In recent weeks, much has been said about classic Fantastic Four villain Annihilus being the main villain in Marvel Television's planned Nova TV series.
It makes sense to introduce the Arthrosian and his Annihilation Wave there, though it does likely mean he won't start life off as an antagonist in The Fantastic Four franchise. Despite that, there's something very exciting about the prospect of Nova either adapting Annihilation or setting the stage for the event in a future cosmic MCU movie (Guardians of the Galaxy 4, hopefully).
Now, the latter looks more likely based on new intel shared by insider Daniel Richtman.
He says that Annihilus won't be a one-off villain in Nova; instead, he's expected to appear in other projects as well, likely meaning the cosmic corner of the MCU just found a new big bad.
It's not outside the realm of possibility that Annihilus becomes the next Thanos, particularly if that Annihilation Wave makes its way to Earth. It's then we could see Marvel's First Family battle the monster, likely with Nova lending a helping hand.
In the comics, the Tyannans were originally the only intelligent life in the Negative Zone and, after they inadvertently released life spores on a barren volcanic planet, one of those mutated and became the villain known as Annihilus.
Acquiring a Cosmic Control Rod that greatly extended his lifespan, Annihilus set out to destroy anything he deemed a threat to his existence. Obsessed with ruling the Negative Zone, he became quite the conqueror before crossing paths with the Fantastic Four.
Decades later, the villain encountered the Opposing Force, the Negative Zone's version of the Power Cosmic. He then invaded the Marvel Universe with his Annihilation Wave, an armada comprised of thousands of starships and an army with countless "bugs."
Planet after planet fell as Annihilus set out to acquire the Power Cosmic used by Galactus and his Heralds. His endgame? To destroy all life in both universes.
Eventually, the likes of the Silver Surfer, Star-Lord, Drax, and Nova assembled to stop the villain. It was Richard Rider who saved the day, though, as he shoved his fist down Annihilus' throat and killed him by ripping out the creature's internal organs.
How much of this makes it into the MCU remains to be seen and Nova isn't expected to head our way until after Avengers: Secret Wars is released in 2027.
We recently learned that, "One [Nova] pitch was essentially Starship Troopers, with Richard Rider in Casper's arc as a sort of cocky jerk who falls in love with Namorita, joins the Nova Corps, and gets assigned to a backwater 'Outer Rim'-like planet that becomes the first phase of the Annihilus wave." You can read more about that here.
What would you like to see from Annihilus in the MCU?