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!

Spiderman is rebooting again. This would get a giant eye-roll- but (and a BIG but here) the web crawler is rebooting into the Marvel Cinematic Universe! That is so epic-ly amazing (spectacular, sensational, astonishing, superior, etc.) that we can ignore the constant reboots (we would do the same and be equally excited if the Fantastic Four were inserted into the Marvel mothership movie universe). With Spiderman entering a new universe, maybe, just maybe we can have him face off with some new villains. We have speculated about Spiderman movie villains in the past (and even had some success, hello Rhino).

Here we go, our picks for possible villains in the Spiderman Reboot!

Kingpin

Who is to say that the main villain of a Spiderman movie needs to be introduced in the new Spiderman movie? Lets skip that and use a villain already established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (even if it was on the Netflix/TV side of things). Kingpin is one of the most iconic Spiderman villains and was masterfully played by Vincent D’Onofrio. He opens the door to grounding Spiderman but at the same time introducing a lot of possible characters (including a cameo or team-up with Daredevil). This would be a great way to tie together different portions of the Marvel Universe while firmly placing Spiderman in the center of things.

Kraven the Hunter

Okay, I know, this is a repeat of a pick from a past list of villains I wanted to see in a Spiderman sequel, but he is just too good not to use. This is not a villain that wants to destroy the world or take over the city. This is a hunter that wants to take out Spiderman and the two are pretty equally matched in strength and speed. What better test for a new teenage Peter Parker/Spiderman? Just imagine them fighting across Manhattan or battling in the Bronx Zoo. I love the idea of Spiderman fighting someone that isn’t straight up evil per say, but is an animal like villain. Kraven also has ties to other villains that could be included, like his half brother the Chameleon or Vermin.

Morlun

I was on the fence with this one. Merlin as a villain is either loved or loathed by Spiderman fans. The Other storyline added so much complication to Spiderman’s backstory and would deb so unneeded for a new series of movies, but at the same time he is a formidable big bad and could open a ton of new doors for future movies and characters; Ezekiel, Silk, and of course the possibility of doing a live action version of “Spider-Verse” (which could put Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield back into the suit!). I might be getting too ahead of myself, but I think there is a way to introduce Morlun without the over complications. I’d love to see some of the alternate world Spidermen (and women- Mayday Parker!).

Okay, so this is a joke entry (sort of- Spiderman really needs more female villains). White Rabbit is the addition to this list that is similar to Rhino in my last Spiderman Movie Villains List, she wouldn’t be the headlining villain, but someone that Spiderman faces over the course of the movie. She could be robbing a bank or museum, etc. Spiderman’s world needs to be rich with costumed villains and the montages in the movie should reflect this. Hey, maybe they could throw in some established small villains from Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil, or past Marvel movies for Spiderman to punch over the course of the new film. I want to feel his connection to the bigger world (but I don’t necessarily want him over shadowed by Ironman or Captain America).

Who would you like to see Spiderman face off against in the new movie?

Check out these Spiderman products…

The moment most Buffy fans have waited for since the middle of season 4 is here, Daniel “Oz” Osbourne is back! (as seen in the awesome cover on the left)  As I did with the television series, I have blocked myself away from spoilers and the only thing that I know is that the gang goes to Oz for help.  While I have enjoyed the Buffy comic series, it has been a little disjointed and hit or miss. The pacing and flow of the “season’s” story has been off.  With Buffy writer Jane Espenson penning the next few issues I have a lot of hope for this arc.  In fact, I’m keeping this preview short so I can run to the store right now to pick up the issue…

What else is worth your time?

• Marvel: Cable #16 – Continuing directly from the “Messiah War” crossover with X-Force, Cable is in a bad place and might not be long for this world.
• DC: Nothing is worth your time this week.
• Image: Chew #2 – A twisted concept that is both engaging and… well, pretty twisted.
• IDW: Angel #23 – This book still stinks, but maybe it will get a little better with the return of “After the Fall” writer Brian Lynch. I want to root for this book so badly, except every week that gets harder (and it is not worth the high $3.99 cover price!).
• Boom! Studios: Irredeemable #4 – My comic book guy recommended this to me. Mark Waid at the top of his game? I’m in.

Ed Brubaker’s epic “Death of Captain America” storyline, which began with the assassination of Steve Rogers (the classic Captain America), reaches its conclusion this Wednesday. “The New Captain America, the Falcon, the Black Widow, Sharon Carter – all in a final showdown with the Red Skull and his minions for the future of America!”

Marvel has released a couple of pages for the new issue.  Click the images below to enlarge: