With Avengers: Infinity War fast approaching, fans are getting totally geeked up at the
promise of finally seeing the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe face off against
the ultimate evil, Thanos.
But once the wrinkly, purple Titan is presumably defeated, who will the next big bad guy be
in the MCU?
Well, no one really knows, but we do know who it won't be, thanks to complex licensing
issues.
Here's a look at some villains Marvel can't use in their movies.
Galactus
If there's one villain who's bigger than Thanos both literally and figuratively, it's Galactus,
a planet devouring force of nature born before the Big Bang even created our universe.
In the comics, he's pretty much the ultimate unbeatable power.
In the world of movies, however, his rights belong to Fox.
The result is one incredibly boring and disappointing cameo as an angry cloud in Fantastic Four:
Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Galactus would be amazing in the MCU, but for now, he's stuck in bad-movie limbo with
the rest of the Fantastic Four.
"I am Galactus.
The be-all and end-all of the universe."
Dr. Doom
Like Galactus, Dr. Doom's rights are tied up with the Fantastic Four.
Unlike Galactus, though, Doom may actually be resilient enough to break free of the Fantastic
Four's legacy of crappy movies.
Though versions of the bad doctor have already appeared in every Fantastic Four film through
2017, it was recently revealed that Fox is developing a stand-alone Dr. Doom solo film.
That sounds promising, but it also means we won't be seeing Doom take on the Avengers
in the MCU any time soon.
"I would like a word with you, Stark"
Magneto
Fox has had a pretty spotty track record with their superhero films, but one thing they've
totally nailed is the character of Magneto, who's been expertly played by both Ian McKellen
and Michael Fassbender over the past two decades.
In the comics, Magneto has frequently branched out from the world of mutants to battle heroes
like the Avengers.
But as long as the X-Men films remain profitable, there's no chance Fox will let Magneto's rights
revert to Marvel Studios, as the character is a cornerstone of the franchise.
Which is too bad, because it would be cool to see them try to reconcile the two different
versions of Magneto's children.
Venom
Sony kept Venom off the big screen for years following his underwhelming debut in Sam Raimi's
Spider-Man 3, but he'll soon return in a standalone feature starring Tom Hardy that's reportedly
meant to launch the studio's own version of the Marvel universe.
Of course, exactly how this is going to work now that Spider-Man himself is appearing in
the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still unclear, so it's possible Venom could eventually cross
over between universes, which would be cool, considering Venom eventually ended up joining
the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics.
So, we'll see!
Other Spidey villains
If the fate of Venom is confusing, things are even more unclear when it comes to the
rest of Spidey's rogue's gallery.
Sony reportedly is developing a film featuring both Black Cat and Silver Sable, so it looks
like they're off the board.
And once upon a time, Sony had plans to do a Sinister Six film featuring a team-up between
villains like Electro, Doctor Octopus, and Mysterio.
However, Sinister Six member the Vulture already appeared in the MCU, and the post-credits
teaser of Spider-Man: Homecoming hinted that more members of the team — such as the Scorpion
— may be joining him soon.
But until we hear otherwise, fans should assume that all of Spidey's villains are off-limits
when it comes to the MCU.
Sabretooth
At best, 2009's Wolverine: Origins was a missed opportunity, squandering characters like Deadpool
and Gambit in service of a truly joyless movie.
At worst, Fox wasted a great performance by Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth, who hasn't been
seen in the X-Men films since.
"The dream is over, and the best is awake."
"My name is Victor Creed.
AHHHHHHH!"
The fact that Fox isn't actually using Sabretooth makes it especially galling that Marvel can't
use him in their films either, because there are plenty of places where he could fit in.
Wouldn't Sabretooth versus Black Panther blow your mind?
Alas, as long as Marvel doesn't own the film rights, the best we can do is hope he pops
up in another X-Men movie.
Apocalypse
As far as X-Men movies go, Apocalypse is a relatively recent villain.
And X-Men: Apocalypse was a pretty disappointing showcase for the character considering what
a world-class threat he is in the comics.
In one alternate universe storyline, Apocalypse actually conquered the world and reshaped
it in his own image.
That sounds like the perfect type of villain to follow in Thanos's footsteps, giving the
good guys of the MCU a real threat to fight against.
For now, however, like all of these other great characters, Apocalypse is stuck in Fox's
hands thanks to the true enemy of Marvel superheroes: bad business deals.
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