There's a lot to look forward to in Marvel's Phase 4 (even if it has all been delayed), but a lot of fans are struggling to get over the fact that there's still no sign of another Avengers movie. After Avengers: Endgame broke pretty much every box office record ever, you'd think Avengers 5 would be a priority for Marvel Studios, but it seems they're holding off for now.
Common sense says that it's because this next wave of stories will set the stage for what comes next, and that's led to us wondering who the next big bad could be to face this heroic team.
There are a lot of iconic comic book baddies who have yet to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and plenty of threats even bigger and better than Thanos. With the Disney/Fox merger bringing the Fantastic Four and X-Men franchise home, Kevin Feige now have more choices than ever!
With that in mind, just click the "Next" button below to see who we think should be the big bad of Avengers 5, how they could be introduced, and what sort of impact they would have on the MCU...
10. The Beyonder
The Russo Brothers have made it clear that they would return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a Secret Wars adaptation, and that's where The Beyonder comes in. He was the one who assembled all those heroes and villains to face off on Battleworld for his own amusement, and is a massively powerful cosmic being who is bound to have heard about the Avengers defeating Thanos.
After all, the Mad Titan's defeat and destruction of the Infinity Stones is bound to have made an impact throughout the cosmos, and could perfectly explain why The Beyonder decides to come to Earth.
Avengers 5 would be the best place to adapt this tale as it could throw the X-Men and Fantastic Four into the mix and do what we didn't think was possible: making a bigger move than Avengers: Endgame! It would be truly epic, and truly a superhero movie like nothing we've seen before.
9. Mephisto
With Marvel Studios seemingly embracing the supernatural as we head into Phase 4 and beyond, the big screen debut of Mephisto is definitely overdue at this point. Looking at the movies and TV shows on the way, there are any number of MCU adventures he could make his debut in, including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Loki, and Thor: Love and Thunder.
A sadistic and dangerous villain, Mephisto is a powerful demon who resides in a Hell-like dimension where he often manipulates what's happening elsewhere for his own gain. He also steals souls, and in the comics, is responsible for Peter Parker and Mary Jane's marriage coming to an end.
That's probably best off not being adapted, but after an initial introduction in one of the aforementioned movies, just imagine how cool it would be to see Mephisto take on Earth's Mightiest Heroes. He would be unlike any other villain they've faced before, and a supernatural adventure like this could set the stage for the likes of Blade, Moon Knight, and Ghost Rider to join the team.
8. Masters Of Evil
There have been many iterations of the Masters of Evil, and pitting The Avengers against a team of supervillains is something fans have been anxious to see for a long time now. With Baron Zemo set to make his return and embrace his comic book persona in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, surely Avengers 5 would be the perfect time for him to assemble his team?
There are countless villains from the past Marvel Studios could use here, and plenty of bad guys who have yet to grace the big screen who have been part of Zemo's Masters of Evil.
All of this could even lead to the long overdue big screen debut of the Thunderbolts too, and while there are bigger threats in this feature, the Masters of Evil could easily set up a long list of stories in the MCU moving forward. That would definitely be a good use of a fifth Avengers movie.
7. Veranke
Everyone was shocked when Captain Marvel portrayed the Skrulls in a heroic light, and failed to set the stage for the Secret Invasion adaptation pretty much everyone was anticipating.
Rumour has it that will happen somewhere down the line, of course, but despite rumours of everything from a Disney+ event series to plans for Captain Marvel 2, Avengers 5 is arguably the best possible place for Queen Veranke to attempt to take over Earth with her fellow shape-shifting Skrulls.
In the comic books, Veranke posed as Spider-Woman, but she could easily pretend to be everyone from The Wasp to Scarlet Witch in the movie before various other heroes are also outed as Skrulls. She's a great villain, and someone Marvel Studios could flesh out in a satisfying way.
6. M.O.D.O.K.
M.O.D.O.K. was a normal A.I.M. scientist before undergoing a procedure which transformed him into, well, the hideous villain you see above! With such a bizarre appearance, he could be used in a comedic way or as a horribly deformed threat, but the latter would work best for Avengers 5.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier teaser seemingly included the return of A.I.M., so it's possible the stage is already being set for this villain's big or small screen debut.
However, with rumours swirling that we'll see him in Ant-Man 3, chances are he will be comic relief (to some extent) but still a character with the potential to make an impact across multiple franchises. We just have to hope that director Peyton Reed does a better job with M.O.D.O.K. than he did Yellowjacket and Ghost, as M.O.D.O.K. could easily go on to terrorise the Avengers in this fifth movie, especially as Ant-Man has become a big part of the franchise.
5. Galactus
It's no secret that Kevin Feige is a big fan of Galactus (he even offered Fox the chance to keep Daredevil in exchange for him and the Silver Surfer once upon a time), so it's now inevitable that the planet eating baddie will make his presence felt at some point in Phase 4.
The Silver Surfer should probably show up first, of course, and if anyone should deal with Galactus, it's the Fantastic Four. Their arrival in the MCU can't be too far off, but there are still ways the villain can make his presence felt in this shared world, and if you thought Thanos was bad, it's fair to say that when Galactus arrives, he'll make the Mad Titan look like no sort of threat at all.
How does this tie into Avengers 5? Well, the Fantastic Four movie can give us "round one," with "round two" coming our way in this film courtesy of a teamup between them and Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
4. Apocalypse
We don't know when the X-Men will return to the big screen, but there already signs that Marvel Studios is making good use of the new characters and locations they acquired from Fox (Madripoor being part of the now-delayed The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, for example).
With that in mind, Phase 4 could definitely lay the groundwork for En Sabah Nur's arrival, and while it wasn't that long ago we saw him in X-Men: Apocalypse, a Thanos-style CGI take on him would eliminate any concerns about fans being reminded of the cringe-worthy version from 2016.
Both Eternals and Moon Knight will presumably take a deep dive into the MCU's history, so even just a mention of this ancient mutant could set the stage for a lot of very exciting stories, and he could then be used in Avengers 5, presumably to bring together both the Avengers and X-Men.
3. Doctor Doom
Another great villain who should primarily be focused on in the Fantastic Four franchise, establishing Doctor Doom as a threat to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe in Phase 5 would be no bad thing.
Once again, he could bring Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Marvel's First Family together in a single movie (an effective way to establish them as a big part of the MCU after Fox's disastrous efforts), and there are countless comic book stories that could serve as inspiration for a clash like this.
Doom and Latveria need to become a big part of this shared world, and a new team of Avengers assembling to try and stop a world war orchestrated by Doom could make for an exciting premise. Plus, this movie could even be used to establish the rivalry between Doom, Black Panther, and Namor!
2. Kang The Conqueror
Rumour has it that Loki will lay the groundwork for Kang the Conqueror's big screen debut in the MCU, and that does make sense with the series set to heavily feature the Time Variance Authority.
The prevailing theory is that Owen Wilson's TVA agent will be transformed into Kang, and it would make sense for him to then target Earth's Mightiest Heroes, especially if he's manipulated by the God of Mischief into doing so; after all, this past version of Loki is still a full-blown villain!
A fight with Kang could take the heroes throughout the MCU's entire timeline, and even to a desolate future...where we could meet the X-Men in an Age of Apocalypse-style alternate reality! Of all the Avengers baddies used by Marvel Studios, it's about time we get to see Kang appear.
1. Green Goblin
Norman Osborn played a key role in both Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and The Amazing Spider-Man movies, so Marvel Studios might be understandably reluctant to bring him back.
However, there's still a lot that could be done with the character on the big screen, especially if those rumours about him one day leading the Dark Avengers are correct. More importantly, we just want a comic accurate version of the Green Goblin to grace the silver screen, as you just know that Marvel Studios would redesign him in an exciting and visually impressive way.
We've established that there are plenty of big villains Avengers 5 could make good use of, but Norman taking on a supporting role and the Green Goblin being used as some sort of shadowy figure in Spider-Man 3 could be fun before he decides to take on Spider-Man - and the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes - in the next Avengers movie.