be victorious by the point Avengers 5‘s finish credit roll. Much like Infinity War and Endgame, Doomsday and Secret Wars are being approached as a two-part story, with administrators Joe and Anthony Russo looking for inspiration from each of Marvel’s ‘Secret Wars’ comedian ebook storylines.
The third and fourth Avengers films are proof that if Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are divided, they may fail to cease an existential menace. Based on what Thunderbolts* post-credits scene suggests – learn my Thunderbolts* ending defined piece for extra particulars – plus rumors that Doomsday might be an Avengers vs X-Men movie in all however identify, it is doable Doom will conquer all as a result of its heroes are too busy combating amongst themselves to unify and take him down.
First Steps‘ narrative consequence is much less sure. Again, due to Thunderbolts* finish credit stinger, we already know that The Fantastic Four will seem within the MCU by the top of one in every of 2025’s most anticipated new films. How and why they traverse the multiverse to get there, although, is a thriller that First Steps will remedy.
Right now, the prevailing idea amongst followers is that the enduring quartet will regrettably flee their utopian universe as a result of they can not put it aside. Some MCU devotees imagine they will be pressured to run due to Doom, who might destroy their actuality to forestall the unfold of Incursions – a cataclysmic occasion the place two universes collide and one destroys the opposite – that had been first launched in Doctor Strange 2.
Other observers predict Galactus will comply with by means of on his plan to eat the Earth that The Fantastic Four name residence. The group will attempt to cease him however fail. Knowing they’ll both escape with their lives or perish alongside their world, they make the tough however egocentric determination to vanish into the night time.
I’m hoping for the latter consequence. Indeed, it makes an extremely tragic backstory for Reed Richards and firm upon their MCU arrival; one they may attempt to redeem themselves with by serving to the MCU’s present hero roster defeat Doom. Not solely that, Galactus’ victory would even be a greater match for the course I need Marvel to go in with First Steps and Doomsday – i.e. releasing two films in comparatively fast succession the place the dangerous man triumphs.
We’ve already had a state of affairs the place a villain wins the day in a single movie however is in the end defeated within the subsequent with Infinity War and Endgame. In my view, it will be baffling if Marvel performed the identical card with Doomsday and Secret Wars because it did with the aforementioned pair.
Despite the latest turbulence the MCU has been buffeted by, followers will flip up of their droves to observe the subsequent Avengers films. Wouldn’t or not it’s much more unbelievable, then, in the event that they did so figuring out that, having watched The Fantastic Four lose in First Steps, they witness Downey Jr’s Doom equally be victorious?
Neither the MCU nor its fanbase would have seen the likes of villains securing victories in back-to-back films. Your subsequent two movies are a golden alternative to shock us all and do exactly that, Marvel. My recommendation? Don’t mess it up.
