More Lethal Than Thanos? The Super Villain Galactus Could Come to the MCU
One of these villains can make Thanos look like a pre-injection Steve Rogers.
With Disney’s pending acquisition of 21st Century Fox, we could finally have the IP union we’ve been craving for over a decade. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a property of Disney, but Fox has long held on to its coveted Marvel properties like X-Men and the Fantastic Four. Fox also owns a multitude of other characters and story arcs from the Marvel comics (including a mouthy fellow by the name of Deadpool), and some of those names would make waves in the MCU as it stands. Especially the super villains.
Avengers 4 will put an end to Marvel’s Phase 3 and signal a new era in their big screen storytelling. Whether it does this by killing Thanos or by establishing him as an ever-present threat is up in the air. But if the MCU ushers in some of Fox’s properties, what’s left of the Avengers and even the Mad Titan may not have time to enjoy the spoils of survival. Doctor Doom and Magneto could introduce themselves as more earthly villains. These guys can singlehandedly bring a team of superheroes to their knees. Doctor Doom frequently did so in Fantastic Four comics and in Fox’s film adaptations. Magneto has also been present in both of the X-Men film trilogies, and it’s a tantalizing prospect that he could be the link between an X-Men-Avengers crossover.
But then there’s some more cosmic cards that Disney could deal. There’s the time-traveling Kang the Conqueror, who comes with a plethora of storylines to choose from. The 31st century scholar has taken up as an Egyptian pharaoh, used the Avengers as pawns, and fought former and future versions of himself in order to stymie all of the chaos he’s raised. Marvel Studios could also unleash the Skrulls, an aggressive, shapeshifting alien species that ignites a war with the Kree (a humanoid species featured in Guardians of the Galaxy). That war, by the way, is the one that envelops Carol Danvers and leads her to become Captain Marvel. The Brie Larson-led film arriving in March will use that same concept since Marvel owns partial rights to the Skrulls.
And then there’s Galactus. The nearly indisputable, be-all and end-all of baddies that eats planets to sustain himself and is basically a brother to Death and Eternity, a Force of the Universe. He’s eviscerated Thanos on numerous occasions, and could only be challenged by the Mad Titan if he has something like the Infinity Gauntlet. And even then it’s still a good fight. Galactus would be a challenge for Marvel Studios to introduce—how could the Avengers stand up to something like that?—but if they find a way to defeat Thanos, anything is possible. Characters as foreign as Ego and Adam Warlock (kind of) are already present, so if Marvel wants even to hint at Galactus’ presence, they can be our guest.
Featured image: Thanos’s quest for the Infinity Stones spans several planets and many nations on Earth. Courtesy Marvel Studios
