With the release of Avengers: Endgame, an era of Marvel movies has come to a conclusion, but we have definitely not seen the last of the famed Marvel team. While the roster may end up being very different, the MCU will still need a group of heroes to protect (or avenge) them. Later, we will spotlight the potential new roster, but for now lets look at some of the comic book villains that we could see taking the mantle of big bad in Avengers 5.  (some spoilers may follow)

Kang the Conqueror
With Endgame introducing the idea of time travel, that opens up the door of MCU to introduce the classic Marvel villain Kang the Conqueror, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the 60s.  While originally a Fantastic Four villain, Kang has showed down with the Avengers numerous times in the past (in comics and animated form). It could be as straightforward as Kang traveling to the current MCU from his dying timeline to conquer earth, or he could come looking for revenge blaming the Avenger’s time travel adventure for killing his future (or alternate future). Visually there is a lot that Marvel could do with Kang and with his connections to the Fantastic Four, it could potentially be a good way to introduce them into the proper MCU.

Annihilus
Yes, another Fantastic Four villain (sorry, they have a great rouges gallery). Annihilus is a super/cosmic/powerful warlord and sometimes ruler of the Negative Zone. Visually he is like a cross between Ultron and Thanos and like Thanos he commands a fleet of spaceships and an army of followers. Is that too soon? Is Annihilus just too similar to the threat that Thanos posed? I love villains that can go head to head with the heroes (just say no to smoke monsters and human big bads). Annihilus could bring the Avenger’s fight into space and would introduce some awesome new MCU science including the Negative Zone (and hopefully the Richards family).

The Mandarin
One of the MCU’s disappointing missteps was how badly the Ten Rings and the Mandarin were handled in Iron Man 3. People were so angry at what they did to the classic Ironman villain, that Marvel Studios did an about face and hinted at there being a real Mandarin in a MCU One Shot short movie. The Ten Rings was introduced in Ironman and it is about time that we see some payoff from the group. Maybe in the five year gap in Endgame, the group gained even more power; recruited new followers and took over land in more countries. Could the Mandarin have risen to power in the shadows? Were they next on Hawkeye’s kill list? Using the Mandarin and the Ten Rings, we could have a very powerful earth-bound Avengers movie. And with characters on the Avengers like the Falcon, War Machine, Black Panther, Wasp, and Ant-Man, we have a much more even balance of power.

Beyonder
How do you top Infinity War and Endgame? Introduce the Beyonder and Secret Wars and just let the MCU go bat-shit crazy. Heroes and villains both past and present fighting each other in Battleworld while the cosmic god-like entity tries to decide if earth is worth saving. This could be a good way to gather up characters form all movies again, but is it too soon for that? Would it be too much of a rehash? And would it feel forced? Either way, using the Beyonder and Secret Wars could potentially be a lot of fun (but maybe hold off until the X-Men and Fantastic Four are firmly established into the MCU).

Who would you like to see in Avengers 5? I left Galactus off my above list, because I feel like the next Avengers film would be too soon. We need to build him up over another 20 movies first!

This week the Watchmen continue to invade the DC Comics universe, Marvel preps for  the Infinity War, and Image introduces a fantastical alternate world. Check out a selection of previews for new comics coming out tomorrow.

DC COMICS

DOOMSDAY CLOCK #3
Official Description: The story takes a turn in the third chapter of this 12-issue series you never thought you’d see, from writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank.
Writer: Geoff Johns | Artist: Gary Frank

ACTION COMICS #996
Official Description: “Booster Shot” part four! Superman and Booster Gold are out of time, and they’ve found themselves marooned on a strange planet sometime in the future. So why does this planet’s infrastructure look…Kryptonian? The answer shakes the Man of Steel to the core as the ruler of this planet reveals himself…the son of Zod reigns supreme!
Writer: Dan Jurgens | Artist: Will Conrad

MARVEL COMICS

MARVEL’S AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PRELUDE #1
Official Description: When a terrorist puts the Avengers at odds, CAPTAIN AMERICA and THE WINTER SOLDIER go rogue to find him – but IRON MAN isn’t far behind. Will the Avengers survive the fallout? Then, find out where Captain America, the Falcon and the Black Widow are headed next – because the world needs heroes, whether it wants them or not. And get a sneak peek at Tony Stark’s brand-new armor! Get ready for MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR in part 1 of this special prelude!
Writer: Will Corona Pilgrim | Artist: Tigh Walker

X-MEN: BLUE ANNUAL #1
Official Description: THE CROSSOVER BETWEEN VENOM AND X-MEN BLUE STARTS HERE! Spinning out of the events of Venomverse, the Children of the Atom and the Lethal Protector team up to take down an extradimensional threat! This is it, folks, the team-up you’ve been asking for: X-MEN BLUE and VENOM must band together in the cold reaches of space to protect our universe from a threat more diabolical than you can imagine. But will EDDIE BROCK, his faithful SYMBIOTE, MARVEL GIRL, CYCLOPS, ICEMAN, BEAST and ANGEL be enough to save this universe? I really, really hope so.
Writer: Cullen Bunn | Artist: Edgar Saul Salazar Arteaga

IMAGE COMICS

RINGSIDE #14
Official Description: “SHOOT,” Part Four Potential 2018 Eisner Award-winner for Most Brutal Beat Down in a Continuing Series! Find out why RINGSIDE’s the ongoing premier series of choice for broken dreams and shattered spines!
Writer: Joe Keatinge | Artist: Nick Barber, Simon Gough

DISSONANCE #1  
Official Description: In an alternate world where Earth is populated with powerful human-spirit hybrids called Fantasmen, Folke and Roisia Herviett, two siblings with opposing worldviews, are challenged to prove their worth and take up their parents’ positions in a devious group who secretly run the world. Meanwhile, Seraphim, a Fantasmen warrior guard, is sent to prevent a catastrophic event from affecting the Earth and its own universe. From designer MELITA CURPHY, writer SINGGIH NUGROHO, and featuring the art of SAMI BASRI (Power Girl, WITCHBLADE), comes a fantasy drama set in a sci-fi world unlike any other.
Writer: Singgih Nugroho | Artist: Sami Basri

Marvel Studios is setting the bar ridiculously high for superhero movi- scratch that, Marvel Studios is setting the bar ridiculously high for movies in general. Robert Downey Jr, aka Tony Stark, aka Ironman, tweeted this all new solo poster for Avengers: Age of Ultron (hot on the heels of a team shot). He has also stated that a “big announcement” will be coming in 8 days. Ironman 4? Has Downey Jr extended his contract with Marvel further into the future? Will they confirm that Spiderman will be featured in Captain America: Civil War? It can be so many things, which is very exciting.

In other Avengers 2 news, we just got confirmation that Anthony Mackie (the Falcon), Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter) and Idris Elba (Asgardian Heimdall) will all be appearing in the gigantic sequel. They join an already stellar cast of heroes including Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Cobie Smulders (ex-SHIELD Agent Maria Hill), and Paul Bettany (Vision), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlett Witch), rumored villain Andy Serkis, and James Spader’s title character of Ultron. Hopefully they fit in some of our Agents of Shield, like Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson), Ming-Na Wen (Melinda May), and Chloe Bennet’s now “Inhuman” Daisy “Skye” Johnson.

Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters on May 1st, 2015 and I’ll be in the first screening with a huge bucket of popcorn!

Marvel Studios has released a new poster and teaser trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Check out the new poster, which is a very cool variation of the original Avengers poster.

You can check out the teaser trailer here. Directed by Joss Whedon, the action sequel teams up the original Avengers with a crop of new heroes from other Marvel solo movies (the Falcone from Captain America: Winter Soldier, War Machine from Ironman 2 & 3) to take on a much worse evil entity (the title character Ultron). The movie will star Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Cobie Smulders, and Paul Bettany, with newcomers to the Marvel Universe Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Andy Serkis, and James Spader as Ultron.  We have a long wait as it does not come out until May 1, 2015.

Hot off the heels of Iron Man and Scarlett Witch San Diego Comic Con teaser posters comes a teaser poster of Black Widow in her new costume. The poster also features glimpses of Thor’s hammer, Hulk’s fist, and Hawkeye’s arrows. I can’t wait to see what all of the images look like when put together!

With the first day of the San Diego Comic Con here, expect a lot of movie, television, and comic book news. There is no doubt that Avengers: Age of Ultron will have a big presence at the Marvel Studios panel on Saturday July 26th at 5:30pm pst. Marvel’s television panel will be on Friday at 3pm pst and will feature Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter.

After ten issues and countless spinoffs, Age of Ultron issue 10 has finally hit stands. The book has promised to change the shape of the Marvel Universe with a big twist and lasting effects- I will not spoil things here, but go get the issue and see for yourself. Big changes? Yeah, I’d say so. Lasting effects? That is more of a wait and see. Can’t say for sure without seeing where they go with this. In the very least, the end of Age of Ultron could explain some of the holes created with the slow staggered launch of “Marvel Now!”.

Age of Ultron #10
Official Description: THE FINALE! The biggest secret in comics will be revealed to you! An ending so confidential… even the artists of this book don’t know what lies on the final pages…! A surprise so big that comic book legend Joe Quesada himself returns to the pages of Marvel Comics to draw a sequence that people will be talking about for years.

The issue hit stands this past Wednesday, June 19th, 2013 from Marvel Comics.

Girl Meets World has cast the role of Riley, Corey and Topanga’s daughter, with Rowan Blanchard.  Sabrina Carpenter has been also cast as Riley’s best friend Maya. Girl Meets World is still looking for someone to play Elliott, Cory and Topanga’s son. The casting call says “His parents worry that he has inherited [his uncle’s] ‘Eric Matthews Algernon’ gene and will lose intelligence as time goes by.” Blanchard co-starred in Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D, while Carpenter will appear in The Goodwin Games opposite Scott Foley and Becki Newton. What about Shawn, Eric, Feeny and the other cast members of the original? Will anyone else return for the new series? Show creator Michael Jacobs has stated “Whoever wants to be part of this show will be and whoever wants to move on will,” leaving the door open for anyone and everyone to come back in some capacity in the future.

Will Cobie Smulders reprise her role as Maria Hill in the new S.H.E.I.L.D. TV series? How I Met Your Mother was picked up for a ninth season, but in an interview with iamrogue.com Smulders said; “The commitments to [How I Met Your Mother] don’t affect it” and “I can’t really say, but there are definite talks about it.” Smulders will play Maria Hill again in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the sequel to 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. The S.H.E.I.L.D. pilot is currently being filmed with The Avengers director Joss Whedon behind the camera and fan favorite Clark Gregg reprising the role of Phil Coulson to headline the new series. Whedon wrote the pilot along with Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon, his writing partners on Dollhouse and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.