The MCU's Next Thanos

The MCU has given Marvel fans one spectacular movie after another over the course of the last decade and a half. Along with that run of amazing films, Marvel Studios has also given us one of the greatest villains in the entire history of cinematography.., Thanos. The "Mad Titan" storyline was over 10 years in the making and the final payoff was not only well deserved but also one that will be remembered for decades. However, now that the character's reign of terror within the MCU has come and gone, fans are dying to know who the next "boss villain" be for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The following is a list of 3 prime candidates who could go on to fill that role.

Mephisto

More or less considered the Devil of the Marvel universe, Mephisto is one of the "Lords of Hell". This villain has already had one appearance in Hollywood, as he was the one who turned Nicholas Cage's "Johnny Blaze" into the "Spirit of Vengeance" in the first Ghost Rider film. While that portrayal of the character has received mixed reviews, fans have been hopeful that Marvel Studios would hit a home-run if they were to introduce a new version of him into the MCU.

Mephisto is one of the strongest villains to come out of Marvel Comics. He is so strong in fact, that he has even held his own against Galactus. While Thanos was more of a cosmic threat, Mephisto is more of a supernatural one. He spends most of his time trying to get mortals to commit sins so that they go to his realm after their deaths. Once someone arrives in his realm, their soul is pretty much his for the taking. The more souls that he collects the more powerful he becomes. This devil has a wide range of abilities that make him an extremely dangerous foe for Marvel heroes. His skill set includes the ability to manipulate matter, astral project, Teleport, Levitate, and even shapeshift into anyone he'd like.

As far as his "resume of evil" goes, Mephisto is what we would consider a very experienced villain. He is infamous for making deals with individuals in exchange for their souls, which is exactly how he turned Johnny Blaze into the Ghost Rider. He also made Peter Parker the offer to save his Aunt May and reestablish his secret identity but at the cost of his marriage to Mary Jane Watson. Peter reluctantly accepted this offer and when the deal was done, upon departing, Mephisto showed Peter the unborn child that he would've had with Mary Jane had they stayed married.

Now that the MCU is heading into darker storylines with Moon Knight, Blade, and Dr. Strange's "Multiverse of Madness", there's a good chance that Mephistos MCU debut will be announced any day now.

Annihulus

The Bug King known as "He who annihilates", Annihilus has been appearing in marvel comics for decades. The first born son of a cosmic being known as Oblivion, this villain is the one who rules over the "Negative Zone" in Marvel comics. He first appeared as a villain for the Fantastic 4 but has since gone on to be an adversary to countless Marvel heroes.

Annihilus is what we would consider an Omega level villain, similar to the likes of Thanos. He wields the power of immortality and is therefore ressurected every time he dies. This King of Bugs is a powerful cosmic entity due to his use of the Cosmic Control Rod, which allows him to absorb and control the cosmic energies of the Negative Zone. The CCR gives him the ability to discharge cosmic blasts and teleport within the negative zone at will. It also significantly increases his speed, strength, and durability.

With marvel comics history that spans over 50 years, Annihilus has had more then enough time to build up an impressive villain resume jam packed with all sorts of horrible acts. He once brainwashed Spiderman and tried to have him kill the Fantastic 4. In the Annihilation series, he assembled a massive bug army and attempted to use it in order to invade the entire Marvel universe. Even the asgardians had to defend their great city againts an attack from him and he succefully obducted Oden and took him to the Negative Zone. On top of all of that he tried to drain the Powers of the son of Reed Richards and Susan Storm, nearly killing him in the process.

Annihilus needs to destroy life in order to preserve his own immortality and that makes him a compelling villain. Unlike Thanos's motives whih one might argue to have been in the name of the greater good, the mission of Annihilus seems to be far more selfish. He's undoubtedly a power hungry villain; while Thanos destroyed the infinity stones to prevent succumbing to temptation, Annihilus would've kept them had he been in that position instead. All of these qualities, along with his omega level powers make the Bug King a character that could be a worthy replacement for Thanos within the MCU.

Dr. Doom

One of the most infamous villains in not only Marvel comics but in pop culture in general is Dr. Victor Von Doom. The ruler of Latveria's green hood and metal mask are iconic and chances are that even those who have never read a single comic book in their lives know who he is. While their has already been a couple of hollywood idirations of the character thus far, there has yet to be one that has succesfully satisfied fans of the comics. Given the the standards that the MCU holds their villains to, fans are anxious to see what their version of Dr. Doom is going to look like.

In the comics, Dr. Doom is considered to be a jack of all trades. He is a msaster of combat strategy, sorcerey, and martial arts. He possesses extreme inttelect and a stupendis amount of will power. His nuclear powered titanium battle suit gives him a wide range of abilities as well. This armor gives him the ability to hypnotize his opponents, provide 4 hours of oxygen, discharge concussive force blasts, and even cause molecules to expand. If that wasn't overpowered enough for you, it can also allow him to absorb the energy of others.

As far as evil accomplishments go, few villains have a list as lenghty as Dr. Dooms. The man has an obsession with power; this obsession causes him to steal the power of the Silver Surfer, Galactus, and even the Beyonder who is one of the most powerful entities in all of Marvel comics. He successfully overthrows T'challa and storm for the thrown of Wakanda in order to steal all of the cities vibranium. He single handedly fought and defeated both a clone of the Hulk and Oden the Kind of Agard. The man has even become a literal god on two seperate occasions.

As far as powerful villains go, few can hold a candle to the likes of Dr. Doom. The most interesting part about him is that he isn't some all powerful cosmic entity or ruler of an entire realm in a seperate reality.., he is just a mortal man. In spite of his mortality, he has still proven to be an extremely powerful villain who has proven to be a menace to even the most unstoppable heroes in the Marvel universe. Dr. Doom is far too good of a villain to be limited to a single film and his potential to be used in 4 or even 5 MCU films makes him one of the most worthy candidates to become the universes next Big Bad.