So we've looked at foes that could pierce the veil between dimensions or that could menace the MCU from across the dark ocean of space. But another source of future stories could be the wide expanse of time--foes looking to restore some forgotten power or empire or who seek to strike at the present from the far-flung future.
Here are some threats from the Marvel comics catalog that could look to conquer or destroy the MCU from across time:
- #42 The Sleepers
- #43 The Serpent Crown and the armies of Atlantis
- #44 The Zodiac
- #45 The Sphinx
- #46 Knull
- #47 Mangog
- #48 Sin-Se-Neg
- #49 Kulan Gath
- #50 Them
- #51 The Scarlet Centurion
- #52 The Warlord
- #53 Zarrko, The Tomorrow Man
The Sleepers: These are a personal favorite of mine because of their appearance in the 1960s Marvel Superheroes cartoon I later watched in syndication as a child. Three giant robots lying in wait to exact the Red Skull's final revenge if the Third Reich ever fell, they were a menace on a much bigger scale than anything that Captain America had otherwise fought. So while he was conveniently able to disable them in the comics and in the cartoon, one could easily picture a movie plot where the combined prowess of all the MCU's heroes would be required to overpower them once their doomsday trigger had been activated.
The Serpent Crown and the armies of Atlantis: You can consider this a two-for-one deal, as either the crown or simply the discovery/emergence of Atlantis could separately pose a massive threat to the MCU's earthbound heroes. That said, the two are heavily intertwined in Marvel comics history, with the crown having been in play at the time of Atlantis's sinking and having been used more recently to erase the memory of Atlantean heir Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner. The crown was a mystical artifact tied to the serpent god Set who used it to retain influence in this realm. It could grant the wearer vast mental powers including both telepathy and telekinesis, though these gifts came at the cost of the user ultimately becoming Set's thrall. In the comics, the crown would eventually influence the barbarian usurper Attuma to lead Atlantis into an all-out war on the surface world in the aptly named "Atlantis Attacks" storyline.
The Zodiac: The Zodiac checks both boxes when it comes to this category, as it involves both a time-lost artifact and an element of time travel. The Zodiac is an international criminal organization with vast resources that is typically in pursuit of an object called the Zodiac Key. The group has 12 leaders each representing a zodialogical sign, though one is usually ascendant--typically Scorpio, who is revealed to be Nick Fury's brother Jake. In a great segment of Dan Slott's somewhat controversial run on Amazing Spider-Man, it's revealed that the key--which has been shown to generate great bursts of energy--is actually designed to open a secret vault containing every detail of future history over the following 12 months. The scope of the organization--which could easily rival Hydra--and the nature of this "macguffin" could easily lend themselves to a high-stakes, multi-story cinematic arc.
The Sphinx: The Sphinx is a character with immense physical strength and energy manipulation powers bestowed by the ancient Ka Stone which also curses him with immortality. Empowered by the stone in ancient times, The Sphinx uses it to influence history for millennia until he is so bored with existence that he becomes obsessed with finding a way to end his own life. This leads him into conflict with the hero Nova, from whom he learns of the living computers of Xandar--a repository of information so extensive that it is bound to have the solution to his quandary. In the end, he gains enough knowledge from a visit to Xandar to learn that he is stuck in a temporal loop that will forever see him flung back into the past to relive his immortal life--a cycle that his subsequent schemes attempt to break.
Knull: This one could be hard to reconcile from a rights perspective, as it's a character that would presumably tie to Sony's Venom movie franchise. The god and source of all symbiotes, Knull hails from the void that predates the known universe and is powerful enough to have clashed with the likes of the Celestials. A very recent addition to the Marvel comics catalog, he's already made a big splash in sparring with their other cosmic characters; so I imagine either studio could generate a lot of interest/excitement around a Knull-based plot if usage could be worked out.
Mangog: A manifestation of the hatred of "a billion billion" beings killed in an invasion repelled by Odin, this creature lies dormant under Asgard until freed by Ulik the troll. Perhaps also a threat that could be explained by the destruction of Asgard itself--its prison having been reduced to a cinder by Surtur?
Sise-Neg: An enormously powerful character, Sise-Neg was a 31st century sorcerer who engaged in a backwards trip through time to absorb magical energy--making him more and more powerful the further back he traveled. Shadowed by Dr. Strange and his oft-time rival Baron Mordo, Sise-Neg would eventually make it back to the dawn of time itself--at which point he essentially became omnipotent and the impetus of creation. (It's in the name--Sise-Neg is Genesis in reverse.) So this would focus on mystical elements likely to be prominent in future MCU phases and would provide a suitably vast scope to match Infinity War and Endgame.
Kulan Gath: Another favorite of mine, Kulan Gath was a Hyborian-era sorcerer who came into continuing conflict with Conan. He would manifest himself in modern times when a necklace containing his essence was donned by the night watchman at a museum--allowing him to regain his physical form. Opposed at first by Spider-Man and a briefly reincarnated Red Sonja, he would later transform all of Manhattan into a Hyborian-era city--a transformation he would threaten to spread across the globe. In the end, it would take the combined forces of the Avengers, X-Men and Dr. Strange to defeat him and restore reality. He has popped up time and again with the same agenda--so Marvel Studios could leverage several variants on this theme as source material.
Them: I actually had some difficulty finding info on this enclave that I had recalled from my childhood comics, as the particularly nondescript (yet menacing) name of "Them" had apparently been used to describe a couple of different shadowy groups. In this case, I'm referencing the ruling council of the ancient hidden city of El Dorado. This group was able to wield mystical powers stemming from a living flame that served as the city's basis for existence. Most dangerous of the council members was an aged version of the villain Tyrannus--former master of an underground kingdom that often clashed with the Mole Man and his subjects. So this would be another scenario involving immortals seeking to restore the greatness of a bygone era by supplanting the modern world.
The Scarlet Centurion: One could argue that these aren't distinct characters--that this character, Rama-Tut, the Warlord mentioned below, etc. are all just various incarnations of the time lord Kang. But from a plotting standpoint, this particular foe would fill a very specific niche. The Scarlet Centurion was a time traveler who visited an alternate Earth (Earth-689) and convinced the Avengers that the only way to prevent a global cataclysm was to defeat and de-power all other super-humans. So I could picture a Marvel Civil War-like outcome where those heroes convinced of the accuracy of this prediction would clash violently with those doubting the centurion's mission and motives. (It could presumably even be mixed with plot points from the Marvel Civil War II story line from the comics--as you could simply replace the prophecies of the Inhuman character Ulysses with the centurion's first hand knowledge and evidence.)
The Warlord: As mentioned above, this is yet another incarnation of Reed Richards's time-tossed father Nathaniel. But in this case, I'm thinking of a specific story line from John Byrne's run on Fantastic Four--the one that introduces the character as having marooned himself in an alternate timeline where human civilization had devolved into a weird mash-up of cowboys, dinosaurs, and killer robots following the destruction of the moon. Yes--you heard me--cowboys, dinosaurs, and killer robots. 'Nuff said. Someone needs to make this happen.
Zarrko, The Tomorrow Man: In some ways a poor man's Kang, Zarrko was a scientist from the 23rd century who clashed with Thor early in the latter's career--back in the pages of a comic that was then still called "Journey Into Mystery." But Zarrko was involved in multiple eons-spanning plots that could be adapted into a phase-ending MCU set piece--like the time that he tried to collapse all eras of time into one, or the one where he enlisted the aid of Marvel's heroes to stop the Time-Twisters, the last living beings from the end of the universe whose periodic interactions with Earth's earlier timelines would result in global destruction. So a lot to choose from there.
That brings us close to 60 potential threats/themes already, and there are two more general categories to come. Which ones have seemed most interesting or promising to you thus far? Did any of my summaries lead you to look up unfamiliar characters or plot lines? Let me know in the comments section below.
Next time: Part 5 - The Infected and The Corrupted!
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