There’s a very long wait for Avengers 4. The title for the movie not only has to be revealed, but two more MCU movies must be released first– Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel.
The things we know, or think we know, about Avengers 4 could easily change in the year it is going to take for the finale of the current era of the MCU to release.
However, Avengers: Infinity War changed the MCU forever and provided a lot of material to endlessly speculate on until Avengers 4’s 2019 release.
The ending of Infinity War, with Thanos’ big snap, gave a pretty good idea of what superheroes would be in the movie. Or, maybe more accurately, what superheroes would be the focus of the movie.
Yet, when it comes to villains, things are a lot murkier. The possibilities of what could happen, never mind what will happen, are endless.
Avengers 4 is supposedly adding some new heroes like Ant-Man and the Wasp to the main hero roster. However, if Avengers 4 is going to be just as expansive as the Infinity War, some villains from MCU’s past (and possibly future) should make some appearances.
We have some ideas.
Obviously, the main villain, the one we want to see most in Avengers 4, Thanos, isn’t included on this list. Infinity War ended with text stating that Thanos would be back so there’s no need to hope for him. However, everyone else is debatable.
With that said, here are the 10 Villains We Hope Appear in Avengers 4 (And 10 We Hope Don’t)!
Hope Appears: Killmonger
Kilmonger’s entire arc in Black Panther is what makes the movie, one of, if not the very best of the MCU. This includes his emotional, and even somewhat sacrificial end.
Kilmonger choosing to succumb to his injuries and not be a “slave” like his ancestor is very powerful.
However, Kilmonger is the best villain the MCU has ever seen and it’s not as if the character hasn’t been resurrected in the comics countless times.
Infinity War is bound to do a lot of crazy things to restore or change the status quo of the MCU. Bringing Kilmonger back to life could be one of them.
At the very least, we’ll accept a scene between T’Challa and his cousin in the afterlife via heart-shaped herb scenes that are scattered throughout Black Panther.
Hope Doesn’t: Taskmaster
Taskmaster is a great Marvel villain and should appear in the MCU at some point. However, Avengers 4 isn’t the time.
The movie should be devoted to giving some screen time to previous villains or maybe planting seeds for the future by introducing or hinting at some cosmetic baddies.
Taskmaster has many talents, but being in space usually isn’t one of them.
Taskmaster, a world renown assassin, is best used in a ground level story. He would be the perfect villain from another Captain America movie or for the Black Widow solo, if it ever gets made.
He would be completely lost in the spectacle of Avengers 4. Taskmaster deserves his moment, but only when the MCU can really delve into him.
Hope Appears: Justin Hammer
Iron Man 2 isn’t a good movie. The movie does nothing but keep Tony Stark in a holding pattern for The Avengers, where he has some actual character development. It’s totally unnecessary.
Yet, if there’s a saving grace of Iron Man 2, it’s Sam Rockwell as the even swarmier version of Tony, Justin Hammer.
Justin was easily defeated at the end of Iron Man 2 and thrown in jail. He hasn’t reappeared in the MCU since the Marvel One-Shot Hail to the King and that just doesn’t seem right.
Iron Man 2 is mediocre at best, but Sam Rockwell put so much effort into making Hammer just the right level of aggravating.
He’s a villain who you want to see punched out. However, you also simultaneously want to watch him banter forever. Hammer deserves to get out of prison and maybe even use his intellect to assist Tony in Avengers 4.
Hope Doesn’t: Ego
Star-Lord’s father Ego did meet his end at the close of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but since no one is really expecting any of the disintegrations of Infinity War to stick, why should we expect Ego’s own to last?
Ego could easily come back, but we don’t want to see him again– at least not yet.
Ego’s resurrection would just be too big and too confusing to throw onto Avengers 4.
If Ego was still alive, he’d be a perfect fit for Avengers 4, either as an ally or enemy of Thanos. The two villains’ motivations weren’t all that dissimilar to one another.
However, with Ego (currently) being space dust, it be best to just let him rest for the moment.
Hope Appears: Vulture
Vulture is another MCU villain who is locked up in a very secure prison. However, with half of the population being turned into dust (and supervillains escaping prison all the time in the comics), it does seem a little naïve to assume that Vulture will still be locked up in Avengers 4.
More than any other character on this list, Vulture is an interesting position for Avengers 4.
Spider-Man: Homecoming seemed to end with Vulture repenting his criminal ways. Avengers 4 could complete that arc by having Vulture join the remaining Avengers to reverse Thanos’ snap.
If Vulture isn’t moved by redemption then this transition could be for personal reasons too. Maybe his daughter, Liz, was one of the Infinity War casualties. She was already precisely as interesting as dust to start. It’s not a huge leap.
Hope Doesn’t: Ultron
It’s been assumed since Age of Ultron that Vision exploded his robot dad, Ultron. However, a (robotic) body was never shown.
The climax of Age of Ultron has Vision set off his forehead blast at Ultron and the movie cuts away. Standard superhero logic dictates that Ultron could still be alive somewhere.
If Ultron is still ticking, Avengers 4 would be the perfect chance (from Ultron’s perspective) to reappear.
While an Ultron resurrection wouldn’t be the worst thing, as Age of Ultron was rather disappointing, Avengers 4 isn’t the time for it to happen, story-wise.
Ultron would take the chance. However, Ultron and Thanos would never be able to share the same screen in a way that wouldn’t be totally disorientating.
Hope Appears: Red Skull
One of Infinity War’s biggest surprises was the reveal of Red Skull as the Soul Stone’s guardian.
While Red Skull’s reveal was exciting for long-time MCU fans, the former Nazi general didn’t do a whole lot. Red Skull basically just delivered a bunch of exposition in a super cool black cloak.
Infinity War did the legwork. They brought Red Skull back in a way that explained his absence since The First Avenger and hired a new actor, Ross Marquand, who apparently doesn’t hate being in make-up as much as Hugo Weaving.
Avengers 4 should take Red Skull across the finish line. Red Skull should be made a bigger part of the movie or they should at least transition him into a more permanent, less ethereal, MCU role.
Hope Doesn’t: Ronan
Ronan is returning to the MCU after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 by appearing in Captain Marvel, which is set in the ’90s.
Hopefully, Captain Marvel will be able to do more with Ronan than Guardians did. In Guardians, he was just an angry blue guy.
However, since that was the lasting impression of Ronan, it wouldn’t be all that exciting for Avengers 4 to resurrect him in some way.
Ronan could return to the MCU (alive) at some point. However, the MCU shouldn’t rush things by bringing him back directly after Captain Marvel.
Audience reaction to Captain Marvel and its hopefully new-ish Ronan should dictate whether the villain gets a second chance at life in the MCU. This won’t be able to happen by the time Avengers 4 is filmed and released.
Let Ronan’s last moments be a dance-off with Star-Lord.
Hope Appears: The Collector
The Collector must appear in Avengers 4 if, for no other reason, to confirm if he survived Infinity War.
Benicio Del Toro was in Infinity War, but he was only playing an apparition of The Collector and not the very weird man himself.
Thanos destroyed The Collector’s base and presumably the Elder weirdo escaped, but we don’t know this with any certainty.
An appearance in Avengers 4 could not only confirm that, but could also perhaps set up the next chapter of the MCU.
Starting with The Collector, and expanding out to Ego and The Grandmaster, the MCU has slowly been introducing the Elders. When Thanos’ story (presumably) ends in Avengers 4, the universe is going to need a new universal threat, and The Collector could lead that charge.
Hope Doesn’t: Thane
While The Collector and the rest of the Elders becoming new MCU villains would be fun, we don’t want another Thanos clone.
That’s exactly, in broad strokes, what Thanos’ son Thane would be for the MCU.
Thane is a relatively recent addition to Marvel canon, but his character boils down to being Thanos, but younger and more brutal. No one needs him.
In fact, none of Thanos’ family should appear in Avengers 4. Infinity War told us enough about Thanos’ motivations, and he doesn’t need any more family besides his adopted daughters.
Thanos exists as this unique force in the MCU. Avengers 4 should keep it that way. That means no brother, no grandfathers, and no biological sons.
Hope Appears: The Grandmaster
The reasons why The Grandmaster should be included in Avengers 4 are largely the same as including The Collector. A Grandmaster cameo would even further expand the idea of the Elders as the next Big Bad of the MCU.
However, there’s one element that The Grandmaster has that The Collector doesn’t, and that is his actor, Jeff Goldblum.
Jeff Goldblum’s performance as The Grandmaster isn’t much of a reach for the actor. He’s essentially playing himself with blue lipstick.
However, any excuse, literally any excuse, to see more Goldblum as The Grandmaster is worth it. Thor: Ragnarok just barely scratched the surface of what The Grandmaster could (and should) do in the MCU.
Hope Doesn’t: Kang the Conqueror
With one of the prevailing theories about Avengers 4 being that it will involve time travel in some way, Kang the Conqueror seems like a natural inclusion.
Kang’s whole gimmick is time travel. He moves up and down the timeline causing havoc for the Avengers.
The rights for Kang are still off limits for the MCU, as he belongs to 20th Century Fox, but the deal between Disney and Fox seems like a foregone conclusion at this point.
However, we still don’t really want Kang to appear.
Kang having a cameo of some sort would be interesting, especially if Avengers 4 involves time travel, but Kang is too strange a character and has too big of a personality to be limited to just a cameo, so it’s best to keep him out.
Hope Appears: Super Skrull
Captain Marvel is finally introducing the shapeshifting alien race of the Skrulls to the MCU.
While there will probably be multiple Skrull villains in Captain Marvel, one of them should at least make an appearance in Avengers 4.
Super Skrull, being perhaps the most famous of the “evil” Skrulls, is the best option.
Ideally, Avengers 4 and/or Captain Marvel would come up with a different name for Super Skrull. While he’s a great character, Super Skrull is a rather lame name.
However, the existence of a Skrull, especially one that possesses all of the powers of the Fantastic Four, would be a very fun addition to the MCU.
Hope Doesn’t: Lady Death
Infinity War managed to adapt Thanos and give him motivations that had nothing to do with him being in love with the lady personification of Death.
The MCU Thanos shares little with his comic counterpart and it’s wonderful. Avengers 4 should keep it that way.
Infinity War teased the idea of Thanos being obsessed with Death by having him communicate with Baby Gamora after her assassination.
However, Thanos’ preoccupation with Death should only be in a metaphorical or spiritual sense– not a literal one.
The concept that Marvel Comics has Death existing as a woman is wonderfully weird, but it wouldn’t translate to the big screen.
Hope Appears: Hela
However, while Death should probably stay out of the MCU, a reappearance of the Queen of the Underworld would be more than worth it.
Hela resurrecting after Thor: Ragnarok would be tough. She was supposedly defeated on Asgard and left to rot on a planet that literally blew up.
Yet since her brother, Loki, can revive as many times as a Super Nintendo player with an infinite lives cheat activated, Hela should get at least one more chance.
She’s the Goddess of Death after all– she should have some control over her mortality.
There might not be a big place for Hela in Avengers 4’s story, but Cate Blanchett was too wonderful as Hela, so Ragnarok should not be her one and only MCU appearance.
Hope Doesn’t: Galactus
It’s going to be very hard, and maybe impossible, for the MCU to top Thanos as a villain. The Mad Titan is such a compelling and powerful presence. There’s few Marvel villains who could rival him, but Galactus might do the trick.
Thanos snuffed out half the population of the universe, but Galactus can eat whole planets. Galactus would be a way to assure fans that there are serious plans for the MCU beyond Avengers 4.
Ultimately, though, it would be too much an over-correction.
Thanos doesn’t work because of the Infinity Gauntlet– he works because there’s a human character behind his motivations.
Galactus’ only motivation is hunger and greed, which wouldn’t make for a sustainable movie.
Hope Appears: Kingpin
Avengers 4 is probably planning on expanding outside Earth for its big finale. Avengers 4 will likely include a lot more of scenes like Iron Man facing off against Thanos on his home planet. There will be less like the opening sequence where the Black Order wreaks havoc in New York City.
However, if Avengers 4 does have any NYC plans, they should at least have a cameo the Kingpin of Crime, Wilson Fisk.
The Netflix Marvel series are technically in the same universe as the Avengers movie, but they’re treated as separate entities. It’s past time to change that fact.
Vincent D’Onofrio is a big enough actor and Kingpin is such a charismatic character that Avengers 4 could do a lot with a very small scene including him.
Hope Doesn’t: Any of the Black Order
The Black Order all met their untimely end in Infinity War, so they’re probably not coming back in Avengers 4.
However, no demise in Infinity War seems truly certain. The only thing that is clear is that Avengers 4 doesn’t need one of the Black Order. Though they all have their own names, The Black Order boiled down to nothing more than cool-looking thugs.
It can be argued that Infinity War wasted The Black Order. Ebony Maw did seem impressive and somewhat competent at his job, but he wasn’t used very well.
Avengers 4 could, conceivably, do better with The Black Order.
However, they were so incredibly uninteresting the first time around that any further appearance would feel like wasted time. Once was more than enough.
Hope Appears: Doctor Doom
This is very much wishful thinking. If Doctor Doom is in Avengers 4, it won’t be for more than a cameo, as the rights are currently just too complicated.
However, if Captain America: Civil War was rejiggered to include Spider-Man after Sony agreed, Avengers 4 could be reworked to have a cameo or even an after credits tease of Doom if the Fox and Disney deal goes through.
Doom’s appearance in Avengers 4 shouldn’t be more than Thanos’ in the first Avengers– just a little hint that Doom is out there and will appear, sometime, in the MCU’s future.
Even a shot of his iconic mask/helmet would be enough to set everything, rightfully, on fire with speculation.
Doom’s introduction would be the perfect way to launch the post-Avengers 4 era.
Hope Doesn’t: Loki
Whether Marvel wants to admit it or not, the truth is that most of the Infinity War demises will likely be reversed by the end of Avengers 4.
However, if there’s one end that should stay written in stone, it’s the demise that was literally followed by the line, “No resurrections.”
Thanos taking out Loki in the opening scene of Infinity War set the tone for the character and the movie. It was also a perfectly heartbreaking way to end Loki’s story, as he sacrifices his life for Thor.
To reverse either in Avengers 4 would feel very cheap.
It’s not as if Loki should never come back. Having him follow a similar route to the comics and revive him as Young Loki would be interesting.
However, to do any of that in Avengers 4 would just be entirely too soon.
Which villains do you want to see (or not see) in Avengers 4? Sound off in the comments!
